Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Originally reviewed on Arpil 11, 2024.

A copy of Annihilation. It's light green and has a plant growing up and around the text.

What can you do when your five senses are not enough?

An all-female group of various scientific specialists enter an anomalous zone known as Area X and try to uncover its mysteries. You will be stuck in the head of the biologist, someone who is utterly disconnected from humanity, married to her work, and seemingly always dissociating. You're reading her stream-of-consciousness journal, one that's she's tried to keep objective and scientific, but you'll soon find that objectivity can not exist in the subjective and interpretable world of Area X.

Annihilation is a surrealist horror, full of dread and apprehension. It's easy to be confused, but easier to open your mind and accept all that is witnessed. Those seeking a puzzle where every piece slides into place at the end will be frustrated. This isn't a place of logic, this is the place you go when you finally fall asleep after you take too much melatonin while feverish.

To me the best part of this novel is the prose. Never before have I seen such accurate stream-of-consciousness writing. That is just how it is inside my brain to be honest. In my mind I see the biologist as autistic like myself, even if that wasn't intentional. I hope my writing style could be something as strong as this someday.

★★★★★