Jeff Vandermeer, Annihilation

The Author: VanderMeer is an established editor and writer of genre fiction, specifically the genre “New Weird” (which is a newer genre encompassing horror, fantasy, Goth, steampunk, and noir.) He loves writing about fungus.

The Skinny: Four researchers journey into the mysterious and desolated Area X, and discover an ancient structure. The group splinters, a fungus infects the narrator, and the book ends on a cliff-hanger, leaving you hungry for the next installations, which will be out in May and September.  

The Buzz: Readers are gobbling this book up. An NPR critic, for example, “finished the entire thing in less than a day, knowing it finally for the strange, clever…altogether fantastic book that it is.”

Why We Love it: Fungal fiction is a gross, awful-sounding name for a subgenre. But give it a chance, because a book about an intelligent, deadly fungus makes for an enthralling read—trust us.

Get it at amazon.com. 