Science Fiction

Annihilation

Annihilation

  • Downloads：6671
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-04-30 09:55:00
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Catherynne M. Valente
  • ISBN：1785651587
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

An official tie-in to the hit video game Mass Effect: Andromeda。 As the Quarian ark Keelah Si'yah sails toward the Andromeda galaxy， it carries 20，000 colonists from several races including the Drell， Elcor， and Batarians。 Along the way a routine check reveals that many of the Drell colonists have died in their cryopods， and a pathogen is discovered。 It begins to jump species， then the ship's tech begins to fail， making it clear that this is no accident。 It's murder， and the perpetrator is still on board。 The ship's systems rapidly degrade， and panic spreads among the colonists。 To make matters worse， the virus yields a terrible swelling of the brain that causes madness， hallucinations， and leads to violence。 If the ship's crew can't restore their technology and find a cure， the Keelah Si'yah will never make it to the Nexus。

Download

Reviews

Prince Cad Ali Cad ，

*There Be Spoilers Below*Starts off really strong （4 Star Strong）， but a little over halfway through you can easily guess the whodunit （even when not given any concrete facts to support your conclusion）。 The best character is the Elcor who constantly quotes Shakespeare。 The ending is abrupt and undoes all the suspense of the previous 3/4 of the book。 More than that， it's downright sloppy （character conveniently remembers key fact out of the blue， bad guy lets guard down for no reason/immediately *There Be Spoilers Below*Starts off really strong （4 Star Strong）， but a little over halfway through you can easily guess the whodunit （even when not given any concrete facts to support your conclusion）。 The best character is the Elcor who constantly quotes Shakespeare。 The ending is abrupt and undoes all the suspense of the previous 3/4 of the book。 More than that， it's downright sloppy （character conveniently remembers key fact out of the blue， bad guy lets guard down for no reason/immediately confesses to the crime when confronted， certain things conveniently change with no explanation as to why， such as the effects of the virus at the very end or the weird， hinted-at romance）。 It's a shame， because the first portion of the book laid the ground for a great suspense novel， but failed to deliver at the end。 。。。more

Vee ，

A locked-room horror mystery with a heavy dose of culture clash。 If you're into the world building of Mass Effect， you'll have a lot to like as the lesser-focused species get their time on stage。 My only possible negative （vague spoilers:） （view spoiler）[The ending did unsettle me， and I'm not entirely sure it was in a good way。 （hide spoiler）] Still， there's a lot to enjoy delving into here。 Not at all a light read， but definitely one that kept me needing to see what happened next。 If audiobook A locked-room horror mystery with a heavy dose of culture clash。 If you're into the world building of Mass Effect， you'll have a lot to like as the lesser-focused species get their time on stage。 My only possible negative （vague spoilers:） （view spoiler）[The ending did unsettle me， and I'm not entirely sure it was in a good way。 （hide spoiler）] Still， there's a lot to enjoy delving into here。 Not at all a light read， but definitely one that kept me needing to see what happened next。 If audiobooks are your thing， I'd recommend checking that version of this out。 It's read by Tom Taylorson （the voice of bro Ryder）， who managed to give variety to an entire crew talking to each other。 。。。more

Trinity ，

Well， that was bleak。 But now I have answers about the Quarian Arc。

Travis Webber ，

In my limited experience， video game tie-in novels are often better than you expect and certainly far better than they need to be。 This one is like that。

Ariel ，

Interesting book！ I appreciated the small nod to this at the end of the video game。

Jason Mather ，

A sci-fi detective/mystery story set in the Mass Effect universe。 A fun read， not at all what I expected， but I enjoyed it。

Jessy ，

I absolutely loved this book。 I loved the characters and the focus on the non-counsel rases。 It introduced some of my new favorite characters in the Mass Effect universe。 I am so sad that it was not the backstory to the DLC that it was meant to be。 It would have been amazing to meet these characters in Andromeda。 The story was intriguing and finally shined the spot light on the "second class" races of aliens。 I listened to the audio and the voice actor did a great job of giving each character th I absolutely loved this book。 I loved the characters and the focus on the non-counsel rases。 It introduced some of my new favorite characters in the Mass Effect universe。 I am so sad that it was not the backstory to the DLC that it was meant to be。 It would have been amazing to meet these characters in Andromeda。 The story was intriguing and finally shined the spot light on the "second class" races of aliens。 I listened to the audio and the voice actor did a great job of giving each character their own personality and voice。 It was an imersive experience。 My only annoyance was the authors continued use of "people" and "humanly thing to do" as descriptors when there was not a single human in the book。 But that was a minor thing。 This is my favorite of the Mass Effect novels that I have read。 If you are a fan of the series， I highly recommend。 。。。more

