“Carolyn McCormick narrates increasingly disturbing events with an unwavering calm that makes the listening experience all the more chilling…McCormick gives a haughty, deep voice to the psychologist, the leader of the group whose intentions may not be what they seem. Her arrogant tone contrasts nicely with the gritty and increasingly anxious tones of the surveyor as the group uncovers deadly secrets better left alone.” AudioFile
Description
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.
Praise
“Carolyn McCormick narrates increasingly disturbing events with an unwavering calm that makes the listening experience all the more chilling…McCormick gives a haughty, deep voice to the psychologist, the leader of the group whose intentions may not be what they seem. Her arrogant tone contrasts nicely with the gritty and increasingly anxious tones of the surveyor as the group uncovers deadly secrets better left alone.” AudioFile
“A little Kubrick, a lot Lovecraft, the novel builds with an unbearable tension and a claustrophobic dread that linger long afterward.” Lauren Beukes, Sunday Times (London) bestselling author
“A captivating meander…that veers between the beautiful and the terrifying.” Entertainment Weekly
“A compelling, elegant and existential story…The apparent tragedy and freakish ecology of Area X’s blight are quite fascinating, and the solitary voice of its post-humanist narrator is both deeply flawed and deeply trustworthy—a difficult and excellent balance in a novel whose world is built seamlessly and whose symbols are rich and dark.” Los Angeles Review of Books
“[A] deeply imaginative little shocker…full of metaphysical-graffiti imagery and tightly executed reveals that stay with you long afterward.” Wired
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Apr 9, 2018 |
| Release Date | April 10, 2018 |
| Number in Series | 1 |
| Series Display String | The Southern Reach Trilogy |
| Release Date Machine | 1523318400 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Start a New Series, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult, Movie Tie-ins, Movie Tie-ins, Start a New Series |
Author Bio
Jeff VanderMeer is an award-winning novelist and editor. His fiction has appeared in the Library of America’s American Fantastic Tales and in multiple anthologies. His recent books have made the year’s best books lists of Publishers Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, and Amazon.com. Annihilation won the Nebula Award and the Shirley Jackson Award and was adapted into a Paramount Pictures movie by Alex Garland, starring Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh. His other awards include World Fantasy Awards, Locus Award, Shirley Jackson Award, and the British Science Fiction Association award for nonfiction, France’s Le Cafard Cosmique, and Finland’s Tähtifantasia Award. He is the cofounder and assistant director of Shared Worlds, a unique fantasy and science fiction writing camp for teenagers.
Narrator Bio
Carolyn McCormick has appeared in the films A Simple Twist of Fate and Enemy Mine. She has appeared on television as Dr. Olivit in Law & Order for more than a decade and as a guest on The Practice and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Her Broadway credits include roles in The Dinner Party and Private Lives. Her audiobook narration has won her three AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Overview
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.
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