Annihilation cover art

Annihilation

Southern Reach, Book 1

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Annihilation

By: Jeff VanderMeer
Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick
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About this listen

’A contemporary masterpiece’ Guardian

THE FIRST VOLUME OF THE EXTRAORDINARY SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY – NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY ALEX GARLAND (EX MACHINA) AND STARRING NATALIE PORTMAN AND OSCAR ISAAC

For thirty years, Area X has remained mysterious and remote behind its intangible border – an environmental disaster zone, though to all appearances an abundant wilderness.

The Southern Reach, a secretive government agency, has sent eleven expeditions to investigate Area X. One has ended in mass suicide, another in a hail of gunfire, the eleventh in a fatal cancer epidemic.

Now four women embark on the twelfth expedition into the unknown.

©2014 Jeff VanderMeer Creative, Inc. (P)2014 2014 by Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Adventure Fantasy Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Technothrillers Thriller Scary Suspense
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What listeners say about Annihilation

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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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    39

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The story is great, the reading is terrible

The story deserves a better audio productiom. The plot is interesting and thats why I powered through this truely awful reading. the performance is flat and feels rushed like the reader is disinterested and wants to get the job over and done with as fast as possible and so rushed the reading. This does not fit in terms of pacing and left me feeling frustrated and to be perfectly honest irritated to the point I was on the verge of giving up on multiple occasions. its a shame because the book itself is good and its a true testament to the plot that I kept going... but yea, honestly one of the worst preformances I've come across on audible, rushed, emotionless and flat from a preformer who seems to be completely uninterested in what they are reading. Good book truly awful performance... Its not a long book so I recommend reading it instead of listening, I wish that's what I'd done

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

(3/10)

Honestly I'm not quite sure why I decided to read this book in the first place as I watched the film adaptation and didn't like it, but maybe part of me hoped that the book would be better. It wasn't.

With regards to the narrator, I have to say I wasn't a fan. Her voice was very monotonous and so incredibly slow. Towards the end of the book I was turning it to 1.5x speed and only then did it seem bearable.

I had the same problem with the book as I did with the film to be honest, I was okay with it at the beginning. I liked the story telling and I think it was well written. I genuinely wanted to get to the end, however as the book went on I found it a chore to listen to. I'd delayed listening to the last 30 minutes or so for days. This wasn't a bad book by any means I just think the plot wasn't for me, I most likely will not be reading the following books.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Imaginative and enthralling

It's so good to see women as complex and unique individuals with their own faults, idiosyncrasies, and strengths.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

5 stars

If you came here for a written version of the film then unfortunately you won't find that here. This was different in many ways but filled me with the same existential cosmic horror and evoked the same feeling. It was incredibly vivid in its description and conjured tactile and emotional imagery that is really worth experiencing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A really intriguing tale of cosmic horror.

I truly enjoyed the story and its creeping implications. The storytelling is spot on and the worldbuilding on point. can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series.

oh and dont mind the hater, the narrarion was fine!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding

Beautiful, intricate, descriptive and immersive. This isn’t an average story with a clear beginning and end, it’s an immersive experience which takes you on an rollercoaster adventure with the protagonist. One of my all time favourite books. Outstanding.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A very weird book which I liked the principles of

I see the train of thought the author took me down and I'm intrigued by it but somehow it never quite drew me in.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A mixed trilogy

This book is the first of a trilogy, and is certainly the strongest of the three. 'Annihilation' is essentially a story of exploration of a strange and dangerous place - Area X. 'Authority' is written from the point of view of a man in charge of studying Area X, from from the relative safety of outside it. It is much slower moving than the Annihilation, and some of the revelations are in fact things the reader learnt in the first book. In 'Acceptance' the part of the book happening in the present returns to Area X, yet the pace feels yet slower because of the huge number of sections recounted as flashbacks or memories. These slow the book to a crawl.

Unsettling / disturbing themes throughout, with violence and gore at times.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

different from the film...

moments where it really had me... but not enough. eager to read the others though...

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Pleasant overall

From the reviews, I was expecting the reading to be something truly awful - it wasn’t half bad! I think given the fact that the story is an account written in a journal, the method of detached, calculated and somewhat mechanic voice acting was apt. I will say I zoned out a couple of times, but it really wasn’t as bad as the other reviews might suggest!

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