Annihilation

VanderMeer has created such an atmospheric and foreboding landscape in Area X, and I found myself drawn deeper and deeper into it by the beauty and mystery there. Instead of seizing up with dread or shouting at our protagonist, the biologist of the twelfth expedition, to stop, turn around, and go back when encountering the strange and horrifying, I was eager to stay on her heels and inside of her head. I love a good slow burn and unreliable narrator, particularly when I can tell that even if I don't know exactly what's going on—and especially if the protagonist doesn't—I'm certain the author does. While I'm more than satisfied with Annihilation as a standalone novel, I'm excited to dive into the next installment, to venture further into Area X and embrace more of what I don't and can't know.