Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Annihilation cover art

Annihilation

Written by: Jeff VanderMeer
Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $21.24

Buy Now for $21.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

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 11th expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the 12th 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 (C) Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

©2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2014

Featured Article: The 18 Best Audiobook Series of All Time

Finding your next favourite book can be tricky. How do you know which is a winner, or which will fall flat? And then, when you do find an audiobook you love, it's over before you know it. That is why a good series is so important. From fantasy series to trilogies, young adult fiction or a classic mystery series, knowing which set of tales to invest time and sink yourself into is a tricky task. We've curated a list of the best book series of all time, in a variety of genres. Whether you are revisiting old favourites or discovering something new, there is something here for everyone to enjoy.

What listeners say about Annihilation

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    237
  • 4 Stars
    140
  • 3 Stars
    73
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    19
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    225
  • 4 Stars
    117
  • 3 Stars
    59
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    218
  • 4 Stars
    114
  • 3 Stars
    65
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    21

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Appropriately, this is going to be a strange one. My Annihilation experience was perhaps as unusual as the story itself. I grabbed the audiobook for this experience. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, I generally set my expectations high when the powers that be decide to turn the book into a movie. They are rarely ever able to duplicate the magic of a fantastic book, but the base is often a sure bet.

Imagine, if you will, a story told by Spock, all emotion, color and emphasis gone. A purely analytical, scientific telling of the events of the story. Annihilation got me thinking more about what I want from a book and not about this particular book. Not a good sign. My decision, give me a Klingon narrator, I want the larger than life emotion, the instability of the protagonist, I want a kaleidoscope of a story.

That being said, I would have to say that the performance of the audiobook was better than the story itself. Carolyn McCormick’s performance was flawless. She embodied the analytical nature of The Biologist (yes, I’ve capitalized the protagonist’s profession, it’s the only way she is identified). The narration made the story mildly interesting. Casting matters.

Following the audiobook, I made the mistake of asking my wife to watch the movie with me (I’ll be hearing about that for some time to come). At this point, my hopes weren’t high, boy oh boy, that did not even come close. I get that not everything translates well to the movie, but this seemed like a completely different story.

Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll be returning to The Southern Reach series in any of its forms. The story gets a 3.5 stars; the audiobook performance a 4, and the movie – a waste of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unpredictable

Very good story, brutal narrative. 100% good stuff but be aware: It can be distressful some times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Girlboss, Gaslight, Gatekeep, Ghostbird

imagine if a deadly expedition into a Lovecraftian paranormal/alien phenomenon went as well as a college group project

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Oh boy...

Wow. Such a compelling story with amazing writing and excellent pacing. Not once in the entire book was I bored or confused.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great listen

Jeff Vandermeer writes great science fiction. far beyond my expectations after watching the movie can't wait to start the other two

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What just happened?

I think this book is well written, I loved the story. But, man, did this story flew by. Before I knew it, it was ended.

I was left with a general sence of what it was all about, sure. Overall, I loved the story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic exploration into an strange land

Picked up this book because I enjoyed the movie Annihilation, and I gotta say it was great. The narrator does a great job telling the Biologists story through her notes as she explores this strange land. The way it's written lends well to the listeners imagination. Leaves you wanting more

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not reccomended

The longer I read, the more irritated I got and the less I cared about the characters or the story. I only got about a third of the way through; in the end I couldn't finish it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • MB
  • 2020-10-30

Still waiting for it to get good

I chose a 2 star rating because this book has an interesting premise but then it never delivers on it. I finished the full book waiting for something interesting or exciting to happen and it just never did. If a good book is a roller coaster then this book is a flat road with a speed bump here or a pothole there. Very slow listen even at 2x speed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

she reads too fast

she reads so fast and doesn't have much flair for the dramatic.
it's almost as if she doesn't take a minute to breathe. excellent book but the narration wasn't the best. not the worst narration I've heard, but definitely could afford to have had better pacing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful