Annihilation

 

Title: Annihilation

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

I hadn’t heard of Jeff Vandermeer’s sci-fi novel Annihilation before I watched the movie. I was meh about the movie so I wasn't rushing to the library to pick up the book. I popped it on my TBR list figuring I'd read it eventually. Then I started to hear about it more and more, and it started showing up on every must-read book list I saw. As luck would have it, I saw it for sale at my local used book store. With a  price tag of $3 and a page count of under 200, I headed home eager to move it off my TBR list. 

Boy, had I been missing out. It turns out that while it had similar characters, ideas, setting that the movie did, it had what the movie didn’t. In case you couldn’t tell it had my interest. I finished it in one sitting. Yes, it wasn't a long book but that is not the point. Jeff Vandermeer built an interesting world known to the characters as Area X, and it becomes more and more disturbing as the story goes on. Told in first-person point of view the author, known only as the biologist, recounts her tale. I think it is safe to say the biologist and her three female companions don’t really know what they are in for when they head into Area X to research what’s going on in there. They are the twelfth team to venture in, with previous teams having weird things happen to them. If you think you know what is going on because you saw the movie, trust me you don’t. The characters are similar to the movie, but none of them meet the fate their movie counterparts did. While the movie relied on, what I felt, was classic scary movie tropes to make you feel nervous the novel doesn’t do that. The movie had scary visuals to make you feel uneasy, the novel doesn’t do that. The novel has creepy moments but they are usually without gore and cheap scares. The novel makes you feel suspense and dread which, for me at least, the movie never did. 

The characters are the protagonist and her three female companions, but these aren’t the only characters. There is the mysterious group that sent the teams. The biologist’s husband was a member of the eleventh group. Even some of the creatures and important locations end up being characters in their own right. All of them I wanted to know more about, but what Vandameer gave us I’m okay with. The way he gives just a little and rarely anything that is certain is fine with me. He does it in a way that doesn’t leave me frustrated. 

I won’t spoil the plot, and if you are someone that watched the movie don’t worry, the movie doesn’t really spoil it for you either. There are similarities, and you’ll recognize the story but they are two different things.

Would I recommend it? 

Yes, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys science fiction.  The book is relatively clean, there are a few mentions of sex but nothing more than the “we made love” or “I woke up next to him” kind of thing. There is some violence but nothing too graphic. There is a scene of a violation, I’m not entirely sure how to explain it because it is so weird, but it isn’t a sexual violation. I could see how someone sensitive to that might want to steer clear of it, but not to worry because it is easy to skip. Drugs and alcohol are barely present. There is one instance of the group drinking and one instance where the biologist recounts a different time she got drunk. Both cases are more vehicles for characters to lower their guards. 

Purchased?

Yes, from a secondhand book store. I’m not planning on having it be a permanent part of my collection but I am going to be passing it on to people I know to read.

Good for a book group?

I would say this depends on your group. There are things there to discuss. Vandemeer talks about some big themes and if your group is the kind that loves to discuss symbolism, allusions, and tackle deep thoughts this could be a good addition. Keep in mind it is a short read. A weekly book group could get a maximum of six weeks out of it. That is including a week to wrap it all up. I think, realistically, you’d get maybe a month. Keep in mind it is book one of a trilogy.