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The Violet Wars #1
Annex
In his astonishing debut Annex, up-and-coming speculative fiction author Rich Larson turns the alien invasion novel inside out and crafts one of the most affecting young protagonists since Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker.
At first it is a nightmare. When the invaders arrive, the world as they know it is destroyed. Their friends are kidnapped. Their families are changed.
Then it is a dream. With no adults left to run things, Violet and the others who have escaped capture are truly free for the first time. They can do whatever they want to do. They can be whoever they want to be.
But as order collapses, as the medicine Violet must take runs out, and as strange voices call out in the night, she and the "Lost Boys" find that the freedom they've celebrated comes at a cost.
This thrilling debut by one of the most acclaimed short form writers in science fiction tells the story of a young trans girl who must find a way to fight back against the aliens who have taken over her city.
At first it is a nightmare. When the invaders arrive, the world as they know it is destroyed. Their friends are kidnapped. Their families are changed.
Then it is a dream. With no adults left to run things, Violet and the others who have escaped capture are truly free for the first time. They can do whatever they want to do. They can be whoever they want to be.
But as order collapses, as the medicine Violet must take runs out, and as strange voices call out in the night, she and the "Lost Boys" find that the freedom they've celebrated comes at a cost.
This thrilling debut by one of the most acclaimed short form writers in science fiction tells the story of a young trans girl who must find a way to fight back against the aliens who have taken over her city.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 24, 2018
127 people are currently reading
2247 people want to read
About the author
Rich Larson
199 books251 followersRich Larson was born in Galmi, Niger, has studied in Rhode Island and worked in the south of Spain, and now lives in Ottawa, Canada. Since he began writing in 2011, he’s sold over a hundred stories, the majority of them speculative fiction published in magazines like Asimov’s, Analog, Clarkesworld, F&SF, Lightspeed, and Tor.com.
His work appears in numerous Year’s Best anthologies and has been translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Polish, French and Italian. Annex, his debut novel and first book of The Violet Wars trilogy, comes out in July 2018 with Orbit Books. Tomorrow Factory, his debut collection, follows in October 2018 with Talos Press.
Besides writing, he enjoys travelling, learning languages, playing soccer, watching basketball, shooting pool, and dancing kizomba.
His work appears in numerous Year’s Best anthologies and has been translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Polish, French and Italian. Annex, his debut novel and first book of The Violet Wars trilogy, comes out in July 2018 with Orbit Books. Tomorrow Factory, his debut collection, follows in October 2018 with Talos Press.
Besides writing, he enjoys travelling, learning languages, playing soccer, watching basketball, shooting pool, and dancing kizomba.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
June 17, 2022
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!
i’m so glad i’d already discovered rich larson through his free tor shorts before this book came out. i LOVED two of them (Our King and His Court: A Tor.com Original and Meat And Salt And Sparks), and the third, Dark Warm Heart, was only just fine, but as a wise man said, 2 outta 3 ain't bad, and larson went onto my radar as a new author for me to look out for. more importantly, the fact that i had five-starred him twice meant that even though neither the cover nor the synopsis of this, his debut novel, called out to me at all, i trusted he would find a way to make an alien invasion story arc interest me.
and he DID.
i’ve explained/confessed/apologized for the fact that i’m not a sci-fi girl many times before. aliens, intergalactic warfare, spaceships - none of those milkshakes are bringing me to the yard. fortunately, once i actually sat down with Annex, i found that the aliens were more of a secondary focus, and the primary concern was with the human characters - the ways they cope with life in the aftermath of an event, the specifics of which just happen to be shaped like aliens this time.
this was a one-day read for me, smack dab in the middle of my vacation, so if i get any of the storybits wrong, please forgive me. although everything you need to know is really right there in that sentence: “one-day read” and “on vacation.” i did not want to put this down, tearing through it like a tornado made of gusto.
so - a giant alien craft appears above an unnamed (i believe) city, cutting it off from its surroundings with magical alien fog. everyone older than 16 has been incapacitated, neck-clamped and set on autopilot, and most of the children have been rounded up and warehoused, implanted with a kind of parasite. there are floating whirlybirds and wormy membrane thingies, and if any kids escape the warehouses, it triggers the release of a different creature, an othermother, which is like a giant creepy monster version of yo momma that knows everything about you and you're basically forced to kill the thing you love, over and over, in order to stay free. (that all sounds whack-a-doo, but it's better when he says it).
some kids have escaped and remained free, forming a ragtag and affectionate mini-society in an abandoned movie theater they call neverland, they call themselves “the lost boys” in the peter pan way, obvs, not the “you’re eating maggots, michael, how do they taste?” way.
wyatt is their sociopathic peter pan, adored and feared by those who know him best, violet is the fifteen-year-old post-apocalyptic trans girl version of wendy, fierce and nurturing - as ready to throw down against a monster as she is to bandage an under-eight’s skinned knee, and bo is a newcomer to the group - a eleven year old nigerien* immigrant who has seen some terrible shit already and is about to see a whole lot more. all he wants to do is rescue his sister lia from the warehouse in which she is being held, and the new tricks he's learned about how to manipulate the parasite inside of him should help him do just that.
unfortunately, things are always gonna be more complicated than they seem.
there are two things here that hooked me: violet and gloom (insert capital-g there).
violet is a star, and this end-of-the-world situation suits her perfectly - not only is she finally able to become who she really is, raiding all the pharmacies for hormones without requiring parental consent, but she’s coming into herself in more than gender-related ways, overcoming past trauma and choosing the kind of woman she wants to be.
gloom (insert capital-g there) is my other favorite, but i will say little about him. he is not human, he is a saboteur, and i love him as much as i love aidan in the illuminae files series.
i’m curious to find out why this series is called "the violet wars,” since the pov is pretty well-distributed between the characters, but violet most certainly deserves to take the stage from the rest of ‘em, and any war she chooses to pursue is going to be one worth checking out.
this is an adult series, but there's plenty of YA crossover appeal - good energy, strong themes, intriguing characters. bring on the next book!!
* not nigerian.
#vacationreading
no. 4/7
come to my blog!
i’m so glad i’d already discovered rich larson through his free tor shorts before this book came out. i LOVED two of them (Our King and His Court: A Tor.com Original and Meat And Salt And Sparks), and the third, Dark Warm Heart, was only just fine, but as a wise man said, 2 outta 3 ain't bad, and larson went onto my radar as a new author for me to look out for. more importantly, the fact that i had five-starred him twice meant that even though neither the cover nor the synopsis of this, his debut novel, called out to me at all, i trusted he would find a way to make an alien invasion story arc interest me.
and he DID.
i’ve explained/confessed/apologized for the fact that i’m not a sci-fi girl many times before. aliens, intergalactic warfare, spaceships - none of those milkshakes are bringing me to the yard. fortunately, once i actually sat down with Annex, i found that the aliens were more of a secondary focus, and the primary concern was with the human characters - the ways they cope with life in the aftermath of an event, the specifics of which just happen to be shaped like aliens this time.
this was a one-day read for me, smack dab in the middle of my vacation, so if i get any of the storybits wrong, please forgive me. although everything you need to know is really right there in that sentence: “one-day read” and “on vacation.” i did not want to put this down, tearing through it like a tornado made of gusto.
