A review by antonism
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
2.0
2.5 / 5
Imagine HP Lovecraft, Stephen King and Gene Wolfe get together one day to write a book. But for some reason, they are pissed off with each other and don't want to play as a team but instead think "I'm gonna ruin it for them". Well, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer could very well be the result of such a crazy scenario. I was very disappointed with this book; maybe I expected something else or maybe I thought it was a huge missed chance for something great. As I mentioned before, I felt it followed at the footsteps of some great authors but in a way it took the wrong things from them. It reeked with Lovecraft's suffocating atmosphere and psychological terror, it contained a lot of absurd imagination as one would expect from King and the descriptions (as well as some unreliability from the narrator) sometimes bordered towards Wolfe-esque. But it still didn't feel right at all, it didn't excite or move me or even interest me enough. The story felt flat and the flash-backs, other than a literary device to provide a canvas for more words, provided little else.
As for the main character, apparently it was impossible to connect with her. Her introverted character and the way she took decisions or progressed in her analysis of everything made her very distant and rather unrealistic. Also, I like some well-crafted dialogue in my books and in this one there was almost none at all.
Make no mistake, this book is not objectively bad. With its rich and skillful prose, heavy atmosphere and deep mystery, it can appeal to many readers. Unfortunately it didn't work that well for me. As such, I can't personally recommend it.
2.5 / 5
Imagine HP Lovecraft, Stephen King and Gene Wolfe get together one day to write a book. But for some reason, they are pissed off with each other and don't want to play as a team but instead think "I'm gonna ruin it for them". Well, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer could very well be the result of such a crazy scenario. I was very disappointed with this book; maybe I expected something else or maybe I thought it was a huge missed chance for something great. As I mentioned before, I felt it followed at the footsteps of some great authors but in a way it took the wrong things from them. It reeked with Lovecraft's suffocating atmosphere and psychological terror, it contained a lot of absurd imagination as one would expect from King and the descriptions (as well as some unreliability from the narrator) sometimes bordered towards Wolfe-esque. But it still didn't feel right at all, it didn't excite or move me or even interest me enough. The story felt flat and the flash-backs, other than a literary device to provide a canvas for more words, provided little else.
As for the main character, apparently it was impossible to connect with her. Her introverted character and the way she took decisions or progressed in her analysis of everything made her very distant and rather unrealistic. Also, I like some well-crafted dialogue in my books and in this one there was almost none at all.
Make no mistake, this book is not objectively bad. With its rich and skillful prose, heavy atmosphere and deep mystery, it can appeal to many readers. Unfortunately it didn't work that well for me. As such, I can't personally recommend it.
2.5 / 5