The new gothic turn in cli-fi: Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation and Tim Lebbon's Eden as dark hyperobjective narratives

This thesis explores the relationship between gothic, climate fiction (cli-fi), and Timothy Morton's ecological philosophy through the novels Annihilation (2014) by Jeff VanderMeer and Eden (2020) by Tim Lebbon. Through the coinage of the phrase "dark hyperobjective narratives" to refer to literary works that exemplify the characteristics of Morton's hyperobjects—viscosity, nonlocality, temporal undulation, phasing, and interobjectivity—while depicting nature as sentient, agentic, and ontologically destructive, it contends that rather than a thematic backdrop, environmental collapse in these narratives is a malevolent force that disturbs the narrative structure, character identity, and ontological stability. Morton's concepts of "dark ecology," "revenge of place" and "hyperobjects" are in line with both works' evocation of gothic affects—dread, isolation, and sublime awe—reframed in ecological terms. The thesis thus illustrates how modern cli-fi not only mirrors the existential and psychological challenges of the Anthropocene but also reimagines narrative itself by placing these works inside the framework of the dark hyperobjective narrative. Instead of providing salvation or closure, these narratives transport the reader to a dimension in which nature is a transformational and unnerving force beyond human understanding, rather than merely a setting, thereby aiming to guide readers and characters to accept the agency of nonhuman realms.