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On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman, and child in a remote gold-mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins - and not a single bone was ever found.
'Are you happy in your life?' Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he wakes to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before the man he's never met smiles down at him and says, 'Welcome back, my friend.' In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.
Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can't get away.
Fresh out of prison and fighting to keep afloat, Letty Dobesh returns to her old tricks burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel. While on the job, she overhears a man hiring a hit man to kill his wife. Letty may not be winning any morality awards, but even she has limits. Unable to go to the police, Letty sets out to derail the job, putting herself on a collision course with the killer that entangles the two of them in a dangerous, seductive relationship.
When Micajah Fenton discovers a crater in his front yard with a broken time glider in the bottom and a naked, virtual woman on his lawn, he delays his plans to kill himself. While helping repair the marooned time traveler's glider, Cager realizes it can return him to his past to correct a mistake that had haunted him his entire life. As payment for his help, the virtual creature living in the circuitry of the marooned glider, sends Cager back in time as his 10-year-old self.
There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman, and child in a remote gold-mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins - and not a single bone was ever found.
'Are you happy in your life?' Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he wakes to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before the man he's never met smiles down at him and says, 'Welcome back, my friend.' In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.
Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can't get away.
Fresh out of prison and fighting to keep afloat, Letty Dobesh returns to her old tricks burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel. While on the job, she overhears a man hiring a hit man to kill his wife. Letty may not be winning any morality awards, but even she has limits. Unable to go to the police, Letty sets out to derail the job, putting herself on a collision course with the killer that entangles the two of them in a dangerous, seductive relationship.
When Micajah Fenton discovers a crater in his front yard with a broken time glider in the bottom and a naked, virtual woman on his lawn, he delays his plans to kill himself. While helping repair the marooned time traveler's glider, Cager realizes it can return him to his past to correct a mistake that had haunted him his entire life. As payment for his help, the virtual creature living in the circuitry of the marooned glider, sends Cager back in time as his 10-year-old self.
There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
In 2061 a young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world. A desperate plan is formed: recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future.
Five days ago a rash of bizarre murders swept the country. Senseless. Brutal. Seemingly unconnected. A cop walked into a nursing home and unloaded his weapons on elderly and staff alike. A mass of school shootings. Prison riots of unprecedented brutality. Mind-boggling acts of violence in every state. Four Days Ago the murders increased ten-fold. Three days ago the President addressed the nation and begged for calm and peace. Two days ago the killers began to mobilize. Yesterday all the power went out. Tonight....
A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years. But even more mysterious was the blond-haired stranger who appeared out of nowhere - the man who saved Laura from a fatal delivery. Years later - after another bolt of lightning - the stranger returned.
For Will Innis and his daughter, Devlin, the loss was catastrophic. Every day for the past five years, they wonder where she is, if she is - Will's wife, Devlin's mother - because Rachael Innis vanished one night during an electrical storm on a lonely desert highway, and suspected of her death, Will took his daughter and fled. Now, Will and Devlin live under different names in another town, having carved out a new life for themselves as they struggle to maintain some semblance of a family.
Deadwood, USA. A girl sneaks out just before dark to ride her new bike. Suddenly, the ground disappears beneath her. Waking up at the bottom of a deep pit, she sees an emergency rescue team above her. The people looking down see something far stranger.... That girl grows up to be Dr. Rose Franklin, a brilliant scientist and the leading world expert on what she discovered.
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
One hundred years from now, and against all the odds, Earth has found a new stability; the political order has reached some sort of balance, and the new colony on Mars is growing. But the fraught years of the 21st century have left an uneasy legacy.... Genetically engineered alpha males designed to fight the century's wars have no wars to fight and are surplus to requirements. And a man bred and designed to fight is a dangerous man to have around in peacetime....
EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources, and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure. But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
Nobody knew where it came from. Nobody knew why it came. When an eight-foot-tall man made of stone appears in the middle of a busy city center one July afternoon, two-bit (and antisocial) reporter Andy Pointer assumes it's just a publicity stunt. Indeed, so does everyone else...until the Stone Man begins to walk, heading silently through the wall of the nearest building, flattening it, and killing several people inside as a result.
Secret-Service-Agent Ethan Burke hat in Wayward Pines, Idaho, eine klare Mission: Er soll zwei Bundesagenten aufspüren, die einen Monat zuvor in der abgelegenen Stadt verschwunden sind. Aber nur wenige Minuten nach seiner Ankunft wird Ethan in einen schweren Unfall verwickelt. Er kommt im Krankenhaus wieder zu sich, und sein Ausweis, sein Handy und sein Aktenkoffer sind verschwunden. Das Krankenhauspersonal scheint freundlich zu sein, aber irgendwas ist... merkwürdig.
