Annihilation

Annihilation in its simplest form means we're all going to die, there's nothing new about that, but instead of doing it in the conventional way, there's an option to merge consciousness and body with a mysterious and ever-changing environment that's easy to enter but a nightmare to get back from.

The concept behind mysterious Area X is to feed it but not antagonize it, by sending in small expeditions of expertly trained scientists in the hope that one of them will hit on an explanation or solution through luck or repetition before Area X can take over the world.

Armed with basic equipment, the scientists probe an organic atmosphere or pocket that's pulsing, gradually expanding and relentlessly encroaching, and either mysteriously disappear or can't accurately explain what happened when they manage to get back.

This leads to bizarrely cosmic personal experiences in strangely adapting and morphing biomes that gradually distort the body and mind.

Seen through the eyes of a female biologist, she battles her environment and tries to get to grips with it at first and then simply survive.

Annihilation is a lonely book focused on horror and dystopia and if it was written H.P. Lovecraft a hundred years ago, it would today be a cosmic horror masterpiece. Perhaps it already is?

The moaning creature in the reeds, suddenly getting closer, gaining speed, trapping its prey but never going in for the kill?

The organic writing on the tower wall that grows as it spreads, releasing spores that invade and suffuse, and somehow control the seasons and atmosphere.

The haunting lighthouse and whatever the hell it is at the top?

Cleverly written, we don't get to see the horrors as such even when described by the author, with his knack of relaying terrifying scenes without too many gritty details.

I watched the movie several years ago and found it equally strange and inconclusive but practically nothing like the book except for a group of unwitting soldier-scientists being left to fend for themselves in Area X. The book isn't as trippy as the film and follows an easier to understand plotline, but is still marvellously bizarre.

Fascinating and scary, I enjoyed Annihilation due to its isolation and hopelessness, for that sense of uncomfortable loss and disconnection.

If you love dystopia this is a real treat and top recommend.

It's also classified as science fiction because characters are cast into the unknown with limited resources and with major difficulties/resources getting back.

And the sense of devastation and bleakness in Annihilation is profound.

As well as the need to understand for yourself what's happening and further explore key landmarks to discover the source of the disarray.

Oddly enough, this is also a book about connection and love, and I liked that element very much.