Sam ，

**Spoilers**I was worried this would end tragically because of the uncertainty of the other arks in the video game， but I'm happy that the ending is left open so there is still possibility of the Quarian ark to make it to Andromeda in a future game！ I feel like the final reveal of the 'villain' was very unexpected， and it had me talking outloud to myself about how dumb their assumptions were regarding the outcome of the virus。 **Spoilers**I was worried this would end tragically because of the uncertainty of the other arks in the video game， but I'm happy that the ending is left open so there is still possibility of the Quarian ark to make it to Andromeda in a future game！ I feel like the final reveal of the 'villain' was very unexpected， and it had me talking outloud to myself about how dumb their assumptions were regarding the outcome of the virus。 。。。more

Megan ，

This is a good novelization but unfortunately maybe a little bit too upsetting to read during an actual real life pandemic。

Graff Fuller ，

This was really good。 Sad， but really good。 I did not see the ending coming （it works）， but it got me。。。really well。Reading this story during a global pandemic is maybe not the best， but in other ways。。。it makes the depths of this story hit harder。Out of the stories in this Andromeda trilogy， this was the one that I liked the most。 I do wish they had more interconnectiveness than they did， but it is what it is。I will be reading the Drew Karpyshyn trilogy as time persists。。。which I do hope is one This was really good。 Sad， but really good。 I did not see the ending coming （it works）， but it got me。。。really well。Reading this story during a global pandemic is maybe not the best， but in other ways。。。it makes the depths of this story hit harder。Out of the stories in this Andromeda trilogy， this was the one that I liked the most。 I do wish they had more interconnectiveness than they did， but it is what it is。I will be reading the Drew Karpyshyn trilogy as time persists。。。which I do hope is one continuious story。The Mass Effect universe is interesting。 I like the diverse races and unique beliefs。 。。。more

Erik Bailey ，

It wasn't bad。 My first Mass Effect book。 Came by it because I love Catherynne Valente。 I cant say this is her best work， but maybe Mass Effect fans will love it？ It wasn't bad。 My first Mass Effect book。 Came by it because I love Catherynne Valente。 I cant say this is her best work， but maybe Mass Effect fans will love it？ 。。。more

