Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer–Audiobook Give-Away Contest (read by Carolyn McCormick)

UPDATE FEB 3: Congratulations to contest winners Sandi Kallas, John Wiswell, Analisa Roche, Michael Phillips, Shanna Hughes!!!!!

Want a copy of the awesome Blackstone audiobook for Annihilation, the first book in my Southern Reach trilogy? If you live in the United States, U.S. territories, or the Philippines you are eligible to win.

What’s the novel about? About a new expedition into Area X, a mysterious “pristine wilderness” cut off from the rest of the world for decades; many of the prior expeditions have come to bad ends. The members of the latest expedition are four women: an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist—the de facto leader—and a biologist, the 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—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.

What’s the contest?

–Tell me why you in particular should be added to the expedition going into Area X! Entries should be at least a sentence long but not over 500 words. I will not be checking their truthfulness. POST YOUR ENTRY IN THE COMMENTS TO THIS BLOG ENTRY.

–Residents of the U.S., U.S. territories, and the Philippines are eligible to enter.

–Five winners will be chosen and provided with their own download link.

–The deadline is midnight EST on Wednesday, January 30. (The audiobook is released Feb. 4)

Thanks to Blackstone for sponsoring this great contest. To preorder the audiobook, click here. You can also check out order links for the print version here.

Who is the reader for the Annihilation audiobook? In addition to being the reader for Annihilation and the Hunger Games audiobooks, 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. Her Broadway credits include roles in The Dinner Party and Private Lives.

Advance praise for the novel…

“Brilliant…Evocative descriptions…masterful psychological insight, and intellectual observations both profound and disturbing—calling Lovecraft to mind and Borges—VanderMeer unfolds a tale as satisfying as it is richly imagined.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A gripping fantasy thriller, Annihilation is thoroughly suspenseful. In a manner similar to H. G. Wells’ in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), VanderMeer weaves together an otherworldly tale of the supernatural and the half-human. Delightfully, this page-turner is the first in a trilogy.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“After their high-risk expedition disintegrates, it’s every scientist for herself in this wonderfully creepy blend of horror and science fiction…VanderMeer is an expert fearmonger, but his strongest suit, what makes his novel a standout, is his depiction of the biologist…Speculative fiction at its most transfixing.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

For more cool information on the Southern Reach trilogy, visit FSG’s page.

bookshot_vandermeer_annihilation

37 comments on “Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer–Audiobook Give-Away Contest (read by Carolyn McCormick)

  1. Sam M-B says:

    As an audiohistorian, I would be a great addition to the “Area X” expedition, recording the other expedition members’ conversations, eating habits, and sleeping arrangements along with multiple-sourced field recordings of the “native” flora and fauna, wind patterns, ocean patterns, etc. If unable to return from Area X, you would be able to find my cached journals and tapes at [LOCATION REDACTED]. (Disclaimer: I’m not officially entering the contest, I have it on pre-order already my man. I can’t wait.)

  2. Sandi Kallas says:

    I should be included because you need someone expendable as bait.

  3. Area X sounds beautiful and highly dangerous to explorers, and thus I am the sort of person you need on your team. I have spent the last twenty years with a highly compromised immune system and am guaranteed to die in any sort of unknowably hostile environment. You will be able to dissect me and figure out what the greatest potential hazard of Area X is to the other explorers before any of them experiences so much as an allergic reaction. Atop this, I’m chipper and gregarious around strangers, and thus several people are likely to bond with me and mourn me acutely when I die out of nowhere so early into the expedition, giving you all a good bit of pathos before Pinch 2 sets in.

  4. Louis Wysocki says:

    Because I woke up late that morning, and the expeditions for Areas A through W were already filled up.

  5. David Greybeard says:

    I am made up from X’s.

  6. Kevin Smith says:

    I own my own red-shirt and I am kind of funny looking, so it would be karmic to not kill me off in the first chapter.

  7. Jenn says:

    You should select me because I take my responsibilities to bring snacks very seriously.

  8. michele says:

    I should be added to this expedition because I am also a woman with secrets. I am an exobiologist and two of my secrets are that I was contaminated by Area X, and I was on one of the failed earlier expeditions and presumed dead.

  9. Bob says:

    I should be on the expedition because every such menagerie should include one person who absolutely should not be on an expedition. Who will there to be to mock if not for an out of shape, obnoxious late 30ish dude who scientific prowess basically ended with giving his dead frog in biology an amusing tophat? All the people above me are much more qualified, and all those below probably posted after me because they have important things to do in their life beyond slinging birds at pigs.

