A solid speculative fiction/thriller read from the master, Blake Crouch. You can tell this is an earlier book for him, as you can see the threads of his style forming, but without quite the same can't-catch-your-breath pace of later books like Dark Matter and Upgrade. It remains a propulsive ride, telling the story of a family on the run after America is hit by a pandemic of the population turning murderous. The scenes in which attacks happen, or the family happens upon the remains of an attack, are harrowing. I do think it would have been nice to get a little more lead-up to the family leaving and the attacks starting, as you are essentially dropped into the story right in the midst of action. I also felt that the ending was a bit rushed, and I would have preferred a bit more explanation rather than the epilogue, which felt a bit slapped on. All in all, it is an exciting book, and if you have been a fan of Blake Crouch's other work, I recommend you read this from his backlist.

That being said, the main lesson from this book, to me? Don't try to get through the apocalypse with children. Also, maybe don't read this right before the aurora borealis appears in your area for the first time!

I read this book years ago but didn't remember what I thought of it, so when I saw it was being re-released I jumped on the chance to read it again, especially sine I have enjoyed most of [author:Blake Crouch|442240]'s books (with the exception of [book:Wayward Pines: Pines|28050814]).

This book is like if Walking Dead met The Crazies. It is action packed right from the get-go, and is a fast-paced read and kept me entertained, but it did not feel like anything very unique or original (not like [book:Dark Matter|27833670] did, per se). I also did not like any of the characters so I didn't feel connected to any of them.

That being said, it was still an enjoyable read. It kept me engaged and I loved the tension and the build-up. If you're looking for a fast-paced, action packed post-apocalyptic read I would recommend it.

Oh my….. this book has left me speechless! It was amazing! Five days ago there were a ton of murders. The President addresses the nation. Murders are continuing to happen across the nation in massive numbers. Names are being read over a broadcast of those that are to be killed. They read out… Jack Cloclough. He has a wife and two kids. Nothing left for them to do but RUN. What is happening? Why is it happening? Can they make it? Will it end?

Crouch is just an amazing author. I was on edge from the very first page of the book; the book is filled with suspense. I felt myself holding my breath because I didn’t know what was going to happen and I couldn’t believe what was happening. My heart was beating faster because I was just imagining all of this happening and it is a very scary thought! Trying to survive the elements, trying to survive outside… I don’t know that I could do it!

There are tons of books about murders; there are tons of books about killers chasing victims. This book was SO different from anything that I’ve ever read. This is a book that is filled with action as well. And just when you think that maybe things will slow down, NOPE! Just kidding!

I don’t know that my words are doing this book justice. It really is just amazing. It’s dark, and it can be a little descriptive of the deaths, but I think thriller book readers are really going to enjoy this book. I cannot wait for another book from Crouch. I love his mind!

While I know this is a re-pub of his book in 2011, this one fell just a bit short for me. I’m not a big fan of post apocalyptic stories so that ones on me, but also I feel like that kind of story has been done to death. I will say Crouch is fantastic at keeping a reader flipping pages!
Overall it was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

I didn't remember when I started this that it was a reissue of an earlier book of the author's, and it's definitely a little different than the ones I have read from him previously. But! I could not put this down. Consistently high stakes, not insignificant amounts of violence and gore, and a sense of hopelessness but determination radiate from this and make it necessary to keep reading to see who survives and how.

Prior to reading this book I had read 3 other Blake Crouch books and really enjoyed them! It was part of the reason why I requested this one on NetGalley and was so excited when I got approved. From my understanding, this is a re-release of this book.

Run is a post-apocalyptic thriller and throws you almost immediately into the action. If you are somebody who doesn’t like a slow build you’ll probably really enjoy this aspect! For most of the book we as the reader have no idea why this is happening, but you’re also just rooting for Jack and his family to survive. While I didn’t dislike this book, I ended it feeling a bit lukewarm and very neutral about it.

Things I enjoyed:
-The storyline between Jack and his family was really a centerpiece for me
-I appreciated the tension that built in so many scenes - Blake Crouch tends to do this really well across the books I’ve read at least

Things that missed the mark:
-I feel like this story teetered on the edge of being Sci-fi but never committed. I wish it would have so we maybe could’ve gotten more explanation about why this was happening.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with this advanced readers copy!

Overall Rating | ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow- this book was really a page turner for me. I was hooked from the minute I started reading it and ended up finishing it in one day. It follows a family as they try to escape from citizens of the US who have become indiscriminate killers. The killers are often working as groups together hunting down people to kill. Run was fast paced and had lots of action. You could feel the tension and stress the family was under on their journey. There were plenty of unexpected turns in the story and it kept my on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have been making recommendations to friends to check it out as well. Thank you to Ballantine Books for the ARC of the new edition.

Listen up fam….this was dark and hard to read. And it genuinely pains me to have to rate this book.

I love Blake Crouch’s books; Dark Matter and Recursion were both amazing, and I rated both 5 stars, so I’m working my way through his backlist. Ironically, Run came available on NetGalley, so I had to check it out. Originally published by Blake in 2011, it is being re-published under his publishing house.

This was suspenseful right from the beginning; my heart was racing so much! Apocalyptic, violent, action-packed. My anxiety was through the roