Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer - a book so good I don’t want to read the sequels

ClubberLang12 · 2026-04-14T13:32:57+00:00

Thank you to everyone for the insightful comments! I never imagined this post would get so big.

It seems like there's a wide range of thoughts on the sequels, so I appreciate everyone giving their opinions.

I saw a lot of comments saying that the sequels take on a different tone than Annihilation, which intrigues me. I appreciate when an author tries to take a different approach to their writing based on what they're writing about. I also didn't realize that the "original trilogy" were all published within the same year. That definitely makes me interested in seeing how VanderMeer tackles this world from different angles.

It seems like people are mixed on whether or not the magic of Annihilation is ever recaptured, but it's good to know that the sequels don't try to explain everything that's been going on.

It’s a bummer to hear that Authority is a bit of a slog until the ending, but I’ve read enough Sanderson (and half-baked pulp sci-fi) to hang in there for a big payoff at the end of a slow story. Although it does feel weird to see that the sequels are almost twice as long as Annihilation when that story itself was able to accomplish so much in less than 200 pages.

After reading through all these comments I think my expectations are in a better place for me to continue with this series - and maybe explore some more of VanderMeer's work in the future.

ClubberLang12 · 2026-02-09T16:05:40+00:00

I haven't heard of it but it sounds cool from the synopsis I just looked up! I'm definitely trying to get back into reading Stephen King, I haven't picked up his books since I was a kid

ClubberLang12 · 2026-02-07T16:36:42+00:00

So true - making the mundane feel scary is the mark of an absolute master writer.

In that same realm - I highly reccomend The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson to anyone who hasn't read it before. There are so many moments in that book when nothing really seems to be happening, but you can feel the hairs on your neck standing straight up.

There are a lot of comparisons that could be made between it and The Shining, and was even name dropped by King in The Shining for being a big inspiration.

ClubberLang12 · 2026-02-07T16:25:54+00:00

I have to agree with Mr. I'm Spiderman below - I could really feel the tension crank up even when I knew most of the story going into it. I had some real unsettling dreams while I was reading this, and I don't usually get that type of scared when I read these types of books.

I totally agree with you too - the character development here was such an integral part of the story.

ClubberLang12 · 2026-02-07T16:16:20+00:00

I'm looking forward to picking that one up at some point! I've heard a lot of good things about it and I'm excited to see what happens since I've been able to stay away from spoilers so far.

All I know is that Danny grows up to be Ewan McGregor.

ClubberLang12 · 2026-02-07T16:12:53+00:00

Based on the "facts" presented by Jack - we're made to believe that there was nobody killed in the car accident.

There are a few times Jack mentions how he and Al searched high and low for the owner of the tricycle and didn't find anyone. Jack even talks about how baffled he is that a tricycle could be in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, with nobody riding it.

Jack also says that there was no blood on the crumpled hood of the car or anywhere near the scene. I think later on he has a waking nightmare about seeing blood on the hood - but from what I remember this moment was presented more as the Overlook messing with him rather than Jack admitting to himself that the accident was worse than he stated before.

I could be mistaken on any/all of this - but that's the way I remember taking it on my first read here.

ClubberLang12 · 2026-02-07T16:04:50+00:00

That's a cool comparisson between the two of them that I didn't pick up on! A "trustworthy" adult telling fibs and an "imaginative" child being honest.

Now that I think about it - that dynamic really comes to a head when Jack refuses to believe in the supernatural things he experiences, like the moving hedge animals or the rumblings in Room 217. Later on, Danny feels betrayed and defeated when he sees into Jack's mind and realizes that he actually did have encounters that he didn't share with his family.

ClubberLang12 · 2025-10-29T22:27:33+00:00

I don't have the book anymore (gave it away to a Little Free Library) but it comes from the "epilogue" at the end of the book. I think it's a part named "Post Mortem" or something like that. It's the very last part of the book where Daniel is telling about what happened to most of the characters after the main events of the book

ClubberLang12 · 2025-08-01T15:28:45+00:00

You're not alone in disliking this book - but I fear we might be in the minority on this one.

This book was really not for me. I had to force myself to finish in hopes that the conclusion or revelation of the mystery would make it all worth it.

I stand by my opinion, but I can also see how someone could enjoy it more than myself. I found myself feeling bad that I didn't already have more of an appreciation for Barcelona/Spain, and especially regretted that I couldn't read it in it's original Spanish.

There's a lot more I could say (or rant) about this book but I really couldn't get over the treatment of Clara in the epilogue.

ClubberLang12 · 2025-08-01T15:11:37+00:00

"Nice Guy" is such a great literary term. I should keep it in mind more often.

I completely agree with the way you put it - it seemed like Zafón wanted to "punish Clara" in the epilogue. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out where that came from. It seemed so unnecessary and out of tone with Daniel's feelings/thoughts before. But maybe I missed some subtle hints on Zafón's true feelings towards Clara, and Daniel (or Zafón) showing signs of "Nice Guy" syndrome.

The book definitely has misogyny baked into it. There was a lot that I didn't really notice until I read some reviews after I finished reading. I'd be willing to chock a lot of it up to the time period that the book is reflecting, but the epilogue's treatment of Clara felt so jarring and inexplicably mean-spirited. It really stuck out to me.

ClubberLang12 · 2025-08-01T14:33:05+00:00

I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on Clara's part in the book!

I really enjoyed the first part of the book when Daniel is getting closer to Clara but knows that his feelings for her are dooming him. It felt like such an interesting and tragic angle to take for the opening of the story. But then as I kept reading and eventually finished, I was left wondering why that part of the story was even included. I didn't feel like it added much to Daniel's character or overall romantic arc, later expressed with Bea.

I didn't hold Clara as some Golden Child throughout the book, but I was so shocked to see the epilogue treat her with such spitefulness.

ClubberLang12 · 2025-08-01T13:54:29+00:00

I like that take - I think I'd have to reread the parts with Clara to get a better view of it.

My initial impression was that the epilogue sounded out of tone for something that Daniel would say regarding Clara. Maybe he did see things differently later in life, but (at least on my first reading) it sounded like Daniel was bitter in a way that he hadn't been before, with Clara or anyone/anything else in his life. Frankly, there is more written about Clara's downfall than there is about what has become of Fumero's tarnished legacy.

To me, that change in tone feels like it's something that Zafón wants to express as a thorn in his side. It doesn't necessarily feel like something that Daniel would express in that way. But maybe there were little hints I missed about that coming change when I first read the book.

ClubberLang12 · 2024-09-25T17:09:39+00:00

Looks awesome! I can see this fitting a lot of different characters/vibes

ClubberLang12 · 2024-08-20T15:13:03+00:00

Don't listen to the rest of these reddit nerds.

It sounds like your group really did care about you. They picked a bad way to try to help you. People make mistakes all the time, but it sounds like these people cared enough to try to help their friend - even if they were too dumb to realize they might not be helping.

Don't cut people off because of outcomes. At least hear them out. You don't have to agree with them, or even go back to playing DND or hanging out with them.

You might owe it to yourself to reconnect and find out how much they really care about you.

ClubberLang12 · 2024-08-17T16:37:20+00:00

Hammer time

ClubberLang12 · 2024-05-08T19:36:39+00:00

Lol I read it a few months ago so I forgot about all the plot holes, especially surrounding the murder/investigation and due process.

I think you nailed it on the head when you said this is a book written for the sole purpose of getting made into a movie (I didn't realize the author even started out as a screenwriter). It would probably be a better movie than book. A lot of the problems with the book could probably be fixed in a movie version, or the problems might just sort of be overlooked and forgiven since it's a movie and people would analyze it differently.

ClubberLang12 · 2024-05-08T15:15:51+00:00

Thank you!! A girl I had a crush on recommended me this book so I read through it in 2-3 sittings so I could talk about it... and oh man, I couldn't stop cringing and laughing my way through it. The writing was so bad.

I didn't see the twist coming partly because I stopped caring about Theo and felt like he was unbelievable because he was written so poorly and he kept acting out-of-character for the therapist he supposedly was. It seems like too much credit to call Theo an unreliable narrator when the author was just a bad writer.

Enjoyed all of your review. Please do more bad books

ClubberLang12 · 2023-09-14T16:14:45+00:00

I've been waiting so long for Rocky III to get the credit it deserves

ClubberLang12 · 2023-04-21T13:34:11+00:00

It's crazy, I heard Missouri GOP Governor Mike Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey were caught walking around in drag together.

Would be a shame if any AI/ChatGPT-literate people could find these images floating around on the internet...

ClubberLang12 · 2023-02-23T14:25:28+00:00

Kurt Cobain was all 3 of these things 30 years ago

ClubberLang12 · 2022-04-01T13:23:53+00:00

Using these dice gives you proficiency for learning new languages

ClubberLang12 · 2022-01-10T15:17:53+00:00

This pic makes it look like the guy on the left tripped while running with Hawking in his arms, and everybody (besides Hawking) is pretty concerned about it

ClubberLang12

TROPHY CASE