”Maybe sometimes we just need to kill each other.”

Imagine The Purge with a sci-fi twist and you’ve got Run. It is action-packed, adrenaline-fueled, and filled with enough blood & guts to jump over the fence that separates a thriller from a horror story.

”Tell me how we’re going to survive this.”

If you’re expecting a deep-dive into science and technology and possibilities, which Blake Crouch is known for, this isn’t that. This is a gory, violent apocalyptic wasteland where the only concern is survival.

”It’s going to get very bad very fast.”

I’ll admit that there were a few plot points that weren’t fully explained, so I was a little lost in the details of the story. But Crouch definitely captured the tension and dread of the life-or-death situation, which kept me on the edge of my seat!

——

A huge thank you to Blake Crouch, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Run by Blake Crouch is a fast-paced, heart pounding, nightmare of a novel. We follow a family of four, parents Jack and Dee, their two children Naomi and Cole, in a time of total chaos and anarchy. At the outset of the book, we don’t know what’s happening just that there is violence and chaos happening across the contiguous United States. Groups of people are systematically hunting down and violently murdering others. Cell phone towers go down, there’s no tv, only a single radio station calling out names and addresses forcing the families, like Jack’s, to flee their home. They are horrified by what they find, death everywhere, cities and towns burned to the ground, constantly outrunning groups trying to find and kill them.

I didn’t realize till the author’s note at the end of the book that this was actually Blake Crouch’s first novel that he self-published. It’s being ‘officially published’ for the first time by Ballantine Books. I was hooked from the first moment I started reading this book. It kept me up half the night because I could not put it down. It gave me so much anxiety, yet I had to keep reading. It was a little like watching a train wreck in that as horrified as you were, you kept watching. There were moments of light and love throughout, which is what I love the most about Blake Crouch’s writing…even at the end of the world there are moments of humanity. I’m glad that his books after this are more balanced on the horror.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Dark Matter and Recursion by Blake Crouch so I was excited to be chosen to receive an ARC of the rerelease of Run.

Unfortunately, I am deciding to DNF this book at 10% because the plot and POVs are quite jumbled and not pulling me in. I also feel this is much more jarring and violent than his other books I’ve read.

I will not be sharing this opinion so no link. I don’t want to deter other readers just because it was not for me!

This book was a really good, fast paced apocalyptic thriller. It was pretty non stop action and the characters were great. The writing was a tiny bit clunky for me but once you get into the rhythm of it it’s not too bad. Overall I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more of his books.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This version of the novel officially releases on 10/22/24!

This novel is the epitome of an edge of your seat plot. I was hooked from the first part and found myself trying to get back to reading it any chance I had. It’s my understanding that this is a re-release of this book so I’m not sure what, if anything, changed from previous editions. However, I found the premise of this novel to be intriguing and unique, and found myself rooting for all of the MCs throughout. Giving this one 4 stars because I do believe I would have liked a little more of a backstory as to why this happened since readers are plopped into this situation and although there is some discussion, to me it was still up for speculation. If you do decide to pick this one up, please check any relevant trigger warnings before doing so, as there are graphic depictions throughout.

This was just ok. The suspense was great but the formula was the same for the characters. Run, bad people, escape, and run again. This family simultaneously had the best and worst luck.

I didn't know until after reading that this book was the authors first. I have read a few of his other works and you can see how much he's grown as an author.

Overall this is definitely worth a read but if it is your first book from this author, I urge you to pick up more of his books.

Thank you to Netgalley, Blake Crouch, and Random House Publishing for the ebook. This isn’t my usual genre, but I genuinely loved it. If you enjoyed Bird Box, you won’t want to miss this one! I found myself on the edge of my seat, staying up late to turn the pages. It’s definitely a must-read!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5! What an exciting, heart pounding, thrilling ride! All of a sudden, a bunch of senseless shootings and killings have broken out across the US. What is happening and why have so many formerly good people turned into monsters? Jack, Dee and their two kids decide to hit the road to escape the craziness going on, but they soon discover that the world has become a terrible, threatening, unstable place. Run is full of suspense, action and emotions. You never know when the next scary thing is going to happen. Danger lurks around every corner. The tension had me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this gripping read. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the digital ARC.

Considering this was not my genre, it was good. I have read this author before but the book I read was different and much more of a science fiction-suspense thriller. This was post apocalyptic, not usually my thing. The general premise is that there is a phenomenon involving lights that made people who watched them kill others. This occurred in the United States and part of Mexico only, which confused me some. The country became "survivalist" as people tried to escape those driven to kill by the lights. We follow one family as they, at various points, get split up and find each other again. the plot was good, however, I would have liked to have seen more of a focus on relationships because some of the action became a bit repetitive and to me, it is the relationships during crises that are the most interesting.
Overall, I would give this 3.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Run is Blake Crouch's first novel and it is being rereleased. It is insanely good and it's a debut! We follow four people, a family, as they run from the apocalyptic nightmare they are living. The world has turned upside down and there are bands of people murdering other people. Life, as we know it, has stopped. In this world, Jack and Dee along with their two kids, Naomi and Cole are just trying to survive. Whatever has happened has turned a percentage of the population into killers. How do you survive? How do you save your kids? Who can you trust? This was a compelling story that I read in one sitting. Wow. Thank you to Penguin Random House and Ballantine Books and Net Galley for my advance reader copy.

What a unique, nail-biting, dystopian thriller - a classic Blake Crouch special! If you can't get enough of The Last of Us style premise, then you're sure to enjoy Run. It's also just so nice to see this self-published work getting picked up to be traditionally published.

Personally, it's not quite a full 5 stars, just because the plot stagnated a few times for me, where I felt that it could've built up more.

This was my first Blake Crouch novel, and from my understanding it is very different from the more current novels he’s written, which is a relief for me, because this one was not for me.

