…when you see beauty in desolation it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you.
Area X was an area cut off from the rest of civilization, reached only by an enigmatic process of crossing a border. Reclamation of the land by nature was erasing any evidence of previous human habitation. Mysteries spark curiosity, and several expeditions had been sent into Area X armed with supplies and the ongoing mission of “investigation of into the mysterious Area X, slowly working [their] way out from base camp”.
The first expedition came back with descriptions of an Eden. Mass suicide was the result of the second expedition. And the members of the eleventh expedition returned as mysteriously as they left and soon after died of cancer. Now the twelfth expedition is set to depart. The four women who make up this expedition–a surveyor, an anthropologist, a psychologist and a biologist–are tasked with mapping terrain and documenting all that they see and experience, while somehow managing to avoid the dangers of Area X.
Jeff Vandermeer’s first novel in the Southern Reach Trilogy weighs in at 195 pages, but in those pages he delivers a tight, menacing tale that begins shrouded in mystery and progresses with revelations that serve to deepen that mystery while wrapping the reader in an ever tightening grip of suspense.
I have learned to expect the unexpected with Jeff Vandermeer. Even then, I didn’t expect this. 9/10 stars.
If I am honest this book was not on my radar to purchase immediately upon release, despite my previous enjoyment of Jeff Vandermeer’s work. There is no particular reason for this, it was simply the way I was feeling. It was the book, as physical object, that sold it for me. You may love, hate or feel indifferent about the cover for this book. I was in the “indifferent” category. But then I walked by the New Release table in my local Barnes and Noble and saw this digest-sized, relatively thin book with its shiny green, textured cover printed on thicker stock paper with interior cover art by Eric Nyquist and I was sold. It was with the book in hand that the back cover copy grabbed hold of my interest and I did not think twice about adding it to my purchases for the day. I then promptly came home and read it cover-to-cover over the course of that night and then following day.
The narrator in Annihilation is the biologist. None of the characters have names, they are classified by their roles, which adds to the overall sinister vibe of the story. It reminded me of the eerie quality I associate with Daphne du Maurier’s novel, Rebecca, where the narrator remains unnamed. As each member of the expedition is tasked with recording a detailed journal, readers are treated to a narrative that is biased towards what is of natural interest to the biologist. Writing the story from this perspective allows for the unveiling of Area X in a way that concentrates on the environment in which the biologist finds herself, and it is highly effective in painting a picture for the reader.
This is a creepy novel, in all the very best ways. Like the four women of Expedition 12 who enter Area X, you are often unsure of exactly where you are or what might happen. Jeff Vandermeer plays off of this uncertainty to unveil the secrets he wants you to see in this first novel while never failing to keep the tension taut. The biologist is a fascinating narrator, and as the Expedition gets deeper into its mission, we learn more about her as a person, and consequently about the history of Area X, through recollections she has of her recent past with her husband. In less skilled hands the flashback scenes may have served to break up the tension, but in Vandermeer’s hands they provide the reader with a false sense of getting a breather while in actuality they add to the mounting feeling that the situation in Area X is far from what it seems.
I refuse to say much more about the story as this one should be experienced unspoiled. Depending on the length of the other two volumes of the trilogy, it could be argued that the books of The Southern Reach could have been released as one large book, particularly given that volumes two and three will both be released this year. Having read Annihilation, I can see the wisdom in releasing the story in three parts, especially as it adds to the exquisite sense of unease the reader has as he/she nears that final page. Unlike my reaction to the early release information for this novel, I will be waiting outside the bookstore on May 6th for the release of Authority. To say that Jeff Vandermeer has done it again is both cliched and possibly meaningless without context. But folks, he has!
Annihilation is suspenseful and mysterious while maintaining that touch of weird that Jeff Vandermeer is known for. The novel is dripping with the kind of atmosphere that will keep you immersed in the narration of the biologist. I highly recommend the addition of this book to your to-be-read-SOON list.
