Annihilation

Abstract

Annihilation takes place in Area X, a coastal region that has been sealed to the public and the subject of multiple expeditions undertaken by teams from the Southern Reach agency. The novel follows the twelfth expedition to Area X, a team of four women that comprises an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist, and a biologist. It is through the biologist’s eyes that Area X is explored, revealing to the reader that the members of the previous expedition, which included the biologist’s husband, had died of cancer. While exploring the fauna and flora of the region, the unnamed biologist comes across a fungus whose spores she accidentally inhales, likely enhancing her healing abilities, as well as the ability to resist the psychologist’s attempts to hypnotize the members of her team. As the other women start dying around her, the biologist decides to remain in Area X to further explore the region, following her husband’s footsteps after finding his diary in a lighthouse. Ultimately, the novel focuses on the exploration of the ecosystem of an area that is revealed to be slowly expanding.