Always interesting to hear your thoughts even when we don't agree. I'm sad you didn't enjoy several of these (as i loved all 3) but thanks for giving them a chance and also explaining what exactly didn't work for you. Thoughtful negative reviews are always helpful.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I enjoyed Pushing Ice and Annihilation, just not quite 5 star books for me. And I can see why people like Semiosis, I just didn’t click with the writing style. But I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I really appreciate that when you critique a book, you critique the prose as well. So many reviewers never mention it! I'm not sure why this is- it's a very important aspect of the reading experience for me. I mean, it's writing - it's a BOOK- prose is the main tool with which a story is told. I find it really hard to enjoy a great plot if the writing is bad. I'd love a video on your favorite books with the best prose!
If you didn’t LOVE reading Annihilation I would recommend skipping the 2 follow ups. I thought they were good, but not on par with book1. And you won’t get the answers you’re looking for. 😂
Given your review you’d probably enjoy Vandermeer’s Borne more the rest of the Southern Reach books. Given your appreciation of PKD and other odd/weird authors you might give City of Saints and Madmen a try. The Ambergris books are different than anything else I’ve read.
Hey Jonathan, glad you’ve decided to cover some modern SF. I’ve been exploring some classic SF in my past few TBR books…currently struggling a bit to make my way through Starship Troopers. Next up is Children of Time! I’m pumped to get into modern SF!!
I remember when you asked the Discod server for what book next and Semiosis got the nod. Obviously you now have to go back and see who voted for it and in future requests they each only get a half vote. 😀
I loved hearing you weigh in on these! I’ve heard lots of praise about Annihilation and would like to give it a shot. Roadside Picnic didn’t emotionally grip me, but the strange concept is still a good pitch. Great video!
I might disagree with many but I absolutely loved the Southern Reach trilogy as a whole. I was so invested I couldn’t put it down and it felt like I was reading a single novel split in three parts. I can’t wait to read the fourth instalment: Absolution. I haven’t read Roadside Picnic yet but I can see the influence of HP Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space. After that I went straight into Borne and it was ok but not close to Area X trilogy.
Hyperion and the fall of hyperion literally arrived today. I'm so excited to read them, but I fear a little because people say the sequels get worse. Hyperion sounds like something that could one my favorite things ever
@@WordsinTimeSame. Also feels like another minority opinion, but I genuinely enjoyed Endymion and Rise of Endymion as well. Absolute masterpiece of a cantos!
For me, it would have been impossible not to have read all 4. While the second duopoly is weaker, it still thrilled me in a way that most books don't. You think the shrike is scary? Wait until you meet Rhadamanth Nemes. One of the most scary, evil and brutal beings ever created in fiction.
1. All 4 books were mean to be one story and a really good one. 2. Hyperion has elements of Canterbury tales in space so part II can’t help being different. 3. Parts 3 and 4 have a romance and a religion in it, things which turn off some readers.
I think what I loved about the Southern Reach trilogy and Semiosis were the bizarre and extraordinary non-human "characters". The plants and plant communities in Semiosis were absolutely fascinating. Can't really say anything about the Southern Reach without being spoilery.
@@cherylmccutchan1282 I was intrigued by the plants in Semiosis, although I felt their way of thinking was a little too similar to humans. It was a cool idea though.
Personally, I absolutely loved the Southern Reach trilogy, but I understand it's not everyone 's cup of tea. The second and third part will give you some answers, but not all of them. A lot is open to interpretation and I really like that. Current books and movies tend to overexplain a lot which usually really annoys me. If you like the cosmic horror of Lovecraft with a pinch of David Lynch, you might want to give the sequels a try.
Definitely looking forward to reading Pushing Ice. I've read a good chunk of The Revelation Space series and Century Rain and... so far so good, and this does sound intriguing.
@WordsinTime interesting... I'll try sharing them again sometime in the near future... I was talking about the last two books in Vandermeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, and tried to share a Goodreads link. So I'll look into it.
