A review by claudiamacpherson
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Area X is a mysterious and apparently dangerous region that has been explored by eleven previous expeditions, with varying success. The members of the eleventh expedition returned under mysterious circumstances, with missing memories, and all died of cancer within a few months. We follow the twelfth expedition as they enter Area X and almost immediately encounter strange and inexplicable phenomena for which they are not prepared. The story is part science fiction, part psychological horror, and answers your questions only to leave you with many more.

A friend recommended this book, and I usually don’t like science fiction, but I recently read (and loved) <i>Dune</i>, so I thought I’d give it a try. Unfortunately, my favorite thing about <i>Dune</i>—the worldbuilding— was almost nonexistent in <i>Annihilation</i>. I can appreciate the lack of description and backstory as a device to increase the suspense (and establish our narrator as unreliable), but it’s just not my cup of tea. I also didn’t like a single one of the characters;
especially as the narrator became increasingly unreliable and suspicious. I felt like I was trapped in her head, willing her to do one thing…and then she would promptly do the opposite. The final straw was her murder of the surveyor.
 

I really enjoy stories where the setting becomes another character (a la <i>Dune</i>, <i>Piranesi</i>, or <i>Wind, Sand and Stars</i>, just to name a few of my recent reads), especially if that setting is really just nature itself. <i>Annihilation</i> did this to an extent, but the confusion of the story and disorientation of the narrator and the situation prevented Area X from becoming truly alive. This may be a personal problem though; I was talking to a friend about books recently and she pointed out that I like to <i>understand</i>, and she’s right—it’s the reason I love really strong, intricate worldbuilding and am disappointed by endings that don’t tie everything nicely together. 

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):
definitely not happy by my standards, but it’s the first book in a trilogy so of course it has to leave room for the next story. I don’t know if I’ll ever finish the series, but it did leave me with unanswered questions…
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