Review: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer – In which my joke title annihilates

Novel: Supernatural, Horror, Mystery. Contains violence and disturbing imagery. 

This review contains minor spoilers. 

I finished this book a while ago, I have just been so busy with my practice writing that I haven’t gotten around to this review. The book is about a secret government operation called Southern Reach who has been sending teams of researchers into a closed off stretch of Florida designated as Area X. It is one-third a mystery, one-third a cosmic horror story, and one-third a mind-blown-makes-no-sense-but-is-cool-anyway type story. The narrator is one of the researchers, who becomes more and more unreliable as the situation degrades. 

This helps the atmosphere a lot.

First things first, I should mention that I have actually met the author of the Southern Reach trilogy, Jeff VanderMeer. I took several presentations in which he taught about writing. So with that out of the way, if I’m not particularly hard on him at certain points, it’s because I know how great a guy he is.

Which doesn’t mean there are many problems to list. 

In fact, I can only think of one particular issue I have. The beginning is boring. I knew what the plot was about, so I persevered (eventually). But for someone who gets bored quickly, the beginning did not function well. It introduced me to the characters, but the characters aren’t given names. Instead, they are referred to as “the Psychologist” “the Surveyor” and so on and so forth. 
It’s for a good reason plot-wise, 

but the lack of personality makes it more difficult to connect. You have to wait a few pages before the personalities begin to set in and the emotional connection begins to form. It explains the base concept but to some extent the book over-explains. I enjoy detail, but I would prefer if the book threw me into the action instead of explaining why these people are here, and how they got there before we start learning about the way they interact with one another. Given the ending, this beginning makes a lot of sense and fits very well. The book could have been improved if the character’s origins were given more mystery off the get go, like the area they visit.

That said, I think that is pretty much the only issue I have with the book. Occasionally the flashbacks seem kind of annoying when I really just want to find out what is going to happen next. But those too, like the other issues I have, make perfect sense given the ending. It all wraps up quite neatly, which is impressive considering the number of questions which the book starts with, and the questions it continues to raise. Crazy things continue to happen throughout the book, and some are never answered. But for me, that’s fine. All the major questions are answered, and while the side stuff goes without explanation, VanderMeer surprised me with just how much he is able to wrap up, which seemingly has no connection.

The book is, of course, Part 1 in a trilogy. So if you were expecting every question in the book to be answered, then you will be sorely mistaken. There are two more books in the series (both of which I will review in the future), so I expect some things to be revealed and others to be considered unimportant. Area X wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if the side questions were answered, at least that is how I view it.

While the book is filled with unnatural things, it is very much inspired by the power of nature. The unnatural parts of Area X feed into the landscape, turning it into a deadly paradise which consumes the bodies (and minds/souls) of those who enter. 

I know that VanderMeer was inspired by the nature preserves, and it shows just how much he enjoys and embraces nature. Which is really, really good, because I can connect to that on a personal level and it allows me to fall even deeper into Area X. The main character is a biologist, so it makes sense that she becomes so enamored with Area X. The main character is interesting enough for a connection to be made, and her personality shines through the decision she makes which change the course of the mission. 

The unreliability of the main character/narrator also causes things which should be creepy, to be treated like their normal. The title works really well because you would expect that the first book in a series about enveloping nature to begin with life, instead of the opposite. Overall, the book is delve into a good setup with new possibilities and twist around every corner. I think I would have preferred it had the book somehow contained more paranoia, but I that’s just me. ;)

I give it a Great bordering on Brilliant. I was happy with my purchase, and I am excited to move onto the next book in the series “Authority” which is about, a desk-jockey employee of Southern Reach if I'm not mistaken. I will review that one the moment I am done, this one just had an ending which required lots of thought. 

EDIT: I will be getting around to Authority. Sorry for misleading you guys. I won't make any more promises which I can't keep (you'll have to believe me on that one). 

Thanks for reading, I hope that you enjoyed this review and have a nice day!