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Dragan Nanic

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Dragan is Currently Reading

Dragan Nanic is currently reading

Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy (Southern Reach, #1-3)

by Jeff Vandermeer (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

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Dragan Nanic said: " Annihilation

It was as good as the first time I read it!!!

Such a level of paranoia, dislocation, confusion - and to be experienced through the eyes of the (unreliable, of course) protagonist.... Where each step in discovering what is going on leads t Annihilation

It was as good as the first time I read it!!!

Such a level of paranoia, dislocation, confusion - and to be experienced through the eyes of the (unreliable, of course) protagonist.... Where each step in discovering what is going on leads to a parallel discovery in manipulation and misdirection. Vandermeer almost never leaves the edge of innuendos and, though I might understand it drives crazy someone like S. T. Joshi, who famously doesn't have a high regard for this series, for me it is phenomenal. Not being able to grasp and understand what is going on, not sure if you can trust your senses and/or your mind - isn't that the ultimate cosmic horror from the perspective of oneself?

I also have the feeling that Vandermeer actually had tongue in cheek with all the gothic stuff dispersed around. As if Area X is playing on the concepts of what the people who grew on the modern horror and the inevitable Lovecraftian comparisons, expect and throws it back at them (us). It fits with the story and augments her, keeping that slight irony at the same time.

Authority

I love it that the sequel wasn't another expedition in the Area X. Instead, we get a crazy take on spy thriller, where the family ties are equally important, with espionage being family business. I like that this change also changed the point of view and instead of being immersed we are now looking over the protagonist's shoulder, as if that should help us getting a better picture. Of course, Vandermeer is intent on subverting all the tropes, and paranoia and confusion is on a similar level as in Annihilation. Only this time in, what should be familiar, corporate setting.

One thing that felt out of place is the time span of this novel. Reading it, going through the events with the Control (protagonist) it felt like there is an immense amount of time passed. Yet suddenly we get the reference that it was only for days since the start. Needless to say, this added to the confusion and the sense of dislocation.

Again, I had the feeling of Vandermeer deliberately applying irony to the treatment of the matter at hand. From the family background of Control to the end that is almost romantic, even on the verge of the end of the world. I enjoyed it tremendously. ...more "

Apr 26, 2026 05:59AM · see review

Dragan Nanic is currently reading

Reassuring Tales: Expanded Edition

by T.E.D. Klein

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Mar 03, 2026 12:11PM

Dragan Nanic is currently reading

H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness

by Gou Tanabe

bookshelves: comics, currently-reading

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Dec 31, 2025 06:33PM

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Dragan’s Quotes

“This, without a doubt, is neoliberalism’s single most damaging legacy: the realization of its bleak vision has isolated us enough from one another that it became possible to convince us that we are not just incapable of self-preservation but fundamentally not worth saving.”
― Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate

43 likes

“The world swarms with people, each one drowning, but each swimming a different stroke to the far shore.”
― Ray Bradbury, I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories

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“As it is, the profusion of commodities is a genuine and powerful compensation for oppression.”
― Ellen Willis

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“A sensitive and honest-minded man, if he’s concerned about evil and injustice in the world, will naturally begin his campaign against them by eliminating them at their nearest source: his own person. This task will take his entire life.”
― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

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“Sometimes there is no hope," whispered Das.

"There's always some hope, Mr. Das."

"No, Mr. Luczak, there is not. Sometimes there is only pain. And acquiescence to pain. And, perhaps, defiance at the world which demands such pain."

"Defiance is a form of hope, is it not, sir?”
― Dan Simmons, Song of Kali

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