Jeff Vandermeer is a two-time World Fantasy Award winning author who has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Stoker, Philip K. Dick and numerous other awards. He writes both fiction and nonfiction, has edited collections of genre fiction along with his wife Ann Vandermeer. He writes for the Amazon book blog and The Washington Post.
You are about the fifth person to recommend this to me, Carl 🙂
You should read it soon before you get too many recommendations, thus to avoid the hype-machine blues. 🙂
I really was sucked right in and enjoyed the ride.
Great review.
You are so right, that readers should experience this unspoiled. It’s almost as if the reader becomes the biologist in a sense. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen just as much as the reader doesn’t know.
Annihilation has already made my best of 2014 list.
Mine too, Andrea.
You are so right about being able to become the character. That works very effectively with the way this book is laid out.
I really like the cover. And I find it interesting that the characters don’t have names. Thinking as an author, that would be a challenge. but it seems to work. Sinister–I like the sound of that. In fiction at least.
It actually looks really nice on the actual book, particularly when you see the whole artists image that it came from on the inside book covers.
Yes. Not too big on sinister in day-to-day life. 🙂
When I first heard about this book I thought, wow, that sounds good. But it got so much buzz so fast that it turned me off. But I am glad to hear it really is good. Perhaps I will wait for all three books to be published before launching into it, but I will definitely read it because of your review!
I know how that goes, Stefanie. Sometimes being really active online brings with it that opportunity to get jaded on something because of it being over talked about. I hope you enjoy them when you get around to reading them. And of course I sincerely hope that the next two books are just as good as this one.
I agree Carl! This is a fantastic read, and it will be at the top of my list for 2014 favorite reads.
Having read Annihilation, I can see the wisdom in releasing the story in three parts, especially as it adds to the exquisite sense of unease the reader has as he/she nears that final page.
And this is SO true, because now the suspense is killing me. I am now dreading what’s going to happen next, but can’t wait to read Authority.
Me too. I’m being very good and not even reading anything about what Authority is about. Which is a kind of delicious agony of anticipation.
I love the cover as well. One I’ll have to read I think.
Assuming the copy you get is the same as the U.S. version, I think you’ll find the book design very interesting.
Ok, so obviously I should have known about this one AND had it on my radar and by now, it should have been read. So I guess it is time for me to finally read Vandermeer. Yall win.
Oh yes! And if you like short fiction, I highly recommend Vandermeer’s short story collection from Tachyon Press, The Third Bear. Very, very good.
I’m on the Nathan team for this one. I’ve never read the man. Maybe I should? He’s gonna have to stand in line though, since I’ve already got a massive TBR for the Spring. You’ve pretty much sold this one to me, though.
I would give the same recommendation I gave to Nathan. The novel Finch is also pretty fantastic. But yes, get this one on your list.
I’ve read Vandermeer’s work in the past and liked it. I’m ordering ANNIHILATION right now!
Do! I’d be interested in reading your review of it.
Carl, you sold me when you said it was about land being reclaimed by nature. I love that concept. I love imagining Earth after humans become extinct, with life going on without us.
I was thinking about you in particular when I wrote about this on the site this morning. I would be surprised if you didn’t enjoy this one. I think you would find the execution of the storytelling intriguing.
Sorry to report Carl, this turned out to be a dud for me. I listened to over a third of it and it just never caught fire. It was just too unreal. In a vague way it reminded me of H. P. Lovecraft, but I’m not a fan, so that wasn’t good.
Wonder if it would have been different if you were reading it for yourself. There is a vague Lovecraft vibe, and I am a fan of his as well, so that certainly added to my enjoyment. Oh well, tastes do vary. 🙂
I have heard really good things about this one. I will have to check it out at some point!
Yes, do put it on your list. Was thinking about you today, and Once Upon a Time, when I was in BN and saw the new De Lint/Vess book on the shelf.
This one is seriously weird Carl…
I was reading it late into the early hours of the morning…
May isn’t too far away.
thanks for the review
It is..but in a really GOOD way!
It was unsettling (and was meant to be I think). I won’t say more (no spoilers) but I think I liked it. Does that make sense?
It does make sense. I found it very unsettling, which was part of the thrill of the book.