SPECIAL TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION With a new introduction by award-winning author Helen Macdonald. The New York Times bestselling third installment of Jeff VanderMeer’s wildly popular Southern Reach Trilogy. It is winter in Area X, the mysterious wilderness that has defied explanation for thirty years, rebuffing expedition after expedition, refusing to reveal its secrets. As Area X expands, the agency tasked with investigating and overseeing it―the Southern Reach―has collapsed in on itself in confusion. Now one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a remote island that may hold the answers they’ve been seeking. If they fail, the outer world is in peril. Meanwhile, Acceptance tunnels ever deeper into the circumstances surrounding the creation of Area X―what initiated this unnatural upheaval? Among the many who have tried, who has gotten close to understanding Area X―and who may have been corrupted by it? In this last installment of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy , the mysteries of Area X may be solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound―or terrifying. “A satisfying conclusion to this captivating trilogy” ― Booklist “This trilogy is that rare thing--a set in which the whole is as great as the parts.” ― Publishers Weekly “I'm loving The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer. Creepy and fascinating.” ― Stephen King on The Southern Reach Trilogy “Chilling.” ― Julie Bosman, New York Times on The Southern Reach Trilogy “VanderMeer masterfully conjures up an atmosphere of both metaphysical dread and visceral tension . . . Annihilation is a novel in which facts are undermined and doubt instilled at almost every turn. It's about science as a way of not only thinking but feeling, rather than science as a means of becoming certain about the world. . . . Ingenious.” ― Laura Miller, Salon on The Southern Reach Trilogy “A clear triumph for Vandermeer . . . a compelling, elegant, and existential story . . . .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.” ― Lydia Millet, LA Times on The Southern Reach Trilogy “A book about an intelligent, deadly fungus makes for an enthralling read--trust us.” ― Tara Wanda Merrigan, GQ on The Southern Reach Trilogy “[A] strange, clever, off-putting, maddening, claustrophobic, occasionally beautiful, occasionally disturbing and altogether fantastic book . . . Annihilation is a book meant for gulping--for going in head-first and not coming up for air until you hit the back cover.” ― Jason Sheehan, NPR Books on The Southern Reach Trilogy “Successfully creepy, an old-style gothic horror novel set in a not-too-distant future. The best bits turn your mind inside out.” ― Sara Sklaroff, The Washington Post on The Southern Reach Trilogy “If J.J. Abrams-style by-the-numbers stories of shadowy organizations and science magic have let you down one too many times, then Annihilation will be more like a revelation. VanderMeer peels back the skin of the everyday, and gives you a glimpse of a world where science really is stretching the bounds of our knowledge--sometimes to the point where we can't ever be the same . . . [ Annihilation ] will make you believe in the power of science mysteries again.” ― Annalee Nevitz, io9 on The Southern Reach Trilogy “Fans of the Lost TV series . . . this one is for you.” ― Molly Driscoll, Christian Science Monitor on The Southern Reach Trilogy “What frightens you? According to many psychologists, our most widely shared phobia is the fear of falling. Jeff VanderMeer's novel Annihilation taps into that bottomless terror . . . VanderMeer ups the book's eeriness quotient with the smoothest of skill, the subtlest of grace. His prose makes the horrific beautiful.” ― Nisi Shawl, Seattle Times on The Southern Reach Trilogy “Much of the flora and fauna seem familiar, but that's what's so fascinating about the carnage that VanderMeer sets loose. He has created a science fiction story about a world much like our own.” ― John Domini, Miami Herald on The Southern Reach Trilogy “ Annihilation feels akin to isolated sci-fi terrors of Alien . . . teases and terrifies and fascinates.” ― Kevin Nguyen, Grantland on The Southern Reach Trilogy “The plot moves quickly and has all the fantastic elements you'd ever want--biological contaminants, peculiar creatures, mysterious deaths--but it's the novel's unbearable dread that lingers with me days after I've finished it.” ― Justin Alvarez, The Paris Review on The Southern Reach Trilogy “Jeff VanderMeer ventures on to strange ground in this enigmatic story.” ― Alex Good, The Toronto Star on The Southern Reach Trilogy “The first book in what may be a modern classic of post-apocalyptic sci-fi . . . . Annihilation 's story struck me hard and pulled me in fast. I haven't had