  10. Jonathan says:

    Because I got a kick ass pair of boots that need to break me in. They’re staring at me right now.

  11. Jeremy Z says:

    Having mapped out the area myself, I think I am more than capable of relaunching myself into Area X to deal with and and of course the ever ascending / descending pulsating flesh beacons and the eyes oh how they

    THE BIRDS! THE TOWER! THE BIRDS! THE TOWER! ANNIHILATION! ANNIHILATION!

  12. Philip B says:

    I should go, because I’m an old guy that’s been around a while and seen and lived through a lot. I can MacGyver together just about anything, and I’ll bring my little dog that can find food when nothing or anybody else can.

  13. Joel Allen says:

    Because…

  14. Rob La Raus says:

    I should be included because it should be obvious at the start that despite intense external pressures, the real struggle will exist within each participant. Fatigue will undoubtedly threaten them all… people will be in pain, maybe right away, likely persistent. Nerves will get scraped and a depression brought on by a seemingly fruitless and possibly fatal expedition will linger in the poisoned air like a dangerous “friend.” An intimate terror will consume their personalities, as a gourmand ingesting marrow from a bone, and they will bear witness to their own deaths as individuals before the dusty environment recaptures their unused bodies. A feeding frenzy of insects is inevitable.

    But that stuff’s nothing to me, so think of me at award time?

  15. Eliot Gelwan says:

    I am a medical doctor, psychologist, and social anthropologist wrapped into one. And a Vandermeer fan…

  16. ThatHollie says:

    I should be included in this expedition because of my totally unrealistic expectations which help me to get along fabulously with everyone. For example, I picture the anthropologist, the surveyor, the psychologist, and the biologist as being played by Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine, respectively.

  17. Jeff VanderMeer says:

    These are all fabulous and entertaining! Keep ’em coming! (One per person, of course.)

  18. Jon Michaels says:

    I should be brought on the expedition because I’m really good with cats and dogs. Let’s face it, what could we possibly find on this journey other than animals that are basically just cats and dogs that haven’t had a loving home? Hugs for all animals.

  19. Steven Hay says:

    Choose me because I will blog about my experiences. I have read some of your other books, including: City of Saints and Madmen and SteamPunk I. Thank you for reading this entry.

  20. I should be included because I homeschool four children, born within four years of one another. This experience give me mad ninja skills in areas such as the ability to be highly functional in spite of extreme noise and chaos for years on end, and getting by on almost no sleep whatsoever.

  21. Hi there would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re working
    with? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different browsers and I must say this blog loads a
    lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good web hosting provider
    at a fair price? Thank you, I appreciate it!

  22. Well, I once kissed a girl in a graveyard, while wondering if a blizzard was falling where Sara was, if I’ll ever kiss Sara again. The girl I WAS kissing, just a placeholder, just one living girl amongst the dead. Until I met Sara, until I fell asleep next to her, wherever I was, I’d always rather go than stay. I didn’t know WHERE I wanted to go, just somewhere else. Until Sara, I didn’t know that that somewhere else was Sara. Now she’s gone, and where I am isn’t where I want to be. I can’t go back to Sara, but maybe I can go to Area X. Maybe I can find something there that will feel like Sara. Maybe I’ll just find Oblivion. I don’t know, but I’d rather go there than stay here, here without Sara.

  23. Shanna Hughes says:

    I need to go because what will inevitably kill me in Area X can not be nearly as bad as what is trying to kill me here…

  24. Mike says:

    I should definitely be added to the expedition team because I can carry a shitload of beer and toilet paper and because I fear nothing (except spiders and small enclosed spaces). Thank you for considering me for this expedition.

  25. Kathleen Wade says:

    I NEED to go on this expedition. I HAVE to get out of this house. I WANT to be warm again. Seriously, get me out of this icicle infested gale force wasteland.