Mild-mannered headmaster Thomas Senlin prefers his adventures to be safely contained within the pages of a book. So when he loses his new bride shortly after embarking on the honeymoon of their dreams, he is ill-prepared for the trouble that follows. To find her, Senlin must enter the Tower of Babel - a world of geniuses and tyrants, of menace and wonder, of unusual animals and mysterious machines.
Wayward Pines, Idaho, is quintessential small-town America — or so it seems. Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in search of two missing federal agents, yet soon is facing much more than he bargained for. After a violent accident lands him in the hospital, Ethan comes to with no ID and no cell phone. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into his colleagues’ disappearance turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he make contact with his family in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what’s the purpose of the electrified fences encircling the town? Are they keeping the residents in? Or something else out? Each step toward the truth takes Ethan further from the world he knows, until he must face the horrifying possibility that he may never leave Wayward Pines alive…
Good story, well written and keeps you speculating until the truth is revealed. I really enjoyed this novel and will get book 2.Touches of 'The Wicker Man' and 'The X Files' plausible characters and fast paced. Well worth a punt .
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
What did you like best about Pines? What did you like least?
I did like the idea of the story, but quite a few times it was a little slow going.
What aspect of Paul Michael Garcia’s performance might you have changed?
I thought his performance was ok. However he could have been a little more creative with some of the character's voices.
Do you think Pines needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
There are already 2 follow-up books to the Pines.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up Pines in three words, what would they be?
Vivid. Imaginative. Terrifying.
What other book might you compare Pines to, and why?
Brave New World and 1984. An imaginative and frightening vision of a possible future;
I sincerely hope Blake Crouch has got it completely wrong!
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
'You can check out any time you like... but you can never leave!'
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
Gripping storyline and moody athmosphere, you get attached to the characters, i was so captivated i listened to it in a day without noticing!
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
A brilliant twist and well read, this is a great novel, and will definitely look for other audiobooks by same Auther
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
This is a terrific book, gripping from the very start and very clever. It keeps you guessing. As the story progresses it is hard to pin it down to a specific genre - at some point it seems to be a psychological thriller but then maybe it is a crime mystery or maybe a horror or even a scifi? I looked for these audiobooks after enjoying the TV series based on the books so, before I started I already knew the big secret 'reveal' of the plot but this didn't spoil it for me. It is similar enough to the TV series to have the same haunting atmosphere but different enough to still be fresh. The narrator does a pretty good job reflecting the tension and mystery. A little gory for the squeamish but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for something exciting, compelling and a bit out of the ordinary.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
Was hooked on the tv show and got into the books straight away. Love it
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
Where does Pines rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
The best by far and I have listened to a lot. Loved it.
What other book might you compare Pines to, and why?
Watched films like this but not listened to a book like this.
What does Paul Michael Garcia bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Love listening to his voice, compare him to Sean Barrett
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Yes WOW got this is good
Any additional comments?
Can`t wait to listen to the next book in the trilogy
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
Would you try another book written by Blake Crouch or narrated by Paul Michael Garcia?
Yes
If you’ve listened to books by Blake Crouch before, how does this one compare?
N/A
Would you listen to another book narrated by Paul Michael Garcia?
Yes
Could you see Pines being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?
The guy on the cover.
Any additional comments?
Great premise but it felt like it was being dragged out by the end.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful
I love dystopic fiction and this trilogy was entertaining. The premise was refreshing and I'd say they were very easy and quite compelling to listen to.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful
This was a very interesting and fast paced story. It has a solid plot and fairly well done characters and stays pretty riveting throughout. The ending is a surprise, and ties everything together in a way that makes for a really unique idea. The reader does a great job too. I wonder about its classification- it is listed as mystery/thriller. It does have that - there is mystery and at times it is thrilling. However, I would have classed it as science fiction since I think that was the most dominant genre- that and a touch of horror.
One small complaint though, and this may stem from the genre the writer is trying to produce for - I think it would have been a stronger book without all the torture. I know that is popular and some peole are drawn to it - whole films have been made in recent years that revolve entirely around people being tortured in various ways. It isn't that I am too squeemish or uptight for it, though I do find it uncomfortable at times. More so I just don't find it particularly creative or interesting - ask anyone you know to think of the most horrible ways to hurt and kill someone. Everyone will quickly have lots of ideas. Particularly with a story as strong as this one, with so much that makes it interesting, and so much tension and mystery, I thought this was a major distraction at times. There were points at which clearly it made sense as it was integrated into the story and necessary, but for large portions I thought it served no real purpose and was far more detailed than it needed to be and found myself waiting for those bits to end so we could get back to the good stuff.
