Science Fiction Aficionados discussion

This month, we'll be reading Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation. I first read it earlier this year (although not yet the second or third book in the trilogy.) When I put together a list for voting this month, encouraged to make at least some of the books spooky ones, this was one that jumped to mind right away.

Let's discuss!

I read it earlier, but have not moved on. I really enjoyed it. They did not explain everything away leaving a lot of mystery which is always nice.

I would've liked a map to show where the place really is.

Megan - if you would like to move on with the series, I would be open to a buddy read sometime.

I'd be interested in that, Kirsten! I do intend to read them at some point - that might give me the impetus to make it sooner.

Interesting thought about the map, but I also like the way the landscape seems to shift without notice, with a few defining features. A map might nail it down too much.

I found the uncertainty the creepiest part about the book. Particularly when it came to the tower.

The premise reminded me of Tarkovsky's film Stalker, which coincidentally I have just seen a few weeks ago, and when I started reading I swore it was some kind of rip-off, but Vandermeer eventually took it in his own direction. (It also reminded me a bit of Scott Smith's The Ruins, but again, just towards the beginning.)

I found the book very unsettling, and I was glad that all we had by the end was theory and conjecture. I am not sure if I want to continue with the next two books as I fear they may reveal too much!

I thought that withholding the characters' names was good literary choice. Even though we were privy to some intimate details of the biologist's past life, somehow that missing piece of information kept me from feeling more comfortable. The other specialists didn't know whom to trust, and neither did I.