so - a giant alien craft appears above an unnamed (i believe) city, cutting it off from its surroundings with magical alien fog. everyone older than 16 has been incapacitated, neck-clamped and set on autopilot, and most of the children have been rounded up and warehoused, implanted with a kind of parasite. there are floating whirlybirds and wormy membrane thingies, and if any kids escape the warehouses, it triggers the release of a different creature, an othermother, which is like a giant creepy monster version of yo momma that knows everything about you and you're basically forced to kill the thing you love, over and over, in order to stay free. (that all sounds whack-a-doo, but it's better when he says it).
some kids have escaped and remained free, forming a ragtag and affectionate mini-society in an abandoned movie theater they call neverland, they call themselves “the lost boys” in the peter pan way, obvs, not the “you’re eating maggots, michael, how do they taste?” way.
wyatt is their sociopathic peter pan, adored and feared by those who know him best, violet is the fifteen-year-old post-apocalyptic trans girl version of wendy, fierce and nurturing - as ready to throw down against a monster as she is to bandage an under-eight’s skinned knee, and bo is a newcomer to the group - a eleven year old nigerien* immigrant who has seen some terrible shit already and is about to see a whole lot more. all he wants to do is rescue his sister lia from the warehouse in which she is being held, and the new tricks he's learned about how to manipulate the parasite inside of him should help him do just that.
unfortunately, things are always gonna be more complicated than they seem.
there are two things here that hooked me: violet and gloom (insert capital-g there).
violet is a star, and this end-of-the-world situation suits her perfectly - not only is she finally able to become who she really is, raiding all the pharmacies for hormones without requiring parental consent, but she’s coming into herself in more than gender-related ways, overcoming past trauma and choosing the kind of woman she wants to be.
gloom (insert capital-g there) is my other favorite, but i will say little about him. he is not human, he is a saboteur, and i love him as much as i love aidan in the illuminae files series.
i’m curious to find out why this series is called "the violet wars,” since the pov is pretty well-distributed between the characters, but violet most certainly deserves to take the stage from the rest of ‘em, and any war she chooses to pursue is going to be one worth checking out.
this is an adult series, but there's plenty of YA crossover appeal - good energy, strong themes, intriguing characters. bring on the next book!!
* not nigerian.
#vacationreading
no. 4/7
come to my blog!
March 24, 2019
Excellent YA SF set in the aftermath of an alien invasion that has isolated the city where the action is set and changed the inhabitants.
The action picks up with 11-year old Bo escaping from a warehouse where the aliens are keeping children, all of who are implanted with a strange parasite. He's found by 16-year old Violet who's a member of a group of other escapee children calling themselves the Lost Boys. The Lost Boys are led by the charismatic Wyatt who has trained them in resisting the various disturbing alien forces occupying the city and surviving there when all the adults are sort-of benign zombies. As it turns out though, Bo is different from the other kids, and his difference signifies a new chapter of the alien invasion and the kids struggle for survival.
If I had to give an elevator pitch for this one I'd describe it as Exo by way of Falling Skies and Peter Pan. The protagonists are Bo, the son of immigrants from Niger, and Violet, a transgender girl who's found her own way now that her non-supportive family are mainly out of the picture. Things get really interesting when they begin to interact with the aliens more, including the revelation of an unexpected and suspicious ally.
While clearly part of a series, this does come to a satisfactory conclusion which is refreshing considering the cliffhanger-prone YA genre.
The action picks up with 11-year old Bo escaping from a warehouse where the aliens are keeping children, all of who are implanted with a strange parasite. He's found by 16-year old Violet who's a member of a group of other escapee children calling themselves the Lost Boys. The Lost Boys are led by the charismatic Wyatt who has trained them in resisting the various disturbing alien forces occupying the city and surviving there when all the adults are sort-of benign zombies. As it turns out though, Bo is different from the other kids, and his difference signifies a new chapter of the alien invasion and the kids struggle for survival.
If I had to give an elevator pitch for this one I'd describe it as Exo by way of Falling Skies and Peter Pan. The protagonists are Bo, the son of immigrants from Niger, and Violet, a transgender girl who's found her own way now that her non-supportive family are mainly out of the picture. Things get really interesting when they begin to interact with the aliens more, including the revelation of an unexpected and suspicious ally.
While clearly part of a series, this does come to a satisfactory conclusion which is refreshing considering the cliffhanger-prone YA genre.
dnf
November 22, 2019DNF: page 88
I really couldn’t get into this one.
I really couldn’t get into this one.
November 13, 2018
The aliens have landed and closed off one city behind an impenetrable fog from the rest of the world. The adults have happy-time VR devices clamped to their heads, while the children have been captured, imprisoned in warehouses, and had some odd parasitic thing injected into their abdomens for some nefarious, yet to be determined purpose.
With the adults drifting around unaware of their actual surroundings, everything in the city has ground to a halt, and a few escapee teens and children, Lost Boys, live a violent and haunted existence, hiding from the aliens and doing damage when they can to weird devices sent to entice them back to the warehouses.
Our protagonists: 1) Violet, a young, transgender woman, comes across 2) Bo, a young escapee from a warehouse displaying an odd ability. She brings him home to join the Lost Boys.
Violet is great at taking care of herself and teaching the Lost Boys to do so too, and evade the aliens. She has a crush on the Lost Boys' leader Wyatt, who gave me the creeps. Bo is desperate to rescue his sister Lia, who's still held by the aliens, and makes some desperate and not always great choices in service of his mission.
The dynamics between Violet and Bo are great, and we see them develop a deep bond over the course of the book, while both learn to deal with the worsening situation with the aliens.
This story was a great example of a found family, and of a transgender character who wasn't just a placeholder for inclusion. Violet was wonderfully conflicted, funny and caring, while Bo learned self-sufficiency and to rely on others. The story was fast-paced, and I'm wishing book 2 was already available.
With the adults drifting around unaware of their actual surroundings, everything in the city has ground to a halt, and a few escapee teens and children, Lost Boys, live a violent and haunted existence, hiding from the aliens and doing damage when they can to weird devices sent to entice them back to the warehouses.
Our protagonists: 1) Violet, a young, transgender woman, comes across 2) Bo, a young escapee from a warehouse displaying an odd ability. She brings him home to join the Lost Boys.
Violet is great at taking care of herself and teaching the Lost Boys to do so too, and evade the aliens. She has a crush on the Lost Boys' leader Wyatt, who gave me the creeps. Bo is desperate to rescue his sister Lia, who's still held by the aliens, and makes some desperate and not always great choices in service of his mission.
The dynamics between Violet and Bo are great, and we see them develop a deep bond over the course of the book, while both learn to deal with the worsening situation with the aliens.
This story was a great example of a found family, and of a transgender character who wasn't just a placeholder for inclusion. Violet was wonderfully conflicted, funny and caring, while Bo learned self-sufficiency and to rely on others. The story was fast-paced, and I'm wishing book 2 was already available.
October 15, 2018
A quick paced story with unexpectedly impressive character development. I was happy to see a trans character whose role was so much more than just to be "the trans character." Interesting examination of family dynamics, both positive and negative, and friendships developed in crisis situations.
Although obviously this is first in a series, this book brings the story to a good closing spot without a tiresome cliffhanger ending. That said, I will definitely check out the next book.
Overall an extremely good debut novel from an author who is clearly going places.
Although obviously this is first in a series, this book brings the story to a good closing spot without a tiresome cliffhanger ending. That said, I will definitely check out the next book.
Overall an extremely good debut novel from an author who is clearly going places.
Read
April 7, 20213.0 Stars
This was weird scifi Alien story that read a bit like a teen action movie. While this was classified as adult SFF, the ages of the characters gave this book more of a young adult. I appreciated the diverse representation with a trans main character at the center of the narrative. Her transition already happened simply a fact of the novel with simple references to her hormonal regiment. Not a personal favorite, but I enjoyed the alien weirdness.
This was weird scifi Alien story that read a bit like a teen action movie. While this was classified as adult SFF, the ages of the characters gave this book more of a young adult. I appreciated the diverse representation with a trans main character at the center of the narrative. Her transition already happened simply a fact of the novel with simple references to her hormonal regiment. Not a personal favorite, but I enjoyed the alien weirdness.
July 10, 2018
Annex bucks my recent trend of reading books that have strong beginnings and lackluster endings, because I struggled hard with the beginning of this one. The book presents a city that's been overrun by aliens. The adults have been captured and turned into non-violent, still-breathing zombies, and the children are being rounded up and experimented on. In the midst of this chaos, we follow the lives of a surviving group of children known as the "Lost Boys" who are led by a teen named Wyatt.
I came into the book expecting a sprawling alien invasion epic set on Earth a la Independence Day, except starring children. The reality, however, was rather different. Let's count the ways, shall we?
1. The story gives you zero introduction to the invasion situation.
From the beginning, I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a story that was already ongoing and my brain was a whirlwind of questions. Who are these aliens? What have they done with the adults? Is the whole world completely destroyed? Why are they experimenting on children? The book just gives you a coy wink and a smile in lieu of answers, and this drove me crazy.
I don't know why it took me nearly half the book to figure this out considering the kids literally call themselves the "Lost Boys." There's a lot of focus on the dynamics within this little makeshift family, especially between Wyatt and the two main characters, and much of the beginning is just a recounting of their daily lives as they dodge and fight aliens. The scope is very narrow-- because these children know very little about the aliens, we know very little about the aliens.
Once I'd finally made peace with these two points, things started to get a lot more enjoyable. And there is a lot to enjoy in this story. Lawson does action scenes very well-dynamic and exciting--and his descriptions of alien-related creations are fiendishly creepy and imaginative. I especially loved the "othermothers"--creatures made by the aliens to resemble the kids' mothers, if their mothers had metal insect legs. They gave me heavy Bioshock vibes--kind of like a mix of splicers and Big Sisters.
The characters are a colourful bunch. We have Bo, an eleven-year old boy who recently escaped from the warehouse where the aliens are performing experiments on kids. Unfortunately, he was my least favourite of the cast as I found him lacking in personality and far, far too old for his age. Then there's Violet, a fifteen year-old trans girl who's grappling with the fact that she's free to be whoever she wants for the first time in her life but still mourning the loss of her parents. Her desire for acceptance and love is is something you can't not empathize with, and her sassy attitude quickly won me over. There's also Wyatt, leader of the Lost Boys and a Machiavellian rendition of Peter Pan. He's charming, manipulative, despicable, campy--sometimes all at once--and wholly entertaining. Larson's eye for snappy dialogue really brings him to life.
Then around the halfway mark, we meet Gloom the saboteur alien, who is hands-down the best character in the book and one of the more interesting side characters I've had the pleasure of meeting this year. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with a facial expression that just looks off. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with the ability to shapeshift. Picture a shape-shifting slender man in a bowler hat with an unintentionally dry sense of humour and an overall endearing personality. That's Gloom in a nutshell. Is he as awesome as he sounds? You bet. He's a precious blend of creepy and lovable and he steals pretty much every scene that he's in.
All in all, Annex turned out to be a fun, fast-paced story that's very contained and at times claustrophobic. It just took me some time to get settled into it.
~
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I came into the book expecting a sprawling alien invasion epic set on Earth a la Independence Day, except starring children. The reality, however, was rather different. Let's count the ways, shall we?
1. The story gives you zero introduction to the invasion situation.
From the beginning, I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a story that was already ongoing and my brain was a whirlwind of questions. Who are these aliens? What have they done with the adults? Is the whole world completely destroyed? Why are they experimenting on children? The book just gives you a coy wink and a smile in lieu of answers, and this drove me crazy.
2. The first half of the book is more like a Peter Pan/Lord of the Flies mashup against an alien invasion backdrop.
I don't know why it took me nearly half the book to figure this out considering the kids literally call themselves the "Lost Boys." There's a lot of focus on the dynamics within this little makeshift family, especially between Wyatt and the two main characters, and much of the beginning is just a recounting of their daily lives as they dodge and fight aliens. The scope is very narrow-- because these children know very little about the aliens, we know very little about the aliens.
Once I'd finally made peace with these two points, things started to get a lot more enjoyable. And there is a lot to enjoy in this story. Lawson does action scenes very well-dynamic and exciting--and his descriptions of alien-related creations are fiendishly creepy and imaginative. I especially loved the "othermothers"--creatures made by the aliens to resemble the kids' mothers, if their mothers had metal insect legs. They gave me heavy Bioshock vibes--kind of like a mix of splicers and Big Sisters.
The characters are a colourful bunch. We have Bo, an eleven-year old boy who recently escaped from the warehouse where the aliens are performing experiments on kids. Unfortunately, he was my least favourite of the cast as I found him lacking in personality and far, far too old for his age. Then there's Violet, a fifteen year-old trans girl who's grappling with the fact that she's free to be whoever she wants for the first time in her life but still mourning the loss of her parents. Her desire for acceptance and love is is something you can't not empathize with, and her sassy attitude quickly won me over. There's also Wyatt, leader of the Lost Boys and a Machiavellian rendition of Peter Pan. He's charming, manipulative, despicable, campy--sometimes all at once--and wholly entertaining. Larson's eye for snappy dialogue really brings him to life.
Then around the halfway mark, we meet Gloom the saboteur alien, who is hands-down the best character in the book and one of the more interesting side characters I've had the pleasure of meeting this year. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with a facial expression that just looks off. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with the ability to shapeshift. Picture a shape-shifting slender man in a bowler hat with an unintentionally dry sense of humour and an overall endearing personality. That's Gloom in a nutshell. Is he as awesome as he sounds? You bet. He's a precious blend of creepy and lovable and he steals pretty much every scene that he's in.
All in all, Annex turned out to be a fun, fast-paced story that's very contained and at times claustrophobic. It just took me some time to get settled into it.
~
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
February 11, 2019
I rarely read YA speculative fiction due to various reasons. I am glad I took a chance for this one. The author is mostly known for his short fiction and I did enjoy one of his works.
The sympathetic main characters, one a trans teenager and the other a small Nigerian boy, really drew me in, as well as their individual struggles. Violet, especially, I loved her a lot. I read a review by someone (trans) in GR who said this book had it right. (Let me know if that's accurate). Nevertheless, the book expanded my view, gave me a new perspective and made me empathize with it, which is the trait of a good SF.
While this was set in a post-apocalyptic world following an alien invasion, there were undercurrent themes that make the book really endearing. No, I'm not talking about the Lord of the Flies feel. It is deeper than that, it's the sense of belonging (in this case, a family, in a broader sense). If you ever feel like an outsider, or ever had the struggle to feel like you belong in any particular place, this book is for you. Or, if you're an Animorphs fan. The author is also one of us, and I believe this is an homage.
The pacing is really good, quite action-packed, the dialogue flows naturally and some even genuinely funny despite the stark situation. I was also intrigued by one of the aliens, a shape-shifting man with a bowler hat and his super useful motes.
Definitely will continue with the series. Rich Larson, welcome to my watch list.
The sympathetic main characters, one a trans teenager and the other a small Nigerian boy, really drew me in, as well as their individual struggles. Violet, especially, I loved her a lot. I read a review by someone (trans) in GR who said this book had it right. (Let me know if that's accurate). Nevertheless, the book expanded my view, gave me a new perspective and made me empathize with it, which is the trait of a good SF.
While this was set in a post-apocalyptic world following an alien invasion, there were undercurrent themes that make the book really endearing. No, I'm not talking about the Lord of the Flies feel. It is deeper than that, it's the sense of belonging (in this case, a family, in a broader sense). If you ever feel like an outsider, or ever had the struggle to feel like you belong in any particular place, this book is for you. Or, if you're an Animorphs fan. The author is also one of us, and I believe this is an homage.
The pacing is really good, quite action-packed, the dialogue flows naturally and some even genuinely funny despite the stark situation. I was also intrigued by one of the aliens, a shape-shifting man with a bowler hat and his super useful motes.
Definitely will continue with the series. Rich Larson, welcome to my watch list.
August 17, 2018
i'm very lucky that my friend read this first and warned me
warnings for: transphobic violence, misgendering to ostracize, an entire dream sequence that's nothing but more transphobic violence designed to psychologically torture a trans girl
the parasites were cool i guess
warnings for: transphobic violence, misgendering to ostracize, an entire dream sequence that's nothing but more transphobic violence designed to psychologically torture a trans girl
the parasites were cool i guess
March 15, 2019
I could not remember the last time I hung out with an extra-terrestrial. Sooo…I happily skipped my way into this alien invasion! It felt good to be back in the action, suspense, and creepiness of an unknown alien plan.
Annex by Rich Larson shows a gutted city completely cut off from the rest of the world. An alien ship has been hovering over the city for months sending out pods to scoop up kids and brainwash adults. But what’s the plan? Who they are or what they want from the human race is a mystery. Adults are now known as “wasters”, who wander around in a zombielike state. They appear to be living their old day to day life in a daze, just going through the motions, and slowly dying. Meanwhile the kids are being harvested and used for tuning and growing alien parasites. Yup. You heard me right. Growing parasites! But some kids have escaped and banded together to form the “Lost Boys”, a do-or-die group of survivors armed with bats, bricks, knives, and more, led by a charismatic 17 year old named Wyatt. *shakes head* Wyatt is one hell of a character! He will keep you guessing for sure. And the kids! These courageous kids are kickass. All of them. Especially you, Violet! But can this band of kids actually save the world?
For me, this book was all about the characters. Mr. Larson created strong, loud, fun, and fierce voices. You will see these kids’ trauma, but their strength too. Violet and Bo guide us through this story, but I found several unique, unforgettable characters to root for and feel for. I absolutely adore a fuzzy line between good & evil or crazy & sane. It makes it fun and so much more interesting. I’m trying not to spoil any twists and turns here, but I have to introduce you to Gloom. He is a special voice. Hilarious and fun and surprisingly touching at times.
“My motes are like my cells,” Gloom said. “And I am like a cell of a larger Gloom. Larger than you can understand. Stretching through space. Burrowing into asteroids. Feeding off the stars.” His face contorted, looking pained. “It is very beautiful, Bo,” he said. “More beautiful than you can understand. But I am not a part of it anymore.”
Which brings me to a strong theme running through the heart of this book…..the idea of home and peace. We all need a home to feel safe in. A place or group to feel safe enough to be ourselves in and with. All of these characters are fighting for such a place. A place to belong. We all are.
Recommended read. I’ll be on the lookout for book 2 in this series for sure. I had fun here. I want more!
Read
June 24, 2019I reviewed this novel near its launch, but I just noticed I never posted the link to Goodreads. Sorry about that - here it is:
http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/nove...
(It is not a positive review)
Source of the book: Print ARC from Orbit
http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/nove...
(It is not a positive review)
Source of the book: Print ARC from Orbit
April 12, 2021
Oml this was so interesting and intriguing to readdd!!!I don't usually read books of this genre but I'm so so so happy I did cause this was so good. It was very detailed and I loved how it gave an insight on each characters individual struggles, along with the whole plot of the book. I will now always read recommendations from my friends:)))
February 20, 2019
Really enjoyable invasion-of-earth-by-aliens.
August 13, 2018
"Violet was heading to Safeway to pick up some groceries, walking down a silent street under a cloudy gray sky. Gray as the day the ship came down, scorching the city with the electric blue pulses Wyatt said were exhaust from its engines. There'd been no sun since. Just gray, a hazy emulsion that looked close to rain but never gave it up. Violet didn't mind the new weather. Sun burned her and rain made everything too wet."
Annex is like Peter Pan amidst the aftermath of an alien invasion!
Aliens aboard a massive spacecraft appeared above the city depicted in Annex. It was then taken over. We don't learn much of the actual invasion, instead we are thrown into the ongoing story of the after-effects. We find out that the aliens attach neck clamps to the adults, which turns them into virtual zombies that they call wasters. Meanwhile, kids were taken & kept in warehouses, where they are implanted by parasites.
Because the adults aren't around, the kids are left to fend for themselves. They decide that they must try to confront the aliens & save the world from these horrific creatures.
The main characters are Violet, a transgender girl who is part of a group of kids who have escaped (called the Lost Boys & currently living in a theater that they refer to as Neverland) & Bo, a young Nigerian boy who is trying to find his sister.
Representation in fictional stories MATTER. As a bisexual reader, I hope that one day there will be so many of these stories that we don't have to continuously address it. That it isn't such a huge fucking shock that a writer.. you know.. is actually writing characters that a wide range of us can relate to. We're not all white, middle class straight dudes reading SFF. Books have always been an escape for me. They were my protection growing up, in many ways. These stories are life-changing for people. We need more of that. Saturate the market with tales that are diverse as fuck! THE TIME IS NOW!
I believe this is marketed as an adult science fiction novel, but it verged on the older end of YA for me. It's just my personal taste, but I don't read much YA. I can't say whether that impacted certain instances in the book for me or not, but it was quite noticeable at times. Still.. I would never turn anyone away from reading this, even if they aren't fans of YA. This is really fucking good, no matter your age!
There was this magical quality to the world-building, reminding me of some of the greats - Gaiman, Miéville, Ghibli. There were othermothers, whirlybirds, wormy walls, whale-things.. just so fucking gloriously imagined!
Annex is a pretty remarkable debut, but not quite a perfect one. I'm excited to see what the sequel has in store for us! I think Rich Larson is an immensely talented writer & we will be seeing even better things from him in the future.
(Thank you Orbit Books for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!)
Annex is like Peter Pan amidst the aftermath of an alien invasion!
Aliens aboard a massive spacecraft appeared above the city depicted in Annex. It was then taken over. We don't learn much of the actual invasion, instead we are thrown into the ongoing story of the after-effects. We find out that the aliens attach neck clamps to the adults, which turns them into virtual zombies that they call wasters. Meanwhile, kids were taken & kept in warehouses, where they are implanted by parasites.
Because the adults aren't around, the kids are left to fend for themselves. They decide that they must try to confront the aliens & save the world from these horrific creatures.
The main characters are Violet, a transgender girl who is part of a group of kids who have escaped (called the Lost Boys & currently living in a theater that they refer to as Neverland) & Bo, a young Nigerian boy who is trying to find his sister.