As always, enjoy your videos, but I won't add any of these to my already long backlog. I do second the reference to 'roadside picnic' and also, Andrei Tarkovsky's 'Stalker', inspired by that book. Both are excellent.
That's what I meant when I said Annihilation was just bad scifi in the author's pursue, respectable as it is, of "higher art". I don't think the genre allows for "look, there was very weird stuff going on, but I, the author, doesn't know why either". Perhaps he provides more information in the next two volumes, but, alas, I will never know.
Hi Jonathan, I have read all of these. I really loved Annihilation, I particularly loved the prose, it is beautiful and unlike any other author I have read. This does read a little like a cosmic horror but to me it is pure Science Fiction. But it is a bit creepy, and scary so there is a horror element in the content. This is 9/10 for me. Semiosis was a bit odd in terms of the writing but it was definitely an interesting story that I really enjoyed but it is the weaker of the three and I'd give this 7/10. Pushing Ice is very good, I really enjoyed it but something bugged me about the ending and yes it was starting to drag a little in parts in the final third but still a solid 8/10.
I read Annihilation a few years ago, and here's the mini-review I wrote for myself that might help others (I keep a reading journal and usually write at least a paragraph about what I just read) This was a unique book by a unique author, where said author tried really hard to describe something that can't really be described or understood. Area X might be an incursion by something else into the world of this book, and the local authority (known as the Southern Reach) has been sending expeditions into this area to figure it out. This book draws from H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith and David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick and Adrian Tarkovsky and Franz Kafka and many other influences, but those are faint influences, genetic inheritances. VanderMeer tells this story in a manner that veers from detached to horror to analytical at a moment's notice. And it's the horror of a war, not of a slasher movie; bad things happen but these don't define the book or the characters.
Hope that someday you will talk about Gene Wolfe's Solar Cycle. Or maybe not, because it blurres the line between sci-fi and fantasy. In this case a discussion about sci-fi as a genre, opposed to fantasy, would be nice. And what sci-fi is for you.
I agree. I read the first page of Semiosis and I can see where your coming from. Reads ike a car going over speed bumps and everything gets shook out of place. Sounding very nasally today Jonathon 🤣 There's a slow...slow train coming....comin round the bend....
🧊 Oh, some bangers in this set! I absolutely adored “Pushing Ice” and “Semiosis”. I’ve been meaning to read the next one in that latter series. These two were both 5⭐️ for me. Now I want to reread them 😁 I do love me some character work in my books. As for “Annihilation”, well, I did not get on with that book at all, 2⭐️ according to my 2016 review.
@@bjd1980 Thanks! I don’t think I’ve read many books specifically for that age. I remember when I was young I loved The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen. And Project Hail Mary was written for adults, but I think the content would be suitable for teenagers.
I finished the annihilation trilogy out of a sense of completion but I didn't overly enjoy it. And there was no final resolution to speak of. I wouldn't recommend reading either the second or third book to anyone. The film is arguably a better experience than the first book too. Jonathan, if you haven't already done so, could you do a top ten (or 5, or whatever) of your fav Alastair Reynolds books? I loved House of Suns and the second book in the Revelation Space arc. Does anything else reach those heights?
@@phantasticflox Here are my Reynolds ratings for the 7 I’ve read so far: House of Suns - 10 Redemption Ark - 9.5 Eversion - 9.0 Chasm City - 8.0 Pushing Ice - 8.0 Absolution Gap - 7.5 Revelation Space - 7.5 So my next favourite after the two you mentioned would be Eversion.
You know it's been a long time since you've read Annihilation when you noticed "10th anniversary editions" at the bookstore 😂 I've had a strange relationship with Vandermeer; I loved Annihilation and the other Southern Reach books were good, but I've DNF'd two of the other books I've tired of his. You are spot on about it being a "vibe book," it didn't match for the other two.
I think Vandermeer’s Annihilation was somewhat inspired by JG Ballard’s surreal disaster novel The Crystal World. The fact that he hasn’t read Roadside Picnic is surprising and, if I’m honest, disappointing. It’s a top 10 SF novel for me.
