Take a photo of a barcode or cover
abby_ace_of_books 's review for:
Annihilation
by Jeff VanderMeer
It is very rare that I read a book for class and absolutely adore it.
I read Annihilation for my college sci-fi class, but I think even if I had read it in my own time, I would have enjoyed it. A part of me does wonder how much my annotations played a role in my enjoyment of the novel (any time I can ramble on and on about stories in the margins and come up with elaborate theories, I tend to enjoy it more). A part of me wants to get a loan for the Kindle version just so I can upload all of my annotations to my Goodreads, but I also want to go back through my physical copy and reannotate with all I already know.
Over the past year or so, I've discovered an odd little subgenre that has quickly become one of my favorites: botanical horror. I was introduced to it by C.G. Drews, and Annihilation only reinforced my interest in it, even though I know neither of those examples is explicitly horror.
I loved the mystery aspect of the story; it reminded me a lot of House of Leaves, but 10x less infuriating. We follow the story of four unnamed female scientists on an expedition into Area X, an untamed wilderness of sorts. The narrator - the biologist - has her own motivations for joining the expedition, so I was intrigued by the unreliability of her character. I liked the complexity of the dynamics between all of the characters, too, and I definitely had way too many theories about how they fit together.
Overall, I just loved the vibes of the story. I'm a huge fan of plants overtaking humanity, and there was so much imagery throughout the book that I thought was really, really cool. It convinced me to watch The Last of Us, and it definitely encouraged me to look for more books with similar vibes.
Whether or not Annihilation is considered sci-fi can be debated, but regardless, I think it's a worthwhile read for anyone who enjoys a narrative with a mix of adventure, mystery, survival, and science fiction elements. (I just wouldn't recommend continuing the series, so you'll have to be okay with leaving some questions unanswered.)
5/5
I read Annihilation for my college sci-fi class, but I think even if I had read it in my own time, I would have enjoyed it. A part of me does wonder how much my annotations played a role in my enjoyment of the novel (any time I can ramble on and on about stories in the margins and come up with elaborate theories, I tend to enjoy it more). A part of me wants to get a loan for the Kindle version just so I can upload all of my annotations to my Goodreads, but I also want to go back through my physical copy and reannotate with all I already know.
Over the past year or so, I've discovered an odd little subgenre that has quickly become one of my favorites: botanical horror. I was introduced to it by C.G. Drews, and Annihilation only reinforced my interest in it, even though I know neither of those examples is explicitly horror.
I loved the mystery aspect of the story; it reminded me a lot of House of Leaves, but 10x less infuriating. We follow the story of four unnamed female scientists on an expedition into Area X, an untamed wilderness of sorts. The narrator - the biologist - has her own motivations for joining the expedition, so I was intrigued by the unreliability of her character. I liked the complexity of the dynamics between all of the characters, too, and I definitely had way too many theories about how they fit together.
Overall, I just loved the vibes of the story. I'm a huge fan of plants overtaking humanity, and there was so much imagery throughout the book that I thought was really, really cool. It convinced me to watch The Last of Us, and it definitely encouraged me to look for more books with similar vibes.
Whether or not Annihilation is considered sci-fi can be debated, but regardless, I think it's a worthwhile read for anyone who enjoys a narrative with a mix of adventure, mystery, survival, and science fiction elements. (I just wouldn't recommend continuing the series, so you'll have to be okay with leaving some questions unanswered.)
5/5