Representation in fictional stories MATTER. As a bisexual reader, I hope that one day there will be so many of these stories that we don't have to continuously address it. That it isn't such a huge fucking shock that a writer.. you know.. is actually writing characters that a wide range of us can relate to. We're not all white, middle class straight dudes reading SFF. Books have always been an escape for me. They were my protection growing up, in many ways. These stories are life-changing for people. We need more of that. Saturate the market with tales that are diverse as fuck! THE TIME IS NOW!
I believe this is marketed as an adult science fiction novel, but it verged on the older end of YA for me. It's just my personal taste, but I don't read much YA. I can't say whether that impacted certain instances in the book for me or not, but it was quite noticeable at times. Still.. I would never turn anyone away from reading this, even if they aren't fans of YA. This is really fucking good, no matter your age!
There was this magical quality to the world-building, reminding me of some of the greats - Gaiman, Miéville, Ghibli. There were othermothers, whirlybirds, wormy walls, whale-things.. just so fucking gloriously imagined!
Annex is a pretty remarkable debut, but not quite a perfect one. I'm excited to see what the sequel has in store for us! I think Rich Larson is an immensely talented writer & we will be seeing even better things from him in the future.
(Thank you Orbit Books for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!)
July 29, 2018
If you haven’t heard of Rich Larson before, it’s not for his lack of trying!
I discovered his fiction in The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Two, edited by Neil Clarke. I found it accessible, original and the right shade of edgy!
So I then went and sought out any of his other stories that I could find, only to discover that there were dozens of them, all published by the most prestigious markets around.
(And I should stress: when you want to understand the kind of fiction that prestigious litmags want and all that, you need a gateway author whose fiction you genuinely enjoy. Some make you wonder if your taste is so off that you’ll never get what constitutes good fiction to those most in the know. So to discover Larson, an author whose work I genuinely enjoy, who’s published by, like, everyone, is incredibly useful. It’s also a bit jarring, because you’re like, “Oh wait, on top of all that other stuff you published that I don’t understand, you like THIS? How can your taste encompass all of that when mine only overlaps with this guy and a handful of other authors that you publish? Huh, I guess it really is highly subjective…”)
And then I read his bios, which were like, “At twenty-one years old—”
And then I was like HANG ON WUT.
(He’s twenty-five now I believe, but has just been killing it in the game for years.)
From then on I read Larson while trying to prevent a begrudging grimace at not myself having been recognised as brilliant at so young an age (which sounds like the kind of dumb immature thing you shouldn’t admit in a book review in case the author reads it, but then, isn’t it a nice ancillary effect, albeit a taboo one, that you get to irritate people like me? :P)
And I learned that he had a novel coming out.
I’d say his fiction is cyberpunk-adjacent in the vein of Richard Morgan (having not read that much more cyberpunk), so I thought this would be some highly complex futuristic espionage thing that so floored me with the intensity of the author’s genius that I couldn’t write for months.
It’s then with bittersweetness that I read this YA fiction novel about alien invasion and rooling kidz. Masterfully written (duh) but not for me. (It’s a bit like The 5th Wave I think, but probably way better. I only saw the film of that one.)
But the people that love this will love this. Netflix calling right now I bet. All deservedly so. I just wanted some adult-aimed and meaty.
Well here’s the thing: I see there are some preview chapters of the second in the series—and while I’m hoping that this is just a trilogy and that the third is being finished as I type, that Larson can move on to the kind of novels I would want to read from him, he’s so highly prolific that he can probably do both anyway.
Goddamn him!
I discovered his fiction in The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Two, edited by Neil Clarke. I found it accessible, original and the right shade of edgy!
So I then went and sought out any of his other stories that I could find, only to discover that there were dozens of them, all published by the most prestigious markets around.
(And I should stress: when you want to understand the kind of fiction that prestigious litmags want and all that, you need a gateway author whose fiction you genuinely enjoy. Some make you wonder if your taste is so off that you’ll never get what constitutes good fiction to those most in the know. So to discover Larson, an author whose work I genuinely enjoy, who’s published by, like, everyone, is incredibly useful. It’s also a bit jarring, because you’re like, “Oh wait, on top of all that other stuff you published that I don’t understand, you like THIS? How can your taste encompass all of that when mine only overlaps with this guy and a handful of other authors that you publish? Huh, I guess it really is highly subjective…”)
And then I read his bios, which were like, “At twenty-one years old—”
And then I was like HANG ON WUT.
(He’s twenty-five now I believe, but has just been killing it in the game for years.)
From then on I read Larson while trying to prevent a begrudging grimace at not myself having been recognised as brilliant at so young an age (which sounds like the kind of dumb immature thing you shouldn’t admit in a book review in case the author reads it, but then, isn’t it a nice ancillary effect, albeit a taboo one, that you get to irritate people like me? :P)
And I learned that he had a novel coming out.
I’d say his fiction is cyberpunk-adjacent in the vein of Richard Morgan (having not read that much more cyberpunk), so I thought this would be some highly complex futuristic espionage thing that so floored me with the intensity of the author’s genius that I couldn’t write for months.
It’s then with bittersweetness that I read this YA fiction novel about alien invasion and rooling kidz. Masterfully written (duh) but not for me. (It’s a bit like The 5th Wave I think, but probably way better. I only saw the film of that one.)
But the people that love this will love this. Netflix calling right now I bet. All deservedly so. I just wanted some adult-aimed and meaty.
Well here’s the thing: I see there are some preview chapters of the second in the series—and while I’m hoping that this is just a trilogy and that the third is being finished as I type, that Larson can move on to the kind of novels I would want to read from him, he’s so highly prolific that he can probably do both anyway.
Goddamn him!
April 8, 2018
Here is your new post-apoc alien-invasion classic. Larson pits outsiders--they are children; they are immigrants; they are transgender--against literal aliens. The story opens in, what I imagine is, the best scene in post-apoc fiction: a trans girl raiding a pharmacy for estrogen. (It is astounding the erasure of medical maintenance as medical necessity in this genre.)
Violet is a badass heroine: strong and vulnerable, all rude bravado and raw emotion, delivering as many hits as she gets. Bo is innocent and idealistic and loyal and loving. These are the heroes we need right now.
The book is not perfect, but I'll save a longer review for closer to when the novel is published. I hope this brief glimpse puts this on your TBR list.
I read an early digital manuscript of this book that I obtained as an employee of Hachette Book Group.
Violet is a badass heroine: strong and vulnerable, all rude bravado and raw emotion, delivering as many hits as she gets. Bo is innocent and idealistic and loyal and loving. These are the heroes we need right now.
The book is not perfect, but I'll save a longer review for closer to when the novel is published. I hope this brief glimpse puts this on your TBR list.
I read an early digital manuscript of this book that I obtained as an employee of Hachette Book Group.
November 17, 2025
I’m hesitant to write a review of Annex because I have nothing positive to say about it.
I want to like this story, and by all accounts I should. It’s sci-fi, alien invasion, humans beating the odds, a lone lost alien for an ally. A lot of the elements I like are involved, but it’s all terribly flat, uninspiring and characterless. I didn’t find any of the characters interesting or even likeable. The alien ally was a high point, but even it came across as superficial. Also, the author draws virtually every element in this book directly from The Matrix and doesn't even try to disguise the fact.
Apparently, book two, Cypher, a sample is featured in the back of the book, didn’t even make it to print… draw your own conclusions.
I want to like this story, and by all accounts I should. It’s sci-fi, alien invasion, humans beating the odds, a lone lost alien for an ally. A lot of the elements I like are involved, but it’s all terribly flat, uninspiring and characterless. I didn’t find any of the characters interesting or even likeable. The alien ally was a high point, but even it came across as superficial. Also, the author draws virtually every element in this book directly from The Matrix and doesn't even try to disguise the fact.
