Hey Guys, Joe here!
So, it's been a while, but
I have finally finished Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer!
Yes, yes I know, it's been
a while since I posted my last status about it and I'm sorry, my excuse is that
college work has been keeping me busy.
-
Small Excerpt from the
Book:
The first thing I noticed on the staging level before we reached the wider staircase that spiralled down, before we encountered again the words written on the wall...the tower was breathing. The tower breathed, and the walls when I went to touch them carried the echo of a heartbeat...and they were not made of stone but of living tissue.
The main reason why I
read/bought this book is because I won the second instalment 'Authority' in a
Goodreads giveaway.
Upon the realisation of it
being the second instalment, I made it my task in seeking out the first
instalment and reading it.
And so I did.
The first thing that caught
my eye for 'Annihilation' and 'Authority' was that they both had indescribably
beautiful covers, that alone gave me a reason to enter the giveaway for one and
buy the other one.
The illustrations as well,
which are a few pages in are just as amazing! The amount of detail that went into them is crazy!
The book started out quite
intently, descriptions of this mysterious 'Area X' and how it was so secluded
from the human touch drew me in and captivated me to read more. After a chapter
or two of Area X's description we begin to learn who the main characters are, a
small group of individuals who are sent into Area X as the 12th expedition, we
also begin to learn that this 'book' is actually a written journal, from one
member of this group.
Now this simple and
forever-used writing technique of giving characters names is a used technique
in practically every book... so this slightly threw me a little bit when I
found out that none of them actually have names; there is no character based
names such as James or Sarah or Chris or Jenny.
What I mean by this is, is
that the group is made up of four women who are labelled as their job roles.
So we have the
Anthropologist, the Psychologist, the Surveyor and the Biologist.
These are the characters the story is revolved around, with the Biologist
becoming the writer of the journal and the main character.
The group stumble across a
'Tower' as the Biologist describes it, but it is actually an entrance to some
deep, underground lair that throws everything and everyone into chaos...
Intrigued
yet? Because at this point in the book I sure was and this was only
30 or 40 pages in!
I won't spoil any more of
it for you guys, because you really should buy this book, put everything else
off and read it.
The whole 'journal' aspect
for this book was achieved and written perfectly, it felt as if it was written
too a certain degree in which you started to believe that it actually was a
journal, until your own reality pulled you back into the mind-frame of it
being a book.
As there are no chapters,
each segment of writing is split up by a leaf shape image,
giving you another feeling of this being a journal and not a story!
I don't believe that I have
ever read anything quite like this book, and I don't think I will read anything
like this again. (Maybe apart from the 2nd and 3rd instalments in the series
when I get round to them, but even then I do not know for sure)
I've seen people describe
this book as bland or un-original or even a waste of time... yes, they are
peoples own opinions and yes I took them in my own way. But this book made ME
feel anxious, nervous, scared, joyful, broken and powerless, sometimes all
within the same chapter.
I would rate this book... 4
out of 5 stars. The reason why I would rate it 4 and not 5 out of 5, is because
it may have been written, in my opinion, perfectly; but I found myself
sometimes getting lost on certain statements from the Biologist, though this
wasn't a huge deal as I would re-read and grasp other segments in which I
didn't fully understand to begin.
Whatever you do though,
make sure you don't just try and finish this book to quickly, give yourself
time to process everything that the biologist writes, as some points
do thoroughly confuse you and make you think 'Wait, what was that
she mentioned' or 'Wait, where in the hell is she now??' because
the whole thing just mashes your mind into a pulp
and then smoothens it back together again.
But all in all, this book
was amazing, it was a powerhouse and I am so glad that I took the time to read
it. Check this book out and make sure you check out more of Jeff VanderMeer's
work!
I generally really did
adore this book; I cannot wait to read 'Authority'
This is my review on
'Annihilation' by Jeff VanderMeer, thank you for taking the time to read this!
Joe :D
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