Preview
  • Annihilation

  • Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 1
  • By: Jeff VanderMeer
  • Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick
  • Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (6,701 ratings)

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Annihilation

By: Jeff VanderMeer
Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick
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Publisher's summary

A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM ALEX GARLAND, STARRING NATALIE PORTMAN AND OSCAR ISAAC

The Southern Reach Trilogy begins with
Annihilation, the Nebula Award-winning novel that “reads as if Verne or Wellsian adventurers exploring a mysterious island had warped through into a Kafkaesque nightmare world” (Kim Stanley Robinson).

If J. J. Abrams, Margaret Atwood, and Alan Weisman collaborated on a novel … it might be this awesome.

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.

Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist—the de facto leader—and a biologist, who is our narrator. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life-forms that surpass understanding—but it's the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.

Cover artwork © Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

©2014 Jeff VanderMeer (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
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Featured Article: The Best Sci-Fi Horror Audiobooks of All Time


Sci-fi and horror are two genres that just make sense together. Swap haunted mansions for abandoned space ships, ghosts for virus-created zombies and experiments gone wrong, and the eerie darkness of the woods for the deep vastness of space, and it’s easy to see why these two genres make for a classic, thrilling combination. Here are our picks for some of the best sci-fi horror audiobooks of all time.

Editor's Pick

Perfect if you want something weird
"This is my one pick that I feel I need to stand up for, because if you check the title page you’ll see some mixed reviews. Annihilation is profound literary sci-fi that doesn’t fit any formula. So a lot of people looking for the same old story might not find it here, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t an amazing series. It will blur your sense of reality and make you question the alien nature of language itself."
Michael D., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Annihilation

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not the same as the movie

I *absolutely love* the film adaptation of this book, so I was excited to read the full text. However, to my disappointment, it seems as though the screenwriter for the movie only took a handful of concepts from the text and weaved their own story. The book itself is still worth a listen, but I felt like it was one of the few times in life where the movie outshines the text.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Mind bending sci fi with a side of Lovecraft

Despite what the other reviews on here espouse, I found the narrative to be outstanding. This story is a rollercoaster that requires your full attention and delivers a creepy, almost psychedelic tale of madness well worth the price of admission. Would recommend to 2001 Space Odyssey fans and Lovecraft fans alike.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great book

went to fast. kinda bummed it's over but excited to get into the next book

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

cold be so much better

The narrator was great. found it easy to get distracted during the story and I am not entirely sure what the point of the book was by the end. without any spoilers let's just say I was not impressed.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping, fast paced-novel, worth a listen!

Short and sweet book, this book is only 6 hours but it's well spent. For fans of Sci-Fi it'll provide an exciting journey into the world of the unknown

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fine

The book was fine. Narrator wasn’t as bad as other reviews led me to think.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

interesting story, irksome narration

the story starts incredibly slowly and it took a fair bit of patience for me to really get engulfed by it. it ended up being worth the persistence though. I didn't really care for the narrator they chose to read it. something about her voice bothered me, probably the way she seemed to emphasize every syllable. it made the pace unnecessarily choppy and slow.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Wow

My mind is blown. What a bizarre and intriguing story. The narration was incredible. This is one of those books that lingers with you for a while after you've finished, in a good way.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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🔥🔥🔥

Simply Breathtaking. A mesmerizing world and I can wait to dive into the next book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Things get weird in the southern reach..

An experienced. Not sure of a good one or a bad one. The language of the story is lush and helps to convey a sense of place and the strangeness within. Too bad the story fails to connect all the pieces into anything compelling. Will try the next book but he's entails.

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