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cowgirlredd22's review
1.0
just, no. white dudes have written enough forever, the end. maybe this was exciting in 2005, but i should’ve known by the thanks to Ben Stiller on the author page what i was in for. horror in the loosest sense of the word, vapid, one dimensional characters, lazy use of a trendy vacation spot as the setting, trite secondary characters, and wordy - so wordy. there was zero setup for believability of the supernatural element so it came off as hokey and non-threatening. this could’ve been a truly creepy narrative. stephen king may want to rethink his endorsement on the cover.
kat_props's review
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
mackenzie_starnes's review
3.0
As an emetophobe with an intense fear of being lost with no food, water, or way to communicate, this checked all the boxes for a personally horrifying read. Great body horror without being overly gory. Will not be visiting Cancún anytime soon.
hesn92's review
1.0
Dnf. Boring, sorry. One guy falls Into a hole in the ground and I swear I was reading for what felt like hours for these dumb ass people to get him back out. Like get to the good part already. Also, why did one of the girls choose to wear sandals on a hike through a Mexican jungle? I just can't get over that.
Update - I watched the movie so I could see what happens without having to finish reading the book and I thought the movie was equally as bad.
Update - I watched the movie so I could see what happens without having to finish reading the book and I thought the movie was equally as bad.
sisteray's review
3.0
The Ruins is a fine little survival horror story that felt a bit stretched thin over 500+ pages. It was a decent read. I enjoyed it.
I have to admit with a name like The Ruins I had a real expectation that there would be some exciting exploration or fun revealed historic backstory. But the book pretty much is some annoying tourists make foolish decisions, and get in WAY over their head and end up trapped on a hill. Once that is set-up, most of the book is Waiting for Godot with carnivorous vines.
The book spends a lot of time in the heads of 4 of the 6 characters. So we get a lot of rationalization of bad choices and petty bickering for the first half of the book. There are some memorable gruesome body horror bits, but for the most part this is a character study of people being trapped in an inhospitable environment.
The vines were genuinely creepy, and the book is punctuated with some great plant interactions. All that element was really enjoyable. But, I grew tired of 3 of the 4 "main" characters we were following pretty early on.My favorite character, Mathias, who was equally present never was shown in his headspace. His internal story would have been a bit of a relief that never came, but the author wanted tension, so I get it.
It's fine. I think it's worth reading. I probably would have liked it more if he chopped it down to 300 pages, or added another hundred pages of discovery.
I have to admit with a name like The Ruins I had a real expectation that there would be some exciting exploration or fun revealed historic backstory. But the book pretty much is some annoying tourists make foolish decisions, and get in WAY over their head and end up trapped on a hill. Once that is set-up, most of the book is Waiting for Godot with carnivorous vines.
The book spends a lot of time in the heads of 4 of the 6 characters. So we get a lot of rationalization of bad choices and petty bickering for the first half of the book. There are some memorable gruesome body horror bits, but for the most part this is a character study of people being trapped in an inhospitable environment.
The vines were genuinely creepy, and the book is punctuated with some great plant interactions. All that element was really enjoyable. But, I grew tired of 3 of the 4 "main" characters we were following pretty early on.My favorite character, Mathias, who was equally present never was shown in his headspace. His internal story would have been a bit of a relief that never came, but the author wanted tension, so I get it.
It's fine. I think it's worth reading. I probably would have liked it more if he chopped it down to 300 pages, or added another hundred pages of discovery.
katepfeil's review
3.0
3.5/5stars
This was a very fun and entertaining horror that was very much like reading a shitty Netflix horror film loll I think people who like “The Troop” by Nick Cutter would love this
This was a very fun and entertaining horror that was very much like reading a shitty Netflix horror film loll I think people who like “The Troop” by Nick Cutter would love this
evaserrate's review against another edition
1.0
Character development? Check. Lush setting? Check. Horrible evil that will keep me up at night for weeks? Fail. The movie doesn't look like it could breath any life into this failure of a thriller, so I'm saving my money for when I'm super drunk and netflix it.
jess_just_reading's review
4.0
Perfectly encapsulated the word dread. Throughout this book you teeter between slivers of hope and absolute horror. The characters and POVs in this book really bring you into individual mindsets and place you into a “what would I do” scenario. In this book there is absolutely nothing you can do…