Also, it seems like it would have been more interesting if the antagonists had ways of interacting with the hero and with the good guys in ways that didn't always have torture as the main defining interaction - if the " I will now torture and kill you in horrible ways" wasn't the main motivation at all times... It seems a constant threat and, in the end, when we find out what has gone on, what this was all about, it particularly doesn't seem in keeping with the purpose behind the story. I can't give examples without giving spoilers so will leave it at that... As I said, I know it is popular among some audiences, but I really think this author is solid and creative enough to write a really great story without all that - or at least without it factoring so large in the book.
So those of you like me, who are not interested by that, and those of you that really hate that stuff have been warned. However, as I said, there is a lot going for this story and I found it very entertaining and was eager to find out what would happen and what all this was about... So overall, I think it is a pretty good experience and would recommend it.
152 of 163 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes I would recommend this book. I love the Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, and The Dark Side television shows and this book combined with a little horror mimicked the style of these series. I could not stop listening and found excuses to continue listening. Horror for the sake of horror becomes boring but mix in a little mind twist, a dash of Sci Fi, and "I did not see that coming" and horror becomes the "PINES".
What was one of the most memorable moments of Pines?
The chase!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
OH YES!!!!
Any additional comments?
Worth the credit.
81 of 91 people found this review helpful
The Twilight Zone
The more I listened to this the more I thought the Twilight Zone. An isolated town. A man who does not know who he is. No road in or out. How did he get here? What do they want with him? What about the strange town folk?
As I read other reviews, I found lots of people compared this to The Twilight Zone. The book is fast paced, with lots of twists and turns. It has fear and Science Fiction. This is the type of book I eat up. Every page, every sentence is exciting, no wasted space here.
I had never even heard of Blake Crouch, but thinks to someone I am following, I was lead to this masterpiece. Finding someone who has similar taste to your own is the biggest benefit to being an Audible member. There are so many books and authors. Taste vary so much. Often I have been disappointed by books with high ratings, but rarely does that happen when I take the advise of this individual I am following. This is the sixth book, she has recommended that I have read and they were all five star books. I might just go down her list of five star books and listen to them all. I also like a reviewer who can tell you what books are not so good. Bad reviews often lead to unhelpful votes by those who love the author, but I appreciate knowing a story falls short, has a bad narrator, is chick lit, wastes the time of a person of my taste. If you have been burned too many times, take the time to find reviewers who match your taste. Don't follow me if I don't match your style, but do yourself a favor and find the people who do match your tastes and review books yourself, not just the books you love, but the not so good and the bad, someone may be depending upon you.
This is the best book I have listen to in months.
You've crossed over into The Twilight Zone.
19 of 21 people found this review helpful
While I listened to the entire story, it just didn't grab me like I would have wished it to. Too many aborted escapes, too many chases--this took up the great majority of the story. I would have enjoyed it a bit more had the protagonist been somewhat more developed and likeable. I felt I never got to know who this man was. He certainly wasn't the overdone superhero type, yet I found him to be somewhat of a cardboard character. I really didn't care what happened to him, thus there was no tension for me.
On the positive side, I did like the ending. It was unexpected and different. However, it was not a theme I would want to revisit in a sequel.
Additionally, the narrator did a good job which added to the ease of this listen.
28 of 32 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
wow. what a great story! the pines is a great mix-up of different types of genres that come together that make up a thrilling listen. the story starts out simple enough.
ethan burke wakes up in a field not knowing where he is or who he is. all he knows is that he's injured. as he shambles toward the town, he starts to remember a few things. he runs into a few kind people who notice his terrible bruises and offer him help, but he doggedly says he can make it the couple of blocks to the hospital. however, something's nagging at him. he's trying to remember a name, a name that has caused this pain. along his way, he stops at a phone booth and notices how skinny the phone book is. it's only 8 pages. so he starts reading through it until he recognizes part of a name- mac. that name arouses anger in him so he stalks off to confront mac.
as ethan begins investigating the missing secret services agents, he notices things aren't what they seem in this small idyllic town. what follows is a creepy secret that is slowly revealed about the town, wayward pines. the more the story unfolded, the more engrossed i became in wanting to know what the heck is going on.
the story is delicious to listen to. throw in a little shutter island to develop some intrigue, add a little tales from the dark side to get your heart pounding, add a dash of logan's run to keep you guessing, and finish with a red pill to add a matrix-like twist to blow your mind!
overall, an excellent story that will keep you listening late into the night. it's definitely one of those stories you'll remember long after listening to it.
