Grim

This novel is genuinely grim. Far more desolate than the film adaptation, IMO. Well crafted and keeps you hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

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Great Narration, story above average

The story is a little slow but gets better as it goes on. If it wasn't for the narration though i may have struggled to finish this as it was a little difficult to follow at times

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Slow to start but becomes a very gripping book

Really enjoyed this book. It starts off a little slow, setting up the setting and the characters but it's still an interesting read. Then when the action starts it had me hooked. Can be quite gory and can be a difficult listen if you're squeamish! Excellent story and a fantastic ending, highly recommended. Competently read but you can tell it takes him a bit of time to get into it.

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7 people found this helpful

If you liked Stephen Kings the raft ..

I actually wanted to give this book 3 and a half stars but that wasnt an option. I see most people give this book great reviews, and while I enjoyed it I felt it could have been shorter. I felt bored at times. It is very well written, and the story was different, thou very much like Stephen Kings the raft, to me anyway. Definitely worth reading just didn't hold up to the hype for me.

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Grim and Gruelling

I loves the survival elememts of this story. I have a hunch it inspired some of Nick Cutters "The Troop" because of a few similarities. The film was good too, but they rushed it.

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Pretty good listen to pass the time.

I definitely enjoyed The Ruins, the story didn't quite go in the direction I'd imagined, and it was a little slow to start, but it was a good bit of sensational horror.

I did at times find the style of narration a little slow as the author would often repeat events from another character's point of view, which made me a little impatient for the narration to move on.
My main issue was that the characters were all pretty unlikeable, with the exception of one or two, or rather idiotic so I didn't feel I cared much about their survival. As the novel progressed I expected them to reveal hidden depths but they remained shallow and slightly caricature-esque, which was frustrating and left me feeling a bit removed from their situation.

Still, it was an enjoyable listen and I would definitely give it a go if you're a fan of b-type horror movies!

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1 person found this helpful

Scary 😨

So good had to watch the movie...Book far superior 😌
kick all your plants out ...

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Trashy and somewhat un-engaging but fun mostly.

The characters are fairly one-note, I can't say I particularly cared for any of them. The prose are good, nothing special but they get the job done. Some of the concepts it introduces in the second half to make the characters situation worse were very enjoyably horrific.

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OK, but don't believe the glowing endorsements

OK, they say never judge a book by it's cover, but I was somewhat swayed by the glowing endorsements (eg Stephen King) for this book. It's in the 'teenagers/twentysomethings' in peril genre and as far as it goes, it's ok. However, without giving too much of the plot away - the reasons underlying the peril are never adequately explained. I like my science fiction / horror to have at least a semi-tangible explanation (a la Michael Crichton for example). There are many aspects here that are just not explained, such as where the peril comes from and why the villagers behave as they do (don't think that gives too much away!). However, there is reasonably good tension developed between the characters, and it's not a bad listen - just not quite as great as the blurb would have you believe.

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5 people found this helpful

Teen Scream Ideal for Big Screens

💛 It’s no surprise this was made into a film. Beautiful teens, holiday horror, it’s made for the screen. It works well in the book too, but this is definitely more movie.

🖤 Overall I really enjoyed this. It’s scary, I thought the characters had some really interesting thoughts and traits. Yes, they were a bit generic, but that helped in simplifying detail for plot. They also worked well as a group. And the story always kept me interested. So far so good.

💙 Things got a bit slow at times as well as repetitive. It could have been an hour shorter and, had it been, it would have been a 4 star for me.

💚 I was sooo unhappy about the ending. Boo.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 This was a very easy listen. Patrick Wilson has a smooth voice with just an edge of gruffness. It reminded me of James Franco.

🎧 I would have preferred a female voice for the female roles. I could picture the male characters much more clearly than the female.

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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO…

Like a cross between Scream and Brokedown Palace.

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1 person found this helpful