@@cindywingetbooks Nice! Chasm City is a prequel to Revelation Space and can be read as a standalone. You can read it first or read it after the first Revelation Space book. But I would read it before the second Revelation Space book.
I kind of actively dislike annihilation. I don’t say that about many books. I’m the other hand. I thought the movie was decent. Something about the style of writing. The story itself I thought was engaging.
need to read Annihilation and semiosis, love those covers. i heard alastair reynolds has various "sagas", is pushing ice a good standalone to start with him? thanks for the vid bro
@@cade4746 If you only read one Alastair Reynolds book in your life it should be House of Suns. But if you plan to read a bunch of his books then I’d say Pushing Ice is a good place to start.
Thought of a video idea for you, if you can figure out how to title it. No matter how many books I read, I still struggle probably..90% of the time to “force myself” to try to be interested in the beginning, That’s the worst thing about books. (Also, that there are too many books to read :) ). I’m just starting Day of the Triffids audiobook right now and it reminded me that sometimes, authors make more of an effort to throw you into the interesting aspects of the book right off the bat…
@@lancetschirhart7676 I guess everyone is different but if you read the first 50 or 100 pages of a book and aren’t getting into it I think it’s okay to stop and maybe come back to it later. Seeing as I make content, sometimes (but luckily not often) I feel obligated to push through, but I don’t think everyone should feel that obligation. Read whatever you are interested in reading!
I read Annihilation based on all of the glowing BookTube reviews and thought i was being punked or something. It's all vibes, no substance. The characters were bland and the plot has absolutely no payoff like you said. I read Piranesi immediately after and almost dnf'd after thinking "oh boy, here we go again" in the first few chapters. I'm so glad that I didn't because that book is what Annihilation is trying to be and ended up being an easy 5/5
Annihilation can be considered a prolog. i don't know how all three books were published but they should all have been one volume. a great many plot threads are developed and woven into the last two books. i really don't understand how you could just stop there. a lot happens back at the 'headquarters' and much 'tradecraft' is used to manipulate the soldiers and agents that are used by the Southern Reach as basically laboratory instruments. even the results of the investigations become too disturbing for the agency heads to process and they flee to greater remove and hope to retain some control. the intersection of the intelligence agency and unknown incursion with 'National Security 'implications is similar to the X-Files or the Dark Matter series. this incursion is too big and slow and weird for them to handle. they keep jumping back and widening the perimeter, horrified at the inexorable expansion in slow slow motion, or is it? there is another book in the series due.
@@WordsinTime i don't know why they do that. i took both the latter out from the library, read them concurrently. my brother an i are big fans of spy fiction so it was a natural.
With the southern reach books, I lost interest in the second book. And I kept finding typos in both and I could not tell, if it was on purpose or not. I never read the third one.
@@WordsinTime I kept thinking to myself, surely this is a creative choice on purpose. But it kept taking me out of the story each time I saw it. Anywhoozle…
It is a confusing read even with all three books but it does give more answers. The sequels also leave more questions. Your right though it is a very eerie feeling read. Not a happy story for sure.
actually I got the entire annihilation trilogy but for some reason never got around to reading it. Now that obama has endorsed it guess I could take a second look but might just see the movie instead. it's too bad when you read a novel and find out †hat's it's totally spoiled by bad writing despite being full of interesting ideas. As for reynolds I know he's incredibly popular and his stuff is hard sci-fi which I love but so far he sounds a little too space operaish for my taste right now. Be well.⚛
@@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd I think you might enjoy it as long as you’re in the mood for that kind of read. And yes, Reynolds might the king of space opera haha
I enjoyed pushing ice. Sort of like a remake of rendezvous with Rama. I will say that I wasn’t a huge fan of all of the characters. some of the drama got tiresome
Is Annihilation the book better than the movie? I couldn't stand the movie, found it corny af and boring. Bland, generic acting, ghost buster girl vibes with them walking like that and then a guy in a 99 cent store Spider Man costume at the end 😅. One of the most disappointed I have ever been with a movie as I liked Ex Machina a lot.
