Run by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ok, I am going to mention something that the blurb doesn’t mention: this is Blake Crouch’s first book. He wrote this before he wrote the other best sellers you might have read.
Here’s why this matters: While it has some things in common, in a lot of ways, it’s a completely different style than his books. First of all, it has little to no science in it. It’s not really futuristic (in my opinion) even though there are several elements that could be construed as futuristic also it has very little plot. Basically the whole story is about running away and trying to get to the border. A lot of stuff happens but the plot itself is basically that.
The why and what are thin in this story. It’s much more action and gory/horror action for the most part. Which is also more uncharacteristic of his later novels. At least not this much. At some point I was overwhelmed with the amount of gore and violence especially since it feels senseless and there’s nothing grounding the reader to the why.
The one thing that’s most consistent with his current style is the adrenaline rush you feel as you read the story. It’s nonstop adrenaline. In this case it’s full of violence and gore and horror but the pacing is so on par with his usual style.
It’s hard to say i loved this because it is so disturbing and so violent. And in some ways unsatisfying. But it’s also not easy to put down.
with gratitude to netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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