Have you ever thought to yourself “boy, I’d like to read more books like Annihilation?” Alternatively, have you thought “I’d like to read Annihilation but alas, I am twelve”? Then have I got the book for you.

Boy howdy there is a lot going on here!

Story-wise I think this book was written for me specifically. Like, I possibly wrote it myself in some sort of fever dream and then forgot. Patrick Ness plumbed the depths of my psyche and came up with whatever the hell this is. It’s wild how simultaneously tight and completely off the rails it is - it gets a bit wobbly in the last 100 pages or so, but not nearly as wobbly as you’d expect given the absolute mayhem.

I’m interested to hear different perspectives on its treatment of racism, though. It’s obviously well-meaning but I’m not the right person to decide if it totally sticks the landing in that regard.

The first third of this book is goddamn excellent and that’s the only reason I’m giving it this many stars.

The wasted potential... man. ):

It should be illegal to be this good of a writer