Apparently, book two, Cypher, a sample is featured in the back of the book, didn’t even make it to print… draw your own conclusions.
September 4, 2020
“You should not be able to do that.” Her not-mom was standing in front of her, disapproving. “There is a flaw in the simulation.”
Violet gave her a withering look. “Call the IT people,” she said, then picked a direction at random and started walking off into the void.
CW: transphobia, deadnaming
My main critique of this is that it feels oddly misplaced in the current SFF market. This absolutely falls in line with the 2010's-era YA dystopian that I read so much of as a teen. I probably would have liked it better if I hadn't burned out on this flavor of story a long time ago.
I think Violet sparks as a protagonist. I've never encountered an apocalyptic/dystopian story that features a trans teen hero, and now that I've read one, I'm keen to read others. Violet really gets to revel in the freedom unlocked by the sudden removal of her abusive and transphobic parents . . . for a while. Hers is certainly an interesting perspective on the world's end, but I found it limited by the narrative. For a story that seems (based on the description) to be a light sci-fi romp through an alien apocalypse that cancels out all adult influence, featuring a rag tag band of pre-teens, this really seems to revel in torturing Violet with her transness.
I wish this book had been cheesier. If done well, it still could have found its footing in the darker, heavier moments. Larson could have really leaned into the genre of mid-two thousands Teen End of World Adventure with his plucky bat-wielding heroine and her sociopathic crush, but I can't quite parse out what the influences here even were. It doesn't feel derived, it feels contrived. And I guess that's all I have to say? Not bad, but bland.
For fun, cheesy YA dystopia: Monument 14 by Emma Laybourne, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, No Safety In Numbers by Danya Lorentz, or Gone by Michael Grant.
For truly INSPIRED YA zombies: the Benny Imura series by Jonathan Maberry.
For an interesting take on trans identity in the wake of alien invasion: The Seep by Chana Porter.
Violet gave her a withering look. “Call the IT people,” she said, then picked a direction at random and started walking off into the void.
CW: transphobia, deadnaming
My main critique of this is that it feels oddly misplaced in the current SFF market. This absolutely falls in line with the 2010's-era YA dystopian that I read so much of as a teen. I probably would have liked it better if I hadn't burned out on this flavor of story a long time ago.
I think Violet sparks as a protagonist. I've never encountered an apocalyptic/dystopian story that features a trans teen hero, and now that I've read one, I'm keen to read others. Violet really gets to revel in the freedom unlocked by the sudden removal of her abusive and transphobic parents . . . for a while. Hers is certainly an interesting perspective on the world's end, but I found it limited by the narrative. For a story that seems (based on the description) to be a light sci-fi romp through an alien apocalypse that cancels out all adult influence, featuring a rag tag band of pre-teens, this really seems to revel in torturing Violet with her transness.
I wish this book had been cheesier. If done well, it still could have found its footing in the darker, heavier moments. Larson could have really leaned into the genre of mid-two thousands Teen End of World Adventure with his plucky bat-wielding heroine and her sociopathic crush, but I can't quite parse out what the influences here even were. It doesn't feel derived, it feels contrived. And I guess that's all I have to say? Not bad, but bland.
For fun, cheesy YA dystopia: Monument 14 by Emma Laybourne, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, No Safety In Numbers by Danya Lorentz, or Gone by Michael Grant.
For truly INSPIRED YA zombies: the Benny Imura series by Jonathan Maberry.
For an interesting take on trans identity in the wake of alien invasion: The Seep by Chana Porter.
January 14, 2020
dnf at 211 pages
the depiction of violence against children in this book is really. concerning. i know it's aimed at a YA audience whatever that means but
anyway the reason i put this down and instantly deleted it off my phone was the torture hallucination the trans mc goes through that was so incredibly awful to read and combined w WAY too much use of her deadname and other characters misgendering and othering her made me want to die. i think i'll go read something else thanks
the depiction of violence against children in this book is really. concerning. i know it's aimed at a YA audience whatever that means but
anyway the reason i put this down and instantly deleted it off my phone was the torture hallucination the trans mc goes through that was so incredibly awful to read and combined w WAY too much use of her deadname and other characters misgendering and othering her made me want to die. i think i'll go read something else thanks
July 29, 2018
Trans representation done right
The book was full of twists and turns, it was so incredibly easy to get lost in. I gasped a few times and literally threw my phone away (I read it in the Kindle app) after some lines. I may be biased as a trans woman myself but the way Violet is written and expressed made me feel so connected to her. I don’t feel that quite often with other characters. Like her and Gloom, I find myself often feeling lonely. I can’t wait to read the next book!
The book was full of twists and turns, it was so incredibly easy to get lost in. I gasped a few times and literally threw my phone away (I read it in the Kindle app) after some lines. I may be biased as a trans woman myself but the way Violet is written and expressed made me feel so connected to her. I don’t feel that quite often with other characters. Like her and Gloom, I find myself often feeling lonely. I can’t wait to read the next book!
October 15, 2018
This book had an interesting concept but it was clearly written by a cis man as the constant deadnaming of Violet is not addressed or purposeful. Why do we need to know her deadname at all? Does she need to have been called a boygirl by the other main character? Does the conflict from her sociopathic love interest really have to come to a head with him violently outing her? This was just... kind of bad.
November 29, 2018
3.5
The book is about a boy who has just managed to escape an alien prison, where children like him are kept drugged and under surveillance by strange alien creatures. No one knows why they are being held prisoner, or what has happened to all the adults, who wander the streets, clamps on their heads turning them into wandering zombies. A strange fog envelops his city keeping everyone locked inside.
Bo meets Violet just as he escapes and she introduces him to a new family of sorts, the Lost Boys, a group of boys and girls who escaped the camps, led by the charismatic Wyatt. Bo wants to find his sister, taken from the camps before he escaped. Wyatt teaches Bo to use his power, a power all children have gotten after being implanted with alien parasites. Bo could be the most powerful of them all, but that means the aliens are very interested in capturing him. Violet has her own ideas of what she wants, which leads her to an awful choice, between the world as she wants it to be, and reality.
There are definitely scenes where the characters are put in terrible situations, and we often see into their pasts which include abuse, especially for Violet whose family hadn't accepted her trans identity. The characters are well written and the plot twists and action make it a fast paced read. Definitely not the typical plot driven science fiction, this one has social messages as well and ends with a twist that keeps readers wandering if the characters made the right choices, or if the story is over...
The book is about a boy who has just managed to escape an alien prison, where children like him are kept drugged and under surveillance by strange alien creatures. No one knows why they are being held prisoner, or what has happened to all the adults, who wander the streets, clamps on their heads turning them into wandering zombies. A strange fog envelops his city keeping everyone locked inside.
Bo meets Violet just as he escapes and she introduces him to a new family of sorts, the Lost Boys, a group of boys and girls who escaped the camps, led by the charismatic Wyatt. Bo wants to find his sister, taken from the camps before he escaped. Wyatt teaches Bo to use his power, a power all children have gotten after being implanted with alien parasites. Bo could be the most powerful of them all, but that means the aliens are very interested in capturing him. Violet has her own ideas of what she wants, which leads her to an awful choice, between the world as she wants it to be, and reality.
There are definitely scenes where the characters are put in terrible situations, and we often see into their pasts which include abuse, especially for Violet whose family hadn't accepted her trans identity. The characters are well written and the plot twists and action make it a fast paced read. Definitely not the typical plot driven science fiction, this one has social messages as well and ends with a twist that keeps readers wandering if the characters made the right choices, or if the story is over...
