A review by bardspeak
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book seeped into my bones while I was reading it - I read it all in one sitting up into the night - and it hasn't quite let me go since. I love how it slowly reveals things about the characters, even the main character, throughout the story as they're already being changed by it. It was just ambiguous enough to be mysterious and play at my love of surreal books, but understandable enough that I wasn't left feeling like I'd lost something along the way. The Biologist is such a lovely protagonist, flawed but so willing to think on it. Lost and trapped in the world and her past, but eventually wrapping up in a kind of wonderful way. 
Divorce Simulator 2014, while also being horror, while also being kind of a lovely story about two people who are different enough to not know how to love each other until something has already changed. And not least I loved the horror and the environment.

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