Imagine taking half the day to get dressed, I could never lmao.

There are some really fantastic answers here!

Exactly! It's also worth stressing /why/ they wore these crazy clothes: houses were barely heated at all.

There's a scene where Jane looks out over the garden and through the frost on the inside of the window. Houses had fireplaces, and you could warm up if you stood by the fire, but most of most rooms was very cold, and below zero C in winter.

They wore many, many layers of clothing because it was a vital part of keeping warm. You'll notice Jane doesn't dress up to go out, she just steps out into the snow. All she needs to do to be in effectively outdoor winter gear is lift the outermost layer of fabric over her arms and head haha.

Me too 😂

This is fascinating!! thank you so much! ❤

Yeah, I don't even really think of them as the same characters or events, the Shimmer and Area X are two separate places in my head.

The movie is completely different. It’s more “a southern reach story” than anything.

The first one is amazing and then the second is like ok... am I still interested in what's happening next, could it get better again? And the third was just bad. Honestly the sequels ruined how much I loved Annihilation.

The second book was so boring and dragged on for ages, the third book felt like a waste of time. I only continued reading so that I could get answers for what happened in the first book, but I didn't even get those so it felt pointless

i liked them all, and they don't overexplain

i think people dislike 2 and 3 because they are longer and slower, whereas the first one is short with a simple and irresistible premise. but they're all good imo

Made me lol. Eve. With the explanation given by another user, the mental image is silly.

I read all 3 and annihilation is by far the best imo, its just a new reading experience different to what I usually read. I think the other two develop the world more and as other said keep the mystery going, but I think it's done in a more structured way. I don't have a problem with it but it gives a different reading experience. All in all I'm glad I finished the trilogy - there are some amazing scenes in there that match annihilation

I was in the same boat as you, then decided to go ahead and read them and I am very glad I did. Annihilation is still my favorite and the best of the three, but I still enjoyed the others. Authority has one of the only scenes in any book that actually creeped me out. The buildup and tension of it is all just great. Both of the sequels still have that fever dream, mysterious quality to them as well. I know others didn’t enjoy them as much, but for what it’s worth, I would say absolutely read them.

My life blew up in the middle of reading Acceptance, and I need to buckle down and knock out the last 50 pages or so, but it's not a quick read and I've fallen out of a good reading habit lol. Authority definitely felt a bit like work to read, but I enjoyed getting more story. I also gave a bit of time between reading Annihilation and Authority, so the comparison between the two wasn't as stark. Maybe just take a break and come back to it later.

The movie was what made me read the book xD I thought it was really great, I love that they did their own thing, it has its own sinister beauty that works really well, and made the novel still completely fresh.

The second and third book have some excellently crafted terrifying scenes and a lot of building tension. The mystery is not ruined by reading more, if anything it deepens.

Annihilation is the best in the trilogy, and if you're not too interested in Control you may struggle with the second book. What I found more engaging in Authority was the exploration of the Southern Reach itself and Ghost Bird as opposed to Control.

I found it really hard to get into the sequels and gave up, despite loving the first one and reading it in one weekend. Totally lacked the pull and intrigue of the first. I would just leave it after Annihalation. Also check out the Alex Garland film on netflix loosely based on it - enjoyed it a lot!

Her frock had a skirt. That's what she uses: her frock. "Skirt" in this context means "rim".

I read about the gap in time between events and thought “wow that’s really long” but never framed it the way you just said regarding the “modern day” and let me say thank you for drawing that comparison. From our perspective it’d be as if some ancient Egyptian or Roman king turned out to be living underground and all of a sudden wanted his artifacts back - really changes my perception of the outlook the characters would have had during their adventures!

I’m with this guy. I didn’t enjoy the rest of the series.

The second and third books have their strengths and weaknesses but if you’re worried about things being overexplained, don’t. The full trilogy just deepens the mystery - a few things are clarified but you will leave with more questions than answered.

Still, there are moments that live in my mind rent free. Ones I'd miss.

This is a rare occasion I'd say no don't bother. Personally I found the 1st the best by far. The others are less interesting and only dilute the mystery.

Jeff VanderMeer did an AMA here you might want to take a look. Here's a full list of our upcoming AMAs

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i have most of them as ebooks, i could never buy 200 books in one go and just let them collect dust in my room.