And when he does learn what is going on, his horror as well. In watching him find dead end after dead end you also begin to feel his frustration and despair. As one event leads to another and still there is no way to leave the sleepy little town, one begins to wonder if perhaps it is Ethan himself who is off. The main character Ethan is easy to sympathize with. The action is not just physical but psychological as well. These things are de rigeur for stories of this type and Crouch uses them all very well.Īs in his other novels, Crouch’s writing is tight paced. Indeed it relies on several familiar tropes that are standard – the perfect little town, the citizens that are a little too friendly, contact with any one outside of the actual town cut off for whatever reason. then the basic plotline of Pines will not seem new. If you are familiar with the “survival horror” genre, whether it be via video games, novels, etc. There were times I had to set it down and walk away to take care of one thing or another but I just as quickly returned because I simply had to know what happens next. It has been some time since a book has held my attention so fully that I read it in one evening. Oh my goodness dear reader, I am so glad I did. As a fan of the “survival horror” type video games (ie Silent Hill and Resident Evil) I was especially intrigued and added the title to my queue.

Blake Crouch is an author I have reviewed before on here and when looking at some of the other titles he’s written the Wayward Pines series stood out. Such is what happened with Pines, the first novel in the Wayward Pines series. Or maybe something in the blurb just piques my interest. Maybe something on the cover catches my eye.

Maybe I’ve read something from the author before, maybe I haven’t. Often times when I am looking for books to add to To Read list I will add titles that just sound interesting.

Pines book blake crouch