  26. vanderworld@hotmail.com says:

    It’s about to snow here, in Tallahassee, so I hear your pain…while in no way one way or the other indicating anything about your entry. :)

  27. Heather Ragan says:

    I have by fortuitous circumstance, and the perilous pomposity of my youth, been able to experience many of the wonders of the world first hand. As a woman I will not upset the Ph balance and my vast experience should doubtless prove fruitful in any dangerous expedition. I have seen for myself the City of Shadows, and filled my cup with the waters of its dark abyss. At the age of 23 I wandered the Amazon ( The secrets of which we may hope,may never be fully known.) At 31 I discovered the labyrinth beneath Pompey. I have dined on mammoth in the arctic wastes ( Yeti it turns out, our excellent chefs) and encountered the specter of Cleopatra herself as I made my escape from her enshrouded tomb. I have  discovered the lost history of fabled Sham Bal La, hunted down the monster of GreenLake,  tussled with the fierce people of the Bogotti underground, a beautiful, primitive and savage race and been enchanted by the women of KaiSong. I am an excellent artist, photographer and embellisher. Most importantly…..I can cook!

  28. Christian Tiben says:

    I think what the expedition team lacks one vital component: protection. It’s no wonder why teams in the past have come to “bad ends”. You can’t just send a bunch of nerds into the wilderness without someone to protect them. That’s where I come in. Give me a machete, a pistol, a rifle, sufficient ammunition, and food and I can guarantee that you team will be safe. As an experienced hunter I am confident that I can protect your team from any threat known (or unknown) to man.

  29. As posted on Goodreads: The problem, if one exists, with the current team is that they’re all science-based. As an attorney, I should be added to the expedition team to provide a logical and analytic perspective to the evaluation of the area, as well as, frankly, an outsider perspective that might bring to the observations a human element. Moreover, as someone who has always been interested in the sciences and, in particular, anthropology, I will offer a likely-welcome level of enthusiasm and excitement for the project when the scientists get lost in their analysis. Most importantly, I should be included in the expedition because it sounds fascinating and I would love to go!

  30. Stefen H says:

    Because when I was twelve I went hiking in the woods behind the lake. I did not come back.

  31. Evelyn says:

    Don’t tell anyone I told you, but I can read minds. I can sort the mess caused by everyone else’s secrets right out, and since I’ve already told you my secret, so astounding that I don’t have room for any others, you can trust me.

  32. Jeff VanderMeer says:

    THE FIVE WINNERS ARE AS FOLLOWS…PLEASE EMAIL ME AT vanderworld at Hotmail.com

    Sandi Kallas says:
    I should be included because you need someone expendable as bait.

    John Wiswell says:
    Area X sounds beautiful and highly dangerous to explorers, and thus I am the sort of person you need on your team. I have spent the last twenty years with a highly compromised immune system and am guaranteed to die in any sort of unknowably hostile environment. You will be able to dissect me and figure out what the greatest potential hazard of Area X is to the other explorers before any of them experiences so much as an allergic reaction. Atop this, I’m chipper and gregarious around strangers, and thus several people are likely to bond with me and mourn me acutely when I die out of nowhere so early into the expedition, giving you all a good bit of pathos before Pinch 2 sets in.

    Analisa Roche says:
    I should be included because I homeschool four children, born within four years of one another. This experience gives me mad ninja skills in areas such as the ability to be highly functional in spite of extreme noise and chaos for years on end, and getting by on almost no sleep whatsoever.

    Michael Phillips says:
    Well, I once kissed a girl in a graveyard, while wondering if a blizzard was falling where Sara was, if I’ll ever kiss Sara again. The girl I WAS kissing, just a placeholder, just one living girl amongst the dead. Until I met Sara, until I fell asleep next to her, wherever I was, I’d always rather go than stay. I didn’t know WHERE I wanted to go, just somewhere else. Until Sara, I didn’t know that that somewhere else was Sara. Now she’s gone, and where I am isn’t where I want to be. I can’t go back to Sara, but maybe I can go to Area X. Maybe I can find something there that will feel like Sara. Maybe I’ll just find Oblivion. I don’t know, but I’d rather go there than stay here, here without Sara.

    Shanna Hughes says:
    I need to go because what will inevitably kill me in Area X cannot be nearly as bad as what is trying to kill me here…

  33. google says:

    Howdy! This is kind of off topic but I need some help
    from an established blog. Is it very difficult to set up your own blog?
    I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast.
    I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to start.
    Do you have any points or suggestions? Appreciate it

  34. I’m impressed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s equally educative and amusing,
    and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the
    head. The issue is an issue that not enough folks are speaking intelligently about.
    Now i’m very happy I stumbled across this during my
    search for something regarding this.

Comments are closed.