Hot off the heels of The Expanses 9 book saga I wanted more science fiction in my life, and because it’s Halloween I wanted something spooky to boot. Along came Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, the eeriest book I’ve had the pleasure of devouring. The book opens by following the twelfth expedition into Area X, a quarantined zone in the Southern Reach of the US. Expeditions have been sent into map, document, and research what’s actually happening inside this eerie cursed place. As readers we find out all previous expeditions have failed, either the people don’t return or they miraculously turn up months later as shells of their former selves, unable to recall anything helpful and quickly dying of advanced cancers. The twelfth expedition has four members; Anthropologist, Surveyor, Psychologist, and a Biologist. At every opportunity we as readers are kept off kilter; no one has real names, the expedition encounter cryptic words, and explore environments reclaimed yet twisted by nature. These are my favourite passages from the book. > The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see beauty in desolation it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you. Nothing conjures up the eerie feeling of Area X quite like being colonised by desolation. Existing inside of Area X making someone feel complete emptiness, seeing that happen to the group whilst feeling it creeping all over you too – Gosh, what a book! > A name was a dangerous luxury here. Sacrifices didn’t need names. Explaining to the reader that being inside of Area X makes you a sacrifice is one thing, having a character be self aware enough to know that makes them a sacrifice too? Chilling. > Has there always been someone like me to bury the bodies, to have regrets, to carry on after everyone else was dead? I sat and thought about this sentence for a while. All the stories of old battles and wars I’ve read are either written by the victors or whoever is left. Those left have to carve out their existence. Do they write to prove they were there? To give life to those who are dead? You can find Annihilation by [Jeff VanderMeer](https://www.jeffvandermeer.com/) on [Storygraph here](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/fda768e2-65be-43cc-a83e-3dfe4ad15775), or on [Amazon here](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Annihilation-Southern-Reach-Trilogy-Vandermeer/dp/0374104093). #books #bookreview