I think you can get the 3 books on audible for one credit. You really need to read them all if you want any semblance of a conclusion. I enjoyed them but listen to the preview or read the first chapter. I don’t remember watching the movie but no way could they translate well to that medium.
@@kevincoe907 The movie was an abomination which really disappointed me because I really enjoyed the directors previous film Ex Machina. It had bland generic characters, abhorrent acting and the rest was all CGI as per usual now with a dude in a cheap spider man looking costume at the conclusion. I may check the books out eventually although my tbr list is getting longer and longer by the minute. I recently got back into reading mainly because of how bad movies have been for the last 20 years.
I might disagree with many but I absolutely loved the Southern Reach trilogy as a whole. I was so invested I couldn’t put it down and it felt like I was reading a single novel split in three parts. I can’t wait to read the fourth instalment: Absolution. I haven’t read Roadside Picnic yet but I can see the influence of HP Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space. After that I went straight into Borne and it was ok but not close to Area X trilogy.
Always interesting to hear your thoughts even when we don't agree. I'm sad you didn't enjoy several of these (as i loved all 3) but thanks for giving them a chance and also explaining what exactly didn't work for you. Thoughtful negative reviews are always helpful.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I enjoyed Pushing Ice and Annihilation, just not quite 5 star books for me. And I can see why people like Semiosis, I just didn’t click with the writing style. But I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I really appreciate that when you critique a book, you critique the prose as well. So many reviewers never mention it! I'm not sure why this is- it's a very important aspect of the reading experience for me. I mean, it's writing - it's a BOOK- prose is the main tool with which a story is told. I find it really hard to enjoy a great plot if the writing is bad. I'd love a video on your favorite books with the best prose!
@@tiffanycorsello1886 Thanks Tiffany! A while ago I made a video called 5 Poetic Science Fiction Authors. You might enjoy that one.
If you didn’t LOVE reading Annihilation I would recommend skipping the 2 follow ups. I thought they were good, but not on par with book1. And you won’t get the answers you’re looking for. 😂
@@bartsbookspace Haha good to know
Given your review you’d probably enjoy Vandermeer’s Borne more the rest of the Southern Reach books.
Given your appreciation of PKD and other odd/weird authors you might give City of Saints and Madmen a try. The Ambergris books are different than anything else I’ve read.
Or skip all of them and read Road Side Picnic. Vastly Superior ⚡
Oh you totally get answers. In a way. And they’re open to interpretation. But you do get answers. 😅
Was anhilation book better than the movie?
Hey Jonathan, glad you’ve decided to cover some modern SF. I’ve been exploring some classic SF in my past few TBR books…currently struggling a bit to make my way through Starship Troopers.
Next up is Children of Time! I’m pumped to get into modern SF!!
@@stevenlamb8726 I hope you enjoy Children of Time as much as I did!
I remember when you asked the Discod server for what book next and Semiosis got the nod. Obviously you now have to go back and see who voted for it and in future requests they each only get a half vote. 😀
@@Kim_Miller Retribution will be swift haha
I loved hearing you weigh in on these! I’ve heard lots of praise about Annihilation and would like to give it a shot. Roadside Picnic didn’t emotionally grip me, but the strange concept is still a good pitch. Great video!
@@Johanna_reads Thanks Johanna! Annihilation is even more dreamlike and (or nightmarish haha)
I might disagree with many but I absolutely loved the Southern Reach trilogy as a whole. I was so invested I couldn’t put it down and it felt like I was reading a single novel split in three parts.
I can’t wait to read the fourth instalment: Absolution.
I haven’t read Roadside Picnic yet but I can see the influence of HP Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space.
After that I went straight into Borne and it was ok but not close to Area X trilogy.
Color out of Space feels more apt. The cosmic horror of it all. Though Roadside does show through a bit.
Loved the trilogy!