March 16, 2019
Though I’m not typically inclined towards action-oriented literature, Rich Larson has a way of pulling me into his writing anyhow. He introduces human emotion into his stories with a depth that pulls me in despite all the craziness happening at the forefront. But above that, he crafts unusual and intricate worlds that fascinate me and keep me hooked.
Annex: The Violet Wars starts out with a lot of information to take in. In the first few chapters, we are immediately met with an abundance of new concepts and characters. That said, it took me some time to really dive in. But as the characters developed and the plot thickened, my curiosity and interest grew larger.
Following a group of misfit kids who managed to escape the grip of an alien invasion, the novel sheds a very real but endearing light on what it is to be an outsider. It also touches on how it can be to feel alone within a society that doesn’t fully accept a person who deviates even slightly from the norm. Metaphorically, it follows the classic theme of the outsider breaking away from the other societal sheep (or “wasters”) and proving their value, by way of heroism, to themself and to those who matter.
To my surprise, the character I felt most emotionally attached to was the least human. Fitting somewhere between a swarm of flies and increasingly sentient AI, Gloom is pure charm. He is everything you have ever needed in a friend and more, and I sincerely hope we see more of him in the future. His entire concept breaks away from anything concrete and from everything we know, yet he is lovable.
Larson develops for his concepts new terminology that by the end of the book feels completely normal and natural. He normalizes the abstract in a way that sets his work apart.
Annex: The Violet Wars, like the rest of Larson’s work, is extremely imaginative. I am always left in admiration of the way Larson continually comes up with new and interesting worlds and ideas. I have no guesses as to what new angles and concepts he will introduce next, but I am eager to find out.
Annex: The Violet Wars starts out with a lot of information to take in. In the first few chapters, we are immediately met with an abundance of new concepts and characters. That said, it took me some time to really dive in. But as the characters developed and the plot thickened, my curiosity and interest grew larger.
Following a group of misfit kids who managed to escape the grip of an alien invasion, the novel sheds a very real but endearing light on what it is to be an outsider. It also touches on how it can be to feel alone within a society that doesn’t fully accept a person who deviates even slightly from the norm. Metaphorically, it follows the classic theme of the outsider breaking away from the other societal sheep (or “wasters”) and proving their value, by way of heroism, to themself and to those who matter.
To my surprise, the character I felt most emotionally attached to was the least human. Fitting somewhere between a swarm of flies and increasingly sentient AI, Gloom is pure charm. He is everything you have ever needed in a friend and more, and I sincerely hope we see more of him in the future. His entire concept breaks away from anything concrete and from everything we know, yet he is lovable.
Larson develops for his concepts new terminology that by the end of the book feels completely normal and natural. He normalizes the abstract in a way that sets his work apart.
Annex: The Violet Wars, like the rest of Larson’s work, is extremely imaginative. I am always left in admiration of the way Larson continually comes up with new and interesting worlds and ideas. I have no guesses as to what new angles and concepts he will introduce next, but I am eager to find out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2018
I'm very glad to have read this one, thanks to Goodreads Giveaways.
I absolutely loved the world of this novel and the fact that an immigrant and a trans girl are called upon to be the saviors of humanity during an alien invasion; Bo is very relatable in his eagerness to save his abducted sister, and Violet's unease at her place in the world both pre- and post-apocalypse comes across very well.
Larson ends the novel at the perfect time (no need for a denouement that might oversimplify things), but my only complaint (and the only thing keeping me from adding that fifth star) is that I just wanted more from this world; I feel like I could have spent so much more time marinating in this apocalyptic cityscape ruled by feral children!
I absolutely loved the world of this novel and the fact that an immigrant and a trans girl are called upon to be the saviors of humanity during an alien invasion; Bo is very relatable in his eagerness to save his abducted sister, and Violet's unease at her place in the world both pre- and post-apocalypse comes across very well.
Larson ends the novel at the perfect time (no need for a denouement that might oversimplify things), but my only complaint (and the only thing keeping me from adding that fifth star) is that I just wanted more from this world; I feel like I could have spent so much more time marinating in this apocalyptic cityscape ruled by feral children!
June 26, 2018
This was a very creative, highly imaginative science fiction read! I loved everything about this! The plot was fast paced and the characters were complex and interesting. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book, I would even have strange and bizarre dreams! It is a little dark and twisty with some strong language. I would highly recommend this for an older YA reader.
If Scott Sigler’s Infected trilogy and Charlie Higgson’s Enemy series has a baby... this would be it!!!!
If Scott Sigler’s Infected trilogy and Charlie Higgson’s Enemy series has a baby... this would be it!!!!
August 10, 2018
A mite farfetched
Disclaimer: I received a copy for review.
Precocious abused children save the world with the help of alien tech implanted in their bodies by the aliens who want to destroy the world.
Disclaimer: I received a copy for review.
Precocious abused children save the world with the help of alien tech implanted in their bodies by the aliens who want to destroy the world.
October 29, 2018
A well written book that's not really my thing. I'm not big on scifi dystopia or alien invasion. That said, I enjoyed the book. I liked the main characters, Bo and Violet, a lot. They're relatable, easy to get behind, and I always felt like I understood their reasoning behind making some rather terrible decisions. Violet in particularl has a period of (to me) being the textbook unlikable character--she's completely selfish and insecure, but given her past (both recent and old) and that, yea, she's sometimes an insecure teenager, I never had any doubt/misunderstanding of why she did what she did.
Seems like a good example of a book with young adult characters that is written for an adult audience. Doesn't really had YA themes, and some of the violence/torture is a bit intense.
Seems like a good example of a book with young adult characters that is written for an adult audience. Doesn't really had YA themes, and some of the violence/torture is a bit intense.
March 23, 2019
The apocalypse has come, in the form of aliens. Adults have been fitted with cranial implants that render them inert and mindless; children are rounded up, drugged, and held captive in warehouses.
I love apocalyptic stuff in general, and this book is extremely my brand, for several reasons:
• It’s extremely creative and weird. It also chucks you right into the chaos with no training wheels. Right from the start, you’re fleeing from whirlybirds and using parasite powers and fending off othermothers with a baseball bat, and what's the deal with those pods?
• Our main characters are a motley crew of escaped kids who call themselves the Lost Boys (yeahh)
• Wyatt, the psychopathic leader of the Lost Boys, straddles the line between hero and villain in a way that isn’t usually allowed in YA.
• Violet, one of the POV characters, is a trans girl using the apocalypse as an opportunity to break into pharmacies and self-medicate. you go, girl
• (The other POV character, Bo, didn’t grab me as much; but he’s an ownvoices immigrant from Niger and it’s cool seeing the author write about his own childhood experiences through Bo.)
So, from the outset, this book seemed tailor-made for me to love. And I liked it a lot, but it never quite crossed the line into love. I think it was partly because I read this book immediately after reading the brilliant Archivist Wasp, and my emotional batteries were still recharging, which is entirely my fault and entirely not the fault of this fine book.
But I also thought the story arc felt a bit too…predictable? Safe? For all the weirdness going around, I never really doubted that things would turn out well for our heroes.
On the plus side, this book initially looks like it’s going to do the cliche YA romance thing, but then it veers away screaming NOPE NOPE NOPE and I just want to say I am super proud of my girl Violet.
Anyway, despite my reservations above, this is a very creative and cool debut novel, and I’m excited to see what else Rich Larson has in store.
