If you were drawn to the eerie exploration of Area X and the unsettling, alien landscape that the biologist traverses in Annihilation, you'll appreciate The Fisherman. This novel follows two grieving men who discover a remote stretch of the Dutchman's Creek, rumored to grant wishes but at a terrible cost. The environment itself becomes a character, much like the shifting, forbidding nature of Area X, and the sense of dread and awe is palpable throughout.

If you enjoyed the intimate, character-driven focus on the expedition team in Annihilation, you'll likely be captivated by Roadside Picnic. Here, a handful of 'stalkers' risk everything to venture into a mysterious, perilous Zone left behind by extraterrestrials. The narrative keeps its lens tight on a few central characters, emphasizing their psychological struggles and the dangers lurking in the unknown.

If you found yourself fascinated by the biologist’s interior monologue and the psychological descent she experiences in Annihilation, The Cipher will pull you in. The story follows Nicholas and his girlfriend as they discover a mysterious hole—'the Funhole'—in their apartment building, which exerts a disturbing psychological influence. The protagonist's obsessive, sometimes unreliable perspective echoes the deep psychological exploration of VanderMeer's work.

If you were intrigued by the philosophical puzzles and the baffling, possibly sentient biology of Area X in Annihilation, then Blindsight will challenge and delight you. This novel assembles a crew of specialists to make first contact with an utterly incomprehensible alien presence at the edge of the solar system, constantly questioning the nature of self, perception, and intelligence—much like the existential mysteries that permeate Annihilation.

If you were captivated by the hallucinatory, dreamlike tone of Annihilation, where the boundaries between reality and the natural world dissolve, you'll be mesmerized by Mexican Gothic. Noemí's journey through a decaying mansion in the Mexican countryside is suffused with eerie, surreal imagery and a creeping sense of unreality, echoing the otherworldly atmosphere of Area X.