Hyperion and the fall of hyperion literally arrived today. I'm so excited to read them, but I fear a little because people say the sequels get worse. Hyperion sounds like something that could one my favorite things ever
@@Elricsedric I am in the minority but I liked The Fall of Hyperion even more than Hyperion. I hope you enjoy them!
@@WordsinTimeSame. Also feels like another minority opinion, but I genuinely enjoyed Endymion and Rise of Endymion as well. Absolute masterpiece of a cantos!
It’s okay you don’t need to read the Endymions. The Hyperions stand alone.
For me, it would have been impossible not to have read all 4. While the second duopoly is weaker, it still thrilled me in a way that most books don't. You think the shrike is scary? Wait until you meet Rhadamanth Nemes. One of the most scary, evil and brutal beings ever created in fiction.
1. All 4 books were mean to be one story and a really good one. 2. Hyperion has elements of Canterbury tales in space so part II can’t help being different. 3. Parts 3 and 4 have a romance and a religion in it, things which turn off some readers.
I think what I loved about the Southern Reach trilogy and Semiosis were the bizarre and extraordinary non-human "characters". The plants and plant communities in Semiosis were absolutely fascinating. Can't really say anything about the Southern Reach without being spoilery.
@@cherylmccutchan1282 I was intrigued by the plants in Semiosis, although I felt their way of thinking was a little too similar to humans. It was a cool idea though.
Personally, I absolutely loved the Southern Reach trilogy, but I understand it's not everyone 's cup of tea. The second and third part will give you some answers, but not all of them. A lot is open to interpretation and I really like that. Current books and movies tend to overexplain a lot which usually really annoys me. If you like the cosmic horror of Lovecraft with a pinch of David Lynch, you might want to give the sequels a try.
@@jerryveneman9623 I do like David Lynch. Lost Highway is one of my favourites.
@@WordsinTime Lost Highway is fantastic! 😁
Definitely looking forward to reading Pushing Ice. I've read a good chunk of The Revelation Space series and Century Rain and... so far so good, and this does sound intriguing.
@@3DDavid06 Nice! Hope you enjoy it!
@WordsinTime btw I think you took down my Goodread reviews, which I understand, but is there a way to have you read them to comment?
@@3DDavid06 I’m not sure what you mean. I didn’t take anything down. Maybe it was a UA-cam glitch?
@WordsinTime interesting... I'll try sharing them again sometime in the near future... I was talking about the last two books in Vandermeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, and tried to share a Goodreads link. So I'll look into it.
Awesome video Jonathan! I’ve been wanting to try Annihilation. I really enjoyed the movie, but I’ve heard his writing is an acquired taste.
@@BookishChas Thanks Chas! Will be interested to see what you think of the book.
As always, enjoy your videos, but I won't add any of these to my already long backlog. I do second the reference to 'roadside picnic' and also, Andrei Tarkovsky's 'Stalker', inspired by that book. Both are excellent.
@@johnbailey2933 Thanks! And I’m glad you enjoyed Roadside Picnic.
That's what I meant when I said Annihilation was just bad scifi in the author's pursue, respectable as it is, of "higher art". I don't think the genre allows for "look, there was very weird stuff going on, but I, the author, doesn't know why either". Perhaps he provides more information in the next two volumes, but, alas, I will never know.
@@elisabasta Yes, it’s easy for any author to create questions. Not as easy to provide answers!
Hi Jonathan, I have read all of these. I really loved Annihilation, I particularly loved the prose, it is beautiful and unlike any other author I have read. This does read a little like a cosmic horror but to me it is pure Science Fiction. But it is a bit creepy, and scary so there is a horror element in the content. This is 9/10 for me. Semiosis was a bit odd in terms of the writing but it was definitely an interesting story that I really enjoyed but it is the weaker of the three and I'd give this 7/10. Pushing Ice is very good, I really enjoyed it but something bugged me about the ending and yes it was starting to drag a little in parts in the final third but still a solid 8/10.