Dana Sweeney ，

My review starts with a quick binary: if you love the Mass Effect video games， then you should read this book。 If you don’t love Mass Effect or haven’t played it， then this book isn’t for you。 Especially for readers unfamiliar with the games， you should know that this book doesn’t make for a good point of entry to Mass Effect’s rich fictional universe。 You should check out the games first instead！ （You really should， too — Mass Effect is one of my all-time favorite fictional universes across all My review starts with a quick binary: if you love the Mass Effect video games， then you should read this book。 If you don’t love Mass Effect or haven’t played it， then this book isn’t for you。 Especially for readers unfamiliar with the games， you should know that this book doesn’t make for a good point of entry to Mass Effect’s rich fictional universe。 You should check out the games first instead！ （You really should， too — Mass Effect is one of my all-time favorite fictional universes across all mediums of books， film， television， video games， etc。） All of that being said: wow。 This book is excellent。 Mass Effect really didn’t need to bring this level of firepower to their video game companion books， but they DID。 I mean， for one thing， they got NK Jemisin and Cat Valente to write this book series as canon。 Like… what？ Truly fulfilling my dreams by having the best sci-fi writers around pen exactly the fanfic that I want to read。 As others have pointed out， it’s as though Jules Verne got the green light to write a book in the Star Trek universe。 Just so cool！ On this particular novel: it’s a buddy cop， murder mystery thriller in outer space。 It’s like “Murder on the Orient Express，” except “Bio-terrorism on the Generation Ship Headed to the Galaxy Next Door。” The writing is SO GOOD。 The mystery is taut， the characters vibrant， the dialogue flawless。 While Valente gets the fictional universe exactly right， the subject matter， struggles， and heroes of this book are very far outside the normal purview of the games。 No spectres or pathfinders here。 No saving the galaxy。 Just some pretty ordinary people trapped on a spaceship during a crisis。 One of my favorite qualities of this novel: not a human in sight。 Except for a brief prologue， the only characters we have are quarians， drell， elcor， batarian， volus， and hanar。 In other words: a grab bag of all the aliens picked last for the kickball team。 It was so fun to have a story centering aliens who the video games treat as background characters。 Because these cultures have never gotten the spotlight， Valente gets a lot of latitude for filling in the silences and gaps。 She effortlessly weaves existing lore into her story， and in some cases she even expands it。 At its core， Annihilation is a character novel， and the characters shine brilliantly。 I am obsessed with the oddball cast: an elcor named Yorrick who loves and recites Shakespeare; a volus named Irit Non who is basically the Anna Wintour of their little space-groundhog species; a batarian named Borbala Ferank whose lovable crimes makes me laugh at every turn。 Just brilliant。 My one criticism is that the massive conflict / problem at the heart of the novel gets resolved too easily， too quickly， too neatly， and too unclearly。 It’s… fine… but not all that persuasive a payoff after all the build-up。 And， （sort of spoiler） the novel does nothing to explain the whereabouts of the Quarian Ark in the video game Mass Effect: Andromeda， which I had assumed it would。 Under normal circumstances， these structural failures would be pretty big issues。 But honestly？ I don’t care。 The novel was so much fun along the way， the characters were more important than the plot， and the conclusion was deeply satisfying （even if the mechanisms didn’t make all that much sense， and even if big questions from the video games remain unanswered）。 Perhaps making up for these failures: the novel engages seriously （and sometimes playfully） with major political questions and fault lines that are plain to see in the games， but often unaddressed。 Namely， this book has a lot to say about the galactic caste system， which video game players see but never really have to spend too much time thinking about， since humans are doing so well for ourselves。 In true Mass Effect fashion， there are major political and ethical decision-points in this novel， and lots to think about。 For most people， this book wouldn’t make much sense or be very enjoyable。 But for the niche population of Mass Effect lovers for whom this book was written: by God， READ IT。 。。。more

Johnny Lynas ，

So much better than a video game tie-in novel has any right to be

George Brown ，

I love the Mass Effect trilogy， one of my favourite game franchises ever， until Andromeda， I found the writing quite lazy in Andromeda but this book？ This was actually really well done in comparison。Now the game was supposedly so supposed to have the Quarian ark with all the other Milky Way races aboard travelling to Andromeda， it was speculated to be a DLC but never came， this book however did？It details the journey of the ark across space and how the cryogenic stasis starts failing and people I love the Mass Effect trilogy， one of my favourite game franchises ever， until Andromeda， I found the writing quite lazy in Andromeda but this book？ This was actually really well done in comparison。Now the game was supposedly so supposed to have the Quarian ark with all the other Milky Way races aboard travelling to Andromeda， it was speculated to be a DLC but never came， this book however did？It details the journey of the ark across space and how the cryogenic stasis starts failing and people start dying， a sleeper team is woken up and set to work to find out what is wrong and how to fix the problem onboard。。。 but the ships systems are faulty， the ship isn't stocked at all well due to it being a cryogenic stasis vessel and all the races are at each others throats in accusatory fashion。。。 so essentially this book is 'whodunit' set in Mass Effect and it's mostly good， it plays on the tropes of the game and follows the lore well， I found myself cringing at some of the humour？？ If that's what it was but each to their own in that sense。Would I recommend this？ Yes if you've played Andromeda， it makes a nice addition to it， if not I doubt it would be worth your time 。。。more

Michelle Kellogg ，

while I would have preferred this book to have been a DLC in the game， I really liked the book。 I love the humor and I loved getting to know some amazing new characters。 Not to mention the twist at the end had me gripped。

sara ，

（maybe i shouldn't have read about a virus while。。。 the entire planet is dealing with a virus but） once i started， i couldn't stop。 and it is so nice to be so sucked in by a story， so immediately！ and what an incredible ending to this trilogy！ i just adored going on this journey and learning all these characters， and i had a lot of fun attempting to solve mysteries and crimes alongside them （though they are miles ahead in the intelligence department， when compared to me）i had fun！！ it had that d （maybe i shouldn't have read about a virus while。。。 the entire planet is dealing with a virus but） once i started， i couldn't stop。 and it is so nice to be so sucked in by a story， so immediately！ and what an incredible ending to this trilogy！ i just adored going on this journey and learning all these characters， and i had a lot of fun attempting to solve mysteries and crimes alongside them （though they are miles ahead in the intelligence department， when compared to me）i had fun！！ it had that distinct mass effect feel to it， and you can tell it has the skill of a great writer （catherynne m。 valente i adore you） and all the passion of a dedicated fan - because this was everything i could have wanted。 looking forward to what comes next in the mass effect universe， bc *that ending* wohoo <3 。。。more

