Chris Blocker

Annihilation is an original tale of ecological horror and suspense. The story takes place entirely in a region known as Area X and Vandermeer does a wonderful job taking the reader into this world and making it feel real. While I didn't find the story particularly compelling, the pacing was good and the narrative was concise.

Fans of speculative fiction will likely adore this piece. Me, I'm a little more picky. I didn't care for any of the characters. The tone and narrative choice, i.e. journal entries, kept me far too distant from caring about much at all. And I just wasn't really into the story. There are some good ideas to be explored, but Annihilation didn't engage me enough to keep going.