Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Feb 10, 2015 alana rated it it was ok

Shelves: dystopia, sci-fi, science

Hmm...Annihilation is too weird even for me. There are aspects that I liked but the majority left me all what the heck why and who cares. Having just read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft in which King recommends stripping down descriptions, I found myself overly critical of a story that seemed primarily to be verbose descriptions. I also dislike never knowing when things are real or hallucinations or memories or lies told by the narrator. It ends up feeling like you spent a long time not getti ...more

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Dec 16, 2016 aimee rated it really liked it

Obsessively re-read this trilogy once again, like a normal person. Always find new insights.

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Jul 02, 2018 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

The creepy atmosphere and unreliable narrator make for compelling reading. Vandermeer builds a convincing and uncanny world in Area X, and a scary one at that. I can’t quite imagine why a trilogy is needed - and since this book felt complete in itself, I’m not sure I will read the others. But I’m glad I read this one - and I credit my local public librarian, whose placement of it on her recommendations shelf drew me to it.

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Aug 31, 2014 Nick rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

H.P. Lovecraft, eat your heart out. So much of this book reminded me of "At the Mountains of Madness," but still very original. It has the same sense of something that shouldn't be strange being horrifyingly unknown and unknowable. VanderMeer does a good job of balancing the creepy unknown with enough explanation to keep you hooked. No answers at the end, and I'm kind of hoping the next two books don't provide much of an answer either. As soon as you try to explain the creepiness, it's no longer ...more

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