nathaniel ，

Valente does a great job fleshing out and giving compelling backstory to a lot of characters very quickly。 All the different species lost me in terms of what they all were and what their place in Milky Way society was。 I ended up mostly letting that flow past me and concentrated of the characters。 If I knew the game more， maybe I would have followed along with the species more。 I wasn't as into the ramped up scope in part two。 Valente hooked me again by the end， but I think a longer book with mo Valente does a great job fleshing out and giving compelling backstory to a lot of characters very quickly。 All the different species lost me in terms of what they all were and what their place in Milky Way society was。 I ended up mostly letting that flow past me and concentrated of the characters。 If I knew the game more， maybe I would have followed along with the species more。 I wasn't as into the ramped up scope in part two。 Valente hooked me again by the end， but I think a longer book with more time to develop everything introduced would have been great。 。。。more

Tabitha Rodela ，

It answered questions the game never got a chance to。 The plot line wasn’t too deep and what could have been cool ended up in a one page conclusion。 The author was not very good at mimicking elcor speech patterns which got annoying after a chapter。

Christian Hamilton ，

I wanted to like this book more than I thought I would like it - but I just didn't （or couldn't， rather）。A bit of background here: The events of this novel （or probably the aftermath） were originally to be part of DLC in "Mass Effect: Andromeda，" but because of the game's poor showing， they decided to write a book instead。 This book details the journey of the quarian Ark to Andromeda， but does not detail the Ark during the events of the game。This book started off really great。 There was a broodi I wanted to like this book more than I thought I would like it - but I just didn't （or couldn't， rather）。A bit of background here: The events of this novel （or probably the aftermath） were originally to be part of DLC in "Mass Effect: Andromeda，" but because of the game's poor showing， they decided to write a book instead。 This book details the journey of the quarian Ark to Andromeda， but does not detail the Ark during the events of the game。This book started off really great。 There was a brooding plot and a creeping sickness。 Then， it kind of went off the rails。 A lot of the plot didn't make sense coherently， and there were sections that seemed to be disjointed from the plot as a whole。 For instance， we spend one portion of the narrative searching for a cure， and then the next chapter begins with a discussion of riots as folks are woken up。 What？ Did I miss something？What made it more difficult was that， apart from a prologue character， there were no human characters in the novel。 Everyone had weird names and I had trouble keeping them organized。 It was hard for me to connect with the events of the novel。 And it ended on a sort of cliffhanger。 Nothing that we the reader actually wanted to know was resolved。 And the main "villain" of the novel seemed like a slapdash effort to give us a "gotcha" moment。 It wasn't deserved and the logic didn't make sense。One thing I'll say: I thoroughly enjoyed Valente's writing of elcor speech。 It was enjoyable and， at times， genuinely gleeful。 She also does a great job of setting and character descriptions。I wanted to like this novel more。 The best one I can compare it to is "Nexus Uprising，" which I reviewed previously。 Both are prequels in the "Andromeda" series and both have casts of characters that we will mostly never meet。 The payoff in "Uprising，" however， is that we saw its effects。 Here， we were teased。 In an attempt to placate "Andromeda" fans on a cancelled DLC， we ended up garnering more questions than answers。 It's no fair， folks。 And if it's not going to be， I wish it was just a bit better。 。。。more

