Annihilation

Jeff Vandermeer

Book 1 of the Southern Reach Trilogy

A biologist, anthropologist, psychologist and surveyor are the members of the 12th expedition into Area X. That is about all the clarity you will have by time you finish this novel. Area X is said to be a region recovering from an environmental disaster, and the expedition has data acquisition goals to evaluate the changes since the last expedition. But this isn't exactly true. The members don't know how they got to Area X (there were put under hypnosis to "ease the transition"), or even what their goals really are, or what they are even looking for. In fact, this entire novel reads like the introductory first chapter of a potentially good book. I am only sticking with it since the trilogy showed up on a "Best of" list for 2016. But I must say, this first book is basically just a big intro with a question mark.

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