AnnihilationAnnihilation
Score Modern
What it's about
For decades a stretch of coastline called Area X has been cut off from the world, overtaken by something no one understands. Four women, a biologist, an anthropologist, a surveyor and a psychologist, are sent on the twelfth expedition. The earlier ones ended in suicide, madness or cancer. The biologist tells what they find: a tower that goes down into the earth, with words written on its walls in living matter.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Nebula Award and became a film with Natalie Portman. It's eerie, beautiful and unsettling.
You'll love it if you liked
The Day of the Triffids
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The City & the CityGood to know
It's short and deliberately mysterious, with few answers. It's the first of a series.
By the numbers
- Readers10 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics54 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller51 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz2 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #57 of the 86 horror books we rank
- #210 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #1131 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #2090 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Gripping, Adventurous, Dark
More by Jeff VanderMeer
If you like this, read next
The Library at Mount Char
Gideon the Ninth
All Systems Red
Promises in Death
The Truth
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Quick answers
Is Annihilation worth reading?
Yes. It won the Nebula Award and became a film with Natalie Portman. It ranks #2,090 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 63.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Annihilation about?
For decades a stretch of coastline called Area X has been cut off from the world, overtaken by something no one understands. Four women, a biologist, an anthropologist, a surveyor and a psychologist, are sent on the twelfth expedition. The earlier ones ended in suicide, madness or cancer. The biologist tells what they find: a tower that goes down into the earth, with words written on its walls in living matter.
How long does it take to read Annihilation?
About 5 hours (208 pages), or about 10 days at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Annihilation won?
Nebula Award winner (2014).
What should I read after Annihilation?
If you liked it, try The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman or The City & the City by China Miéville.