@@paulallison6418 That analysis all sounds fair to me. I’m glad you enjoyed Annihilation!
I read Annihilation a few years ago, and here's the mini-review I wrote for myself that might help others (I keep a reading journal and usually write at least a paragraph about what I just read)
This was a unique book by a unique author, where said author tried really hard to describe something
that can't really be described or understood. Area X might be an incursion by something else into
the world of this book, and the local authority (known as the Southern Reach) has been sending
expeditions into this area to figure it out. This book draws from H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton
Smith and David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick and Adrian Tarkovsky and Franz Kafka and many other
influences, but those are faint influences, genetic inheritances. VanderMeer tells this story in a
manner that veers from detached to horror to analytical at a moment's notice. And it's the horror
of a war, not of a slasher movie; bad things happen but these don't define the book or the
characters.
@@bfitzger2 Great review!
Hope that someday you will talk about Gene Wolfe's Solar Cycle. Or maybe not, because it blurres the line between sci-fi and fantasy. In this case a discussion about sci-fi as a genre, opposed to fantasy, would be nice. And what sci-fi is for you.
@@クローマーアックスエリク I have read The Shadow of the Torturer and it didn’t click for me, but maybe in the future I will try the series again.
I agree. I read the first page of Semiosis and I can see where your coming from. Reads ike a car going over speed bumps and everything gets shook out of place. Sounding very nasally today Jonathon 🤣 There's a slow...slow train coming....comin round the bend....
@@fleabynight Hahaha
Possible new Scufi classics! I did really dig Annihilation.
@@Talking_Story Haha I’m glad you enjoyed it! I think Annihilation will be remembered decades from now, even if it’s a polarizing one.
🧊 Oh, some bangers in this set! I absolutely adored “Pushing Ice” and “Semiosis”. I’ve been meaning to read the next one in that latter series. These two were both 5⭐️ for me. Now I want to reread them 😁 I do love me some character work in my books. As for “Annihilation”, well, I did not get on with that book at all, 2⭐️ according to my 2016 review.
@@TuftyMcTavish I’m glad you enjoyed those two!
Love your vids!! Do you have any recommendations for a read aloud to middle school students?
@@bjd1980 Thanks! I don’t think I’ve read many books specifically for that age. I remember when I was young I loved The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen. And Project Hail Mary was written for adults, but I think the content would be suitable for teenagers.
might have to buy that annihilation book solely for the cover
@@sourorange The 10th anniversary editions are pretty cool.
I finished the annihilation trilogy out of a sense of completion but I didn't overly enjoy it. And there was no final resolution to speak of. I wouldn't recommend reading either the second or third book to anyone. The film is arguably a better experience than the first book too.
Jonathan, if you haven't already done so, could you do a top ten (or 5, or whatever) of your fav Alastair Reynolds books? I loved House of Suns and the second book in the Revelation Space arc. Does anything else reach those heights?
@@phantasticflox Here are my Reynolds ratings for the 7 I’ve read so far:
House of Suns - 10
Redemption Ark - 9.5
Eversion - 9.0
Chasm City - 8.0
Pushing Ice - 8.0
Absolution Gap - 7.5
Revelation Space - 7.5
So my next favourite after the two you mentioned would be Eversion.
You know it's been a long time since you've read Annihilation when you noticed "10th anniversary editions" at the bookstore 😂
I've had a strange relationship with Vandermeer; I loved Annihilation and the other Southern Reach books were good, but I've DNF'd two of the other books I've tired of his. You are spot on about it being a "vibe book," it didn't match for the other two.
@@RenkotheLibrarian He has a unique style which some might find polarizing haha
I think Vandermeer’s Annihilation was somewhat inspired by JG Ballard’s surreal disaster novel The Crystal World. The fact that he hasn’t read Roadside Picnic is surprising and, if I’m honest, disappointing. It’s a top 10 SF novel for me.
@@thekeywitness I own a copy of High-Rise, I might have to check out The Crystal World after that.
I enjoyed both Pushing Ice and Annihilation. Guess if Semiosis is in the same crowd with them I should check it out.
@@robertsouth6971 I didn’t like Semiosis but maybe you will!
I just got Chasm City by Alastair Renyolds at a library sale 😀 i haven't read anything by him yet.
@@cindywingetbooks Nice! Chasm City is a prequel to Revelation Space and can be read as a standalone. You can read it first or read it after the first Revelation Space book. But I would read it before the second Revelation Space book.
@@WordsinTime oh! I didn't know that! This is very helpful information. Thanks you!
I kind of actively dislike annihilation. I don’t say that about many books. I’m the other hand. I thought the movie was decent. Something about the style of writing. The story itself I thought was engaging.
@@mbmurphy777 Yeah, I would recommend people check out the movie.
need to read Annihilation and semiosis, love those covers. i heard alastair reynolds has various "sagas", is pushing ice a good standalone to start with him? thanks for the vid bro
@@cade4746 If you only read one Alastair Reynolds book in your life it should be House of Suns. But if you plan to read a bunch of his books then I’d say Pushing Ice is a good place to start.
@@WordsinTime thanks for the suggestion! I'll try to get it
Southern Reach Trilogy will give you the backstory/answers you're looking for.
@@Tetsujin-28 👀
Thought of a video idea for you, if you can figure out how to title it.
No matter how many books I read, I still struggle probably..90% of the time to “force myself” to try to be interested in the beginning, That’s the worst thing about books. (Also, that there are too many books to read :) ).
I’m just starting Day of the Triffids audiobook right now and it reminded me that sometimes, authors make more of an effort to throw you into the interesting aspects of the book right off the bat…
I know I’m not the only shallow and impatient guy around
@@lancetschirhart7676 I guess everyone is different but if you read the first 50 or 100 pages of a book and aren’t getting into it I think it’s okay to stop and maybe come back to it later. Seeing as I make content, sometimes (but luckily not often) I feel obligated to push through, but I don’t think everyone should feel that obligation. Read whatever you are interested in reading!
@@WordsinTime agreed! In this instance (and what I meant) was that I had become invested within the first 3 minutes
@@lancetschirhart7676 I’m glad it hooked you in!
I tried to read Annihilation, but it didn't work for me.
@@mariosalerno8766 It has a very particular style that won’t work for everyone.
I read Annihilation based on all of the glowing BookTube reviews and thought i was being punked or something. It's all vibes, no substance. The characters were bland and the plot has absolutely no payoff like you said. I read Piranesi immediately after and almost dnf'd after thinking "oh boy, here we go again" in the first few chapters. I'm so glad that I didn't because that book is what Annihilation is trying to be and ended up being an easy 5/5
@@trevor81994 Interesting! I’m glad you liked Piranesi’s ending!
I didn’t like Annihilation. Actually preferred the flashbacks to the main story. Semiosis and Pushing Ice are both on my TBR.
@@JeffreyFitzpatrick-o5i I can understand that. Hope you enjoy the other two!
Annihilation can be considered a prolog. i don't know how all three books were published but they should all have been one volume.
a great many plot threads are developed and woven into the last two books. i really don't understand how you could just stop there.
a lot happens back at the 'headquarters' and much 'tradecraft' is used to manipulate the soldiers and agents that are used by the Southern Reach as basically laboratory instruments. even the results of the investigations become too disturbing for the agency heads to process and they flee to greater remove and hope to retain some control. the intersection of the intelligence agency and unknown incursion with 'National Security 'implications is similar to the X-Files or the Dark Matter series. this incursion is too big and slow and weird for them to handle. they keep jumping back and widening the perimeter, horrified at the inexorable expansion in slow slow motion, or is it?
there is another book in the series due.
@@stephenmorton8017 Would be interesting to see how different the reading experience would be if it had been written and published as a single book.
@@WordsinTime i don't know why they do that. i took both the latter out from the library, read them concurrently. my brother an i are big fans of spy fiction so it was a natural.
Annihilation didn't work for me even though I loved the film.
@@JohnG225 It’s very withholding haha
Even if you had enjoyed Annihilation I would recommend skipping the other two 😅
@@bookjack Haha I don’t plan on continuing at the moment.
I heard annihilation on audio. The speaker was eerie
@@shobhitkaul8076 Haha sounds like they got it right.
With the southern reach books, I lost interest in the second book. And I kept finding typos in both and I could not tell, if it was on purpose or not. I never read the third one.
@@BluejaySpectre Interesting! I wonder if it was on purpose or not.
@@WordsinTime I kept thinking to myself, surely this is a creative choice on purpose. But it kept taking me out of the story each time I saw it. Anywhoozle…
You have to read the whole trilogy to understand the story in southern reach
@@bryonpostma7219 The comments seem pretty mixed on the sequels, but I’m glad you liked them!
It is a confusing read even with all three books but it does give more answers. The sequels also leave more questions. Your right though it is a very eerie feeling read. Not a happy story for sure.
I love your content on here by the way. Very insightful. Thank you
actually I got the entire annihilation trilogy but for some reason never got around to reading it. Now that obama has endorsed it guess I could take a second look but might just see the movie instead. it's too bad when you read a novel and find out †hat's it's totally spoiled by bad writing despite being full of interesting ideas. As for reynolds I know he's incredibly popular and his stuff is hard sci-fi which I love but so far he sounds a little too space operaish for my taste right now. Be well.⚛
@@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd I think you might enjoy it as long as you’re in the mood for that kind of read. And yes, Reynolds might the king of space opera haha
the movie is a distillation and should not be watched first, in my opinion. nothing is explained in the movie. just some creepy aspects.
@@stephenmorton8017 TU⚛
Pushing Ice wascan easy 5 star for me while Annihilation got 2 stars. Would have gotten a DNF if it wasnt so short and an audio.
@@Marcus-id5ur I really liked Pushing Ice, especially the second half.
I enjoyed pushing ice. Sort of like a remake of rendezvous with Rama. I will say that I wasn’t a huge fan of all of the characters. some of the drama got tiresome
@@mbmurphy777 I felt similarly.
I just came to say I hate it when books do their titles:
lik
eth
is!
@@cartoonraccoon2078 Unf
Org
Iva
Ble
👍👍👍🚀📚🤖🐲
@@khomo12 🤜 🤛
Annihilation was amazing, but the two next books in the series were a complete waste of time.
@@cotidiemorior Interesting! I probably won’t continue at the moment.
Is Annihilation the book better than the movie? I couldn't stand the movie, found it corny af and boring. Bland, generic acting, ghost buster girl vibes with them walking like that and then a guy in a 99 cent store Spider Man costume at the end 😅. One of the most disappointed I have ever been with a movie as I liked Ex Machina a lot.
@@j85grim4 They both have their pros and cons. But I think I liked the film more than you did haha
I think you can get the 3 books on audible for one credit. You really need to read them all if you want any semblance of a conclusion. I enjoyed them but listen to the preview or read the first chapter. I don’t remember watching the movie but no way could they translate well to that medium.
@@kevincoe907 The movie was an abomination which really disappointed me because I really enjoyed the directors previous film Ex Machina. It had bland generic characters, abhorrent acting and the rest was all CGI as per usual now with a dude in a cheap spider man looking costume at the conclusion. I may check the books out eventually although my tbr list is getting longer and longer by the minute. I recently got back into reading mainly because of how bad movies have been for the last 20 years.
I might disagree with many but I absolutely loved the Southern Reach trilogy as a whole. I was so invested I couldn’t put it down and it felt like I was reading a single novel split in three parts.
I can’t wait to read the fourth instalment: Absolution.
I haven’t read Roadside Picnic yet but I can see the influence of HP Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space.
After that I went straight into Borne and it was ok but not close to Area X trilogy.
@@Cosmic-Industry I’m glad you enjoyed it! Perhaps you might like Roadside Picnic too.