Run is an apocalyptic survival horror novel centered around a family desperate to escape after a phenomenon that has made most of the population suddenly violent and murderous.
The premise was incredibly intriguing and promising, unfortunately the follow through wasn’t the same. The story exploration just wasn’t there and was instead full of the same plot line repeated in circles until the end.
The gratuitous violence and gore was hard to stomach when it seemed to be the main storyline rather than exploring the phenomenon that caused the widespread violence, which would have been much more interesting, in my opinion.
I stuck it out to the end because I did want to see the resolution and was invested in the family’s outcome. The resolution was a bit lackluster, but I was glad to learn the answers I sought so the book didn’t haunt me with what ifs.

Unfortunately, Run was not for me, but I’m willing to give Blake Crouch’s other novels a shot as I’ve heard such good things.

Thank you to the author and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this eARC via NetGalley.
Publication date 10/22/24

his is a story of a natural phenomenon causing a country to run for their lives, but it’s also the story of a family: Jack, a philosophy teacher, his wife Dee, a doctor, their 14-year-old daughter Naomi, and Cole, their seven-year old son. Jack and Dee are on the verge of divorce when things go haywire, and they are forced to stick together to keep their children safe.

This book was self-published in 2011, and is now being rereleased. I can’t help but wonder if this year had anything to do with it, as the Aurora Borealis that swept much of North America in 2024 is very similar to the events that cause this family to RUN. Those who saw the Northern Lights (most of the United States and northern Mexico) are now subhumans who are intent on killing anyone not like them, causing cities to be burned and mass graves to be dug.

While this book is not at all like “The Stand”, there is a slight resemblance in that there are two groups in the country - those “affected” who want to kill everyone they see, and those who are just trying to find safety in a world gone mad. Our family is in the second group. They are not affected, and they flee from Albuquerque, New Mexico, all the way to Montana, trying to find refuge in Canada. Along the way, they endure many near-death experiences, many injuries and spent many nights starving and thirsty.

This was a page-turner from start to finish - you’ll want to read this in one sitting, if possible! The book was horrifying, thrilling, heartbreaking and suspenseful; this one isn’t for the faint of heart. I absolutely loved it and I’m glad it’s being published again for a new audience. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Random House - Ballentine, Blake Crouch and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

I didn’t realize that this book was a re-release of one of his previous works before he really became well known. Regardless, it had a lot of the Blake Crouch elements that I’m used to, but this one added a level of violence/gore that we don’t normally see in such abundance in his books.

I will say it was nice to read one of his books that didn’t make my brain hurt. Sometimes his writing goes a little too science-fictiony for me but I didn’t have an issue with this one.

Definitely one you won’t want to put down because it is just non-stop action and suspense. But also not for the faint of heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC for the re-release of this book. I didn't realize when I requested that this was a re-release of a book that Crouch wrote years ago. I thought that made it more interesting since this was written pre-pandemic lock-down without the trauma of collective unknowns and fear of death and loss around every corner. It was also not written as well as some of his later, more popular books, but it made a lot more sense with it being one of his firsts, and it shows that Crouch has had some great ideas from the beginning.
All that being said, I thought this was a great book. The tension, pacing and sense of danger and foreboding were well done throughout the book. It caught the fear and tension of parenting and trying to protect the people you love with a deep sense of empathy, considering when this was written. This was definitely a survival thriller with only a very light sci-fi element, and it takes place over a week except for the epilogue.

What a great post-apocalyptic thriller! This isn’t my normal type of read, but the description sounded great and it did not disappoint. This was fast paced and interesting. I’ve never seen the Aurora Borealis before and I don’t think I’ll be jumping to after reading this book!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

You know me if I read the synopsis at all it was forever ago and I have no clue what it said. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Holy freaking wild ride batman. That was one of the fastest-paced short books I've read. AND it did NOT disappoint at all!! Run don’t walk (see what I did there) to read this book. I’ll be honest I’m sad I don’t have a hard copy for my shelves.

This was originally self-published so it has been out for a while. Maybe you’ve read it but probably not.
Thank you to @blakecrouch1 @penguinrandomhouse & @netgalley for a gifted copy of the e-book

Run by Blake Crouch is a relentless, pulse-pounding ride from start to finish. The suspense kicks in from page one and never lets up, throwing you into a terrifying apocalyptic scenario where survival is the only goal. Crouch masterfully weaves together a gripping plot, visceral action, and raw emotion as Jack and his family fight for their lives against a world gone mad. The pacing is relentless, and the twists will leave you breathless. If you’re looking for a thriller that’ll keep you on edge, this is it.

Thank you Blake Crouch, Random House Publishing Group- Balantine, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the eARC.

Blake Crouch books can be hit or miss for me. Upgrade was one of my all time favorites but I got somewhat lost in Dark Matter. I did not initially recognize that Run was one of his earlier books, but still found that it kept me on the edge of my seat and super intrigued. I enjoyed this one and will continue to look for future work by Crouch.

Blake Crouch masterfully crafts a fast-paced narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The novel delves into the dark aspects of human nature and society, offering thought-provoking commentary on how quickly civilization can unravel under extreme stress. The stark, brutal realism of the story is both terrifying and compelling.

As a seasoned storyteller, Crouch excels in creating tension and suspense. His vivid descriptions and dynamic pacing ensure that "Run" is a book that readers will find hard to put down. The novel is more gory and intense compared to some of his other works, but it remains a standout in the apocalyptic thriller genre.

In conclusion, "Run" is a must-read for fans of apocalyptic thrillers. Its relentless pace, intriguing exploration of human behavior, and Crouch's exceptional storytelling make it a memorable and thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a gripping and chilling adventure that will linger in their thoughts long after the final page.