I’ve been refreshing Blackstone Audio’s site every week or so for months now, looking for news on the narrator and release date confirmation. And lo and behold on their new Blackstone Library website is an even shinier new listing for Annihilation, the first novel in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy.

And the narrator is listed as Carolyn McCormick, whose work on The Hunger Games audiobooks I absolutely adored. This is a big-time casting for a big-time novel, and I’m very excited to see what McCormick brings to VanderMeer’s lush, mysterious “Area X”.

Also of note is that the release date is set for February 4, concurrent with the hardcover/ebook release from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Which is when it hits me: that’s barely over a month away. I can’t wait! It’s not yet up for pre-order from Downpour.com or Audible.com, but when it is, be assured that I will not be too quiet about it.