Kristen ，

I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book as I read but ultimately enjoyed it in the end。 I'm a huge mass effect fan and there were parts of it that were strong—the dialogue especially。 I went in expecting it to be an okay read but found myself enjoying and trying to unravel the mystery！ I read this in 2021 while we're in an on-going pandemic， so some of the writing really struck home in that sense。 it felt suitably claustrophobic and scary to be stuck on a ship with a mega-virus pa I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book as I read but ultimately enjoyed it in the end。 I'm a huge mass effect fan and there were parts of it that were strong—the dialogue especially。 I went in expecting it to be an okay read but found myself enjoying and trying to unravel the mystery！ I read this in 2021 while we're in an on-going pandemic， so some of the writing really struck home in that sense。 it felt suitably claustrophobic and scary to be stuck on a ship with a mega-virus passing between species。 I cried at one point b/c of how attached I was to yorrick！ video game books seem like a difficult thing to do because you can't make every fan of the series happy。 my main gripe was some of the worldbuilding around the aliens。 maybe it's just not to my taste， but one example: the idea that only quarian women wear lavender。 I think there are cleverer and less restrictive ways to signify genders than cloth colour when you have an entire suit to work with？ do all quarian women have to wear lavender or is it optional？ and it felt like the book was trying to say something about how not to stereotype the aliens， but then created stereotypes of certain aliens， which felt intentional to a degree but wasn't quite self-aware enough？it's too bad we won't see the dlc around this story， but I'm glad to have read the mystery and know the answer of what happened to the quarian ark 。。。more

Rev ，

2。5 stars

Rach ，

If you're one of the many womens I work with and love， pass me by。 I'm going through some things。Lyds: as the only one who might actually read this， I'm going in with the assumption that anyone who picked up this book finished Andromeda， so everything that is marked as a spoiler is a spoiler for the game。 Thus， this should be safe for you if you want to read it。 If not， thanks for accepting my existential crises texts。 YOU WERE RIGHTAnyways。 Hello， anyone out in this desolate wasteland that is t If you're one of the many womens I work with and love， pass me by。 I'm going through some things。Lyds: as the only one who might actually read this， I'm going in with the assumption that anyone who picked up this book finished Andromeda， so everything that is marked as a spoiler is a spoiler for the game。 Thus， this should be safe for you if you want to read it。 If not， thanks for accepting my existential crises texts。 YOU WERE RIGHTAnyways。 Hello， anyone out in this desolate wasteland that is the Andromeda fandom in 2021。I'm someone who plays Mass Effect games for1。 Character story arcs1a。 Dialogue1b。 Aggressive women2。 Plot3。 The opportunity to punch jerksand also， I genuinely loved Andromeda。 Until I got to the end。 And realized everyone else's collective hissy fit is the reason （view spoiler）[I'm never going to get to rescue the doggone Quarian Ark。 （hide spoiler）]Listen。 Listen。 I needed to know。 I would have taken a 10 minute podcast。 I would have taken a 3-page PDF。 So when I realized there was a book？？ Written by a woman？？ Take my money and give me closure， Catherynne！！！That being said， it would have taken very little to satisfy me。 So I was delighted that this book was so delightful。 And when I say delightful， I mean this book oscillated between sitcom hijinks and absolutely fked up in 3 minutes time。 It's hilarious & tender-hearted， dark & brutal， and kills characters you love in the blink of an eye - basically， it's mass effect。Now， I love Shepard and her increasingly-traumatized Justice League， and I love Ryder and her clown car full of horny millennials， but my heart's desire is for a game centered on a B-team of bumbling aliens， not a super human in sight。 And if you were really granting wishes， oh magic genie over at bioware， those aliens would be the inversed gender of what we typically worked with in the franchise。And this book is exactly that。ENTER- a big squish male quarian who loves VI- an emotionally manipulative female （！！！） drell （！！！） detective i'd probably let murder me who said that- an elcor named Yorrik who has the absolute best lines by a mile- a zealous hanar who literally doesn't fear death- a female （omg guys） batarian crime lord （view spoiler）[who definitely made me FEEL SOME THINGS about that me2 finale this isn't an androm spoiler but lyds idk if you're here yet （hide spoiler）]- a ferocious female （I'm crying） volus （openly weeping） with a dirty mouth and a loaded shotgunadd in:- approximately One braincell- a heaping spoonful of prejudice- some pretty fair questions about why this band of misfits are all considered second-class speciesand you've got this delightful murder mystery in deep space。The greatest tragedy is that we'll never get to play this storyline。 It would be incredible。 The same psychos who developed Overlord could have definitely developed this。 But tbh Ryder would have gotten killed immediately （view spoiler）[ but what else is new。 （hide spoiler）]Catherynne excelled at razor-sharp dialogue， openly hostile women， punching jerks， and - oh yeah， told me （view spoiler）[what the hell happened to the quarian ark。 （hide spoiler）] And it was MESSED UP。 Where were you when they were writing （view spoiler）[the dumpster fire that was Cora's character arc？ You could have saved her， Catherynne！！ She deserved better than womp womp and roses。 （hide spoiler）]Anyway here's a dump of lines that made me laugh out loud on a plane:"Enthusiastically: Greetings。 Greetings。 It is a beautiful morning。 Don't you think it's a beautiful morning？ With Overwhelming Joy: What horrible thing do you think has happened？""Six hundred years of Sleepwalker files。 With her。""I'll be gentle。""Why aren't you panicking？""With Panic: I am panicking。"And this gem that I hope someone says about me at my funeral:"Ryncol tastes like lighting all your mistakes on fire in a glass barrel and then eating the barrel。 Mouthfeel like a tactical nuke。"anyway bury me in the deep vacuum of space。 I have some semblance of closure。 Despite my hope that legendary revives at least one （1） androm DLC。 。。。more