I love apocalyptic stuff in general, and this book is extremely my brand, for several reasons:
• It’s extremely creative and weird. It also chucks you right into the chaos with no training wheels. Right from the start, you’re fleeing from whirlybirds and using parasite powers and fending off othermothers with a baseball bat, and what's the deal with those pods?
• Our main characters are a motley crew of escaped kids who call themselves the Lost Boys (yeahh)
• Wyatt, the psychopathic leader of the Lost Boys, straddles the line between hero and villain in a way that isn’t usually allowed in YA.
• Violet, one of the POV characters, is a trans girl using the apocalypse as an opportunity to break into pharmacies and self-medicate. you go, girl
• (The other POV character, Bo, didn’t grab me as much; but he’s an ownvoices immigrant from Niger and it’s cool seeing the author write about his own childhood experiences through Bo.)
So, from the outset, this book seemed tailor-made for me to love. And I liked it a lot, but it never quite crossed the line into love. I think it was partly because I read this book immediately after reading the brilliant Archivist Wasp, and my emotional batteries were still recharging, which is entirely my fault and entirely not the fault of this fine book.
But I also thought the story arc felt a bit too…predictable? Safe? For all the weirdness going around, I never really doubted that things would turn out well for our heroes.
On the plus side, this book initially looks like it’s going to do the cliche YA romance thing, but then it veers away screaming NOPE NOPE NOPE and I just want to say I am super proud of my girl Violet.
Anyway, despite my reservations above, this is a very creative and cool debut novel, and I’m excited to see what else Rich Larson has in store.
June 14, 2018
Outstanding debut by a talented writer and one of the best genre pieces so far this year. Fast-paced and suspenseful, with empathetic characters and originality to match.
September 21, 2022
7 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com...
Peter Pan meets Independence Day in Annex, where aliens isolate a small city and attach clamps to the necks of all adults over the age of 16, essentially turning them into zombies—called “wasters” by the Lost Boys that still run the streets. But few of these waifs remain free. The rest of the children have been rounded up and collected into warehouses, where they are implanted with parasites and kept drugged, waiting for whatever nefarious plan the new overlords have in mind.
When Bo escapes from the warehouses, he wants nothing more than to reunite with his sister. Instead, he finds the Lost Boys—or rather they find him.
Violet—a transgender girl—is our main link to the group, led by influential Wyatt and his followers. Unlike Bo, Violet isn’t disappointed the world ended. In fact, she feels liberated. The world ending changed her life—but for the better. And she’s never going back. In this new world she does what she wants, when she wants, as the person who she wants to be. And yet her struggle isn’t complete. There’s still something for Violet out there—and her path to it leads through Bo.
And so these two and the Lost Boys must confront the apocalypse before it’s too late, and before the aliens complete whatever it is they’re up to.
—
So what do I have to say about the aliens, about the characters, about the world? Not much, to be honest. Other than Violet and Bo they’re pretty much a wash. Wyatt and Bree are the only other characters of note, and both of them are chaotic—though in different ways. Though as the two leads define sooo much of the story, essentially they’re everything important about it. Which is both good and bad. On one hand it’s disappointing that the characters suffer so much of a drop-off from primary to secondary, but on the other, at least the important characters have their shit together. The world and the lore are both equally disappointing. Neither do we know or discover much about throughout the entire story.
Luckily the story itself was entertaining. A no-nonsense plot about alien invaders and the fate of the world, science and action, atmospheric tension and subtle horror—I mean, there’s not a whole lot to complain about. Or analyze. Or… write more words for.
There are a few holes in the world-building that does exist: such as the electricity being out for months though the characters constantly seem to forget it and expect something different. And I really hate the: “it was just a few days, but felt like a lifetime ago”. It’s overused and ridiculous.
TL;DR
Annex is an entertaining read, if a bit of a far-fetched one. Full of action and mystery, deep lead characters, an engaging plot and interesting story—the book is one that certainly starts out on the right foot. But a flawed premise, one-sided secondary characters, and more than a few missteps along the way slow it up. Annex is definitely an example of world-building in a bubble, as the known-world is very much trapped in a bubble. While this can heighten the suspense, it also limits the scope and weight of the story. And as little is ever revealed about the world outside our little bubble of reality, the mystery and suspense can only deliver for so long. When the end comes, it brings with it a sense of fulfillment of the plot and character arcs, but little of the fate of the world itself. All because the world never much seemed in danger—only a piece of it did. All in all, I’d definitely say that the good outweighs the bad and recommend this for anyone who’s a fan of dystopian or young adult, alien invasions or science fiction—particularly where deep issues exceed particularly deep scientific lore or world-building.
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Peter Pan meets Independence Day in Annex, where aliens isolate a small city and attach clamps to the necks of all adults over the age of 16, essentially turning them into zombies—called “wasters” by the Lost Boys that still run the streets. But few of these waifs remain free. The rest of the children have been rounded up and collected into warehouses, where they are implanted with parasites and kept drugged, waiting for whatever nefarious plan the new overlords have in mind.
When Bo escapes from the warehouses, he wants nothing more than to reunite with his sister. Instead, he finds the Lost Boys—or rather they find him.
Violet—a transgender girl—is our main link to the group, led by influential Wyatt and his followers. Unlike Bo, Violet isn’t disappointed the world ended. In fact, she feels liberated. The world ending changed her life—but for the better. And she’s never going back. In this new world she does what she wants, when she wants, as the person who she wants to be. And yet her struggle isn’t complete. There’s still something for Violet out there—and her path to it leads through Bo.
And so these two and the Lost Boys must confront the apocalypse before it’s too late, and before the aliens complete whatever it is they’re up to.
—
So what do I have to say about the aliens, about the characters, about the world? Not much, to be honest. Other than Violet and Bo they’re pretty much a wash. Wyatt and Bree are the only other characters of note, and both of them are chaotic—though in different ways. Though as the two leads define sooo much of the story, essentially they’re everything important about it. Which is both good and bad. On one hand it’s disappointing that the characters suffer so much of a drop-off from primary to secondary, but on the other, at least the important characters have their shit together. The world and the lore are both equally disappointing. Neither do we know or discover much about throughout the entire story.
Luckily the story itself was entertaining. A no-nonsense plot about alien invaders and the fate of the world, science and action, atmospheric tension and subtle horror—I mean, there’s not a whole lot to complain about. Or analyze. Or… write more words for.
There are a few holes in the world-building that does exist: such as the electricity being out for months though the characters constantly seem to forget it and expect something different. And I really hate the: “it was just a few days, but felt like a lifetime ago”. It’s overused and ridiculous.
TL;DR
Annex is an entertaining read, if a bit of a far-fetched one. Full of action and mystery, deep lead characters, an engaging plot and interesting story—the book is one that certainly starts out on the right foot. But a flawed premise, one-sided secondary characters, and more than a few missteps along the way slow it up. Annex is definitely an example of world-building in a bubble, as the known-world is very much trapped in a bubble. While this can heighten the suspense, it also limits the scope and weight of the story. And as little is ever revealed about the world outside our little bubble of reality, the mystery and suspense can only deliver for so long. When the end comes, it brings with it a sense of fulfillment of the plot and character arcs, but little of the fate of the world itself. All because the world never much seemed in danger—only a piece of it did. All in all, I’d definitely say that the good outweighs the bad and recommend this for anyone who’s a fan of dystopian or young adult, alien invasions or science fiction—particularly where deep issues exceed particularly deep scientific lore or world-building.
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