Annihilation (6 points)

There are many different genres such as romance, horror, suspense, etc. However, the idea of a weird genre, as Michael A Moir Jr. says, is basically a subset. These weird fiction stories often contain many elements including horror and science fiction. Annihilation is very much unlike most novels, as are many stories, for example H.P. Lovecraft novels. What makes Annihilation fit into this subset of genres is that it combines multiple elements of various genres and nothing is fully explained in the story, but in such a way that the strange source of interest is beyond human understanding. There are no victorious heroes who present a successful outcome of Area X. Perhaps there is a bad character, like the psychologist, but even that seems a little grey because ultimately everything falls under the influence of the presence in Area X. The story itself sets kind of an idea of what to expect from the outcome. Even while the four women observed the environment and creatures, there was never a single answer as to how they could be affected in the way they were. Most of what happens in Area X sounds like a bizarre phenomenon. At one point, the narrator observes that the tunnel, or 'tower' as she likes to call it, may never have existed before the last expedition, or perhaps had been uncovered, or had not even been reported, because it was not featured on the maps. In one particular observation, the narrator sees a dolphin with an eye that almost appears human to her.

It is difficult to compare and contrast the novel to anything that is not of a similar make, because the build and tone of the story is something entirely different from something perhaps like Dracula. In Dracula, there is this force of evil vs good. There is this idea of something being outside of the norm, and it is not welcome. However, in a story like Annihilation, it is hard to say that there was good vs evil, although there were forces pitted against each other beyond the obvious outcome between the women in the expedition. The 'Crawler', as the narrator calls it, was altering it's surroundings, and for the reason that it was unknown to humanity, it was therefore a possible threat.