Randy ，

After 100 pages， I just couldn't get into it。 I felt like this book was too far removed from the Mass Effect feel。 After 100 pages， I just couldn't get into it。 I felt like this book was too far removed from the Mass Effect feel。 。。。more

Chickpea ，

This is the second book I’ve read by Catherynne M。 Valente and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot more than Space Opera， if only because it felt more like her own voice than the pseudo-Douglas Adams thing she tried with SO。 It was so good to read a Mass Effect novel that was written by someone who clearly loves the universe and the races that were not explored as much in the video games。 I couldn’t help but notice all the main characters were of the opposite gender than we are used to seeing in ME This is the second book I’ve read by Catherynne M。 Valente and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot more than Space Opera， if only because it felt more like her own voice than the pseudo-Douglas Adams thing she tried with SO。 It was so good to read a Mass Effect novel that was written by someone who clearly loves the universe and the races that were not explored as much in the video games。 I couldn’t help but notice all the main characters were of the opposite gender than we are used to seeing in ME （female Drell， Volus and Batarian especially）。 I’ll have to look in to Valente’s other books because this one really changed my opinion of her writing （I liked the concept of Space Opera， but not the execution）。 。。。more

Alex ，

DNF@25%This book did a great job of reminding me how poor Andromeda was compared to the original trilogy and I abandoned it without finishing just like I did the game。I liked the prologue but just couldn't bring myself to care about the main story。 It hadn't really got going at the point I called it quits。 It's possible things would have improved once the author stopped explaining the Mass Effect world every other sentence but in the interim it lost my attention， I put it down for a few days， an DNF@25%This book did a great job of reminding me how poor Andromeda was compared to the original trilogy and I abandoned it without finishing just like I did the game。I liked the prologue but just couldn't bring myself to care about the main story。 It hadn't really got going at the point I called it quits。 It's possible things would have improved once the author stopped explaining the Mass Effect world every other sentence but in the interim it lost my attention， I put it down for a few days， and now I don't want to pick it back up。 。。。more

Robyn ，

I adored this - I was desperate to know what had happened to the Quarian ark in Andromeda and when the rumoured DLC never happened， I thought I’d never find out。 The voices of each race in this were perfect - I LOVED Yorrik， the elcor doctor， and it was fantastic to explore some of the lesser seen species of the series in more detail。 You can clearly see this was written by someone with so much love for the series and now I really want to play Andromeda again， so there’s that。

Jessica Newton ，

Wow。 I really don't understand why so many reviewers disliked this book。I thought it was intriguing and I certainly could not （and did not） guess the perpetrator of the virus until it was revealed。 I thought it was interesting to learn about the other species or， at least， learn what was shared in the book。The ending was as bittersweet; I wish it mentioned how many of each species （drell especially） were left after a cure was created。 And the fate of the perpetrator was， if possible， both lenien Wow。 I really don't understand why so many reviewers disliked this book。I thought it was intriguing and I certainly could not （and did not） guess the perpetrator of the virus until it was revealed。 I thought it was interesting to learn about the other species or， at least， learn what was shared in the book。The ending was as bittersweet; I wish it mentioned how many of each species （drell especially） were left after a cure was created。 And the fate of the perpetrator was， if possible， both lenient and remarkably merciless。5 stars from me。 No contest。 。。。more

Anna ，

Это единственная увлекательная книга из массэффектовских или нет？Виртуальная кварианская бабушка！ Обучающий интерфейс кроганов！ Шекспир был элкором！Нормальный такой детектив про "меньшие расы" мира， который мне очень симпатичен。 Мне понравилось。 Это единственная увлекательная книга из массэффектовских или нет？Виртуальная кварианская бабушка！ Обучающий интерфейс кроганов！ Шекспир был элкором！Нормальный такой детектив про "меньшие расы" мира， который мне очень симпатичен。 Мне понравилось。 。。。more

Drucilla ，

The 4 star review might be a little bias。 I love the Mass Effect universe and I also really liked Mass Effect: Andromeda。 What happened to the Quarian ark was the most tragic unsolved mystery from the game， and while I would prefer a game sequel， it's nice we at least got this。 Media-tie ins can be hit or miss， but having Cat Valente write it certainly elevates it。 That said， my only quibble with the book is that it can be a bit too wordy。 The characters ruminate an awful lot and I frequently fo The 4 star review might be a little bias。 I love the Mass Effect universe and I also really liked Mass Effect: Andromeda。 What happened to the Quarian ark was the most tragic unsolved mystery from the game， and while I would prefer a game sequel， it's nice we at least got this。 Media-tie ins can be hit or miss， but having Cat Valente write it certainly elevates it。 That said， my only quibble with the book is that it can be a bit too wordy。 The characters ruminate an awful lot and I frequently found myself skimming。 It's very much a Valente hallmark but damn if she didn't make me care for a fucking Elcor。 。。。more

Chris The Lizard from Planet X ，

Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne M。 Valetete is an official tie-in to EA/BioWare Sci-fi RPG video game Mass Effect: Andromeda， and book Three Of the Andromeda ME prequel trilogy。 ME: Annihilation， Focuses on the Quarian ark colony ship the Keelah Si'yah as it sails toward the Andromeda galaxy， it carries 20，000 colonists from several various races including the Drell， Elcor， and Batarians。 Along the way a routine check reveals that many of the Drell colonists have died in their cryopods， Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne M。 Valetete is an official tie-in to EA/BioWare Sci-fi RPG video game Mass Effect: Andromeda， and book Three Of the Andromeda ME prequel trilogy。 ME: Annihilation， Focuses on the Quarian ark colony ship the Keelah Si'yah as it sails toward the Andromeda galaxy， it carries 20，000 colonists from several various races including the Drell， Elcor， and Batarians。 Along the way a routine check reveals that many of the Drell colonists have died in their cryopods， and a pathogen is discovered。 It begins to jump species， then the ship's tech begins to fail， making it clear that this is no accident。 It's murder， and the perpetrator is still on board。 The ship's systems rapidly degrade， and panic spreads among the colonists。 To make matters worse， the virus yields a terrible swelling of the brain that causes madness， hallucinations， and leads to violence。 If the ship's crew can't restore their technology and find a cure， the Keelah Si'yah will never make it to the Andromeda Galaxy。 I loved Mass Effect Andromeda Game and for a long time after finishing the game I held hope there would be DLCs。 One of those could have been about the Quarian ark， as at the end of the game it is revealed the Keelah Si'yah is in trouble。 Alas: EA decided to pull the plug and I didn't get a Quarian ark DLC。 So you bet I picked this book as soon as I knew it was about the Keelah Si'yah。And this is a really great book。 Even better than ME:A: Initiation。 As the Quarian ark is travelling through space， all its occupants in cryosleep when three sleepwalkers （specialist team who wake up once in awhile to check the ship） are woken up off schedule， because the ship detects an anomaly。 The three of them soon realize there is trouble and they need to act fast or the whole ark may be lost。The three specialists are the viewpoint characters in this book， and I especially loved Yorrik: an Elcor doctor who dreams of being an actor once the ark reaches Andromeda。 He has to work on finding a cure together with a Hanar who doesn't like him。 Yorrik's chapters were my favorite， and I rooted for him to save the day and realize his dreams。Then there is Senn， a Quarian who loves machines and VI's。 He's not your typical Quarian， and I very much liked him as well。 He is levelheaded， and open to change and creative solutions。 The last main character was a Drell detective and she was the least interesting to me。 Most probably because she keeps lying and adapting herself according to who she is talking to， so you don't really get to know her。 Luckily the characters she gets teamed up with - a Batarian and a Volus - are interesting。 Overall， The story is suspenseful and tense。 I couldn't put the book down， I had to know if they could catch the culprit and save the ark。 There were some really heartbreaking moments， and the ending was bittersweet。 If it was impossible to get this story as a DLC， this book is certainly the next best thing。 I might need to do another playthrough of the game soon。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Annihilation

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Annihilation&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Annihilation&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0