NOTE: at the time of this review, the audio book is on sale for $4.95. I recommend you download it immediately as it is a steal. i paid regular price, and it was worth every dollar!
44 of 54 people found this review helpful
As the story unfolds it becomes less believable. We have an agent of the US government who appears to be marooned in a small town, and he seems to remain clueless and helpless through much of the story. It does remind me of the kind of artificial plot lines that showed up in some of the mediocre episodes of the Twilight Zone TV series
The "reveal" at the end of the novel is even less believable. I can not see me ever buying any further installments to this series.
14 of 17 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
With over 4,000 reviews, I'm sure there's nothing that I can add to the list of great reviews. I loved it. As soon as my mind adjusted to the "Twilight Zonish" feel to the book, I couldn't put it down. When I finished, I immediately purchased book 2. I sped through that in a day and was immediately onto book 3. It's a great trilogy! Just sad to see it end.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful
One word, 2 letters. WOW! This offering from Blake Crouch and narrated exquistely by Paul Garci, is a winner, and moves to my all time best list.
The plot twists, the choices the characters need to make, the challenges and nuances, are all there, with occasional gore and violence, but nothing gratuitous, at least in my estimation.
Granted, there is some, if not a lot, of belief suspension required to complete the story line, but once you have digested this, the story plot does clarify, and the resolution does promote thought and consideration at the the end.
I recommend this book to fantasy, sci fi and mystery readers most highly.
49 of 62 people found this review helpful
Masterful storytelling. Spun with just the right amount of suspense and character development. Not too much, not too little. I didn't see it coming and I loved it! The narrator was great and brought the character to life. My only complaint is that I was up half the night because I could NOT stop listening. I will be wanting more from the author. It was simply brilliant!
21 of 27 people found this review helpful
This novel is a bit creepy, a sort of Twilight Zoneish kind of writing. A real surreal sense of What the Hell???? happens to protagonist Ethan Burke when he arrives in, what appears to be a quiet Rocky mountain town. As the story arc continues the strangeness increases until the reader is just as confused as the protagonist..something I appreciate in a book-I like stories that I can't figure out ahead of time.
This plot takes a lot of left turns without signaling and I found myself having to really pay attention to what I was listening to..something I'm not in the habit of doing as audio books are a kind of "listen while doing something else" thing for me. I had to rewind (in a digital way) several times. Ethan suffers several prisoner of war flashbacks that seem to effect him as he tries to make sense of his missing phone, wallet, inability to contact the world outside Idaho and the listener starts to wonder if he is going thru mental instability and everything is really as it should be. There was a real "Children of the Corn" moment in the book, as Ethan finds himself being chased by The Pines children as he runs, naked, thru the town trying to get away all the time knowing that theres no way of leaving the town. I was listening to this while my grand daughter was reading and she told me to put on headphones as the story was scaring her-shes 9.
On the other side, I wondered why it took Ethan so long to decide thing in The Pines were not normal. Why didn't he go to a bank and tyy to contact his home bank for money? Why not call his credit card company and get a new card-and if he was unable to do these things, it seemed he would have figured out that the town was not normal sooner. It just wasn't what an average person would do, much less a Secret Service Agent.
I'm sure some will think the story should rate 5 stars for excitement alone...but for me, it didn't. I couldn't get away from the B movie or TV series feeling, an Under the Dome, Outer Limits, TZ version of sci-fi/fantasy. it was good, but not that good. It held my attention but seemed -well-too contrived. I went between 3 and 4 stars. for me 3 is an average novel-nothing sterling or wonderful/nothing awful either. Just Meh..its ok. But it was more than that. It was a different story arc with a lot of but....why is this his thinking?
I dunno. A strange book, worth a listen for a real fan of B grade movies and stories.
The narrator was great, however. I've never listened to Paul Garcia before but I'll be sure to check out other audio books he's done. His work was real solid 5 star for me-masculine but not Dick Hill-ish in tone. Dramatic but not overdone. He does the weird parts very nicely, with a touch of irony that kind of got me on occasion.
A good listen even for urban fantasy readers and a must listen for those who love the strange. Good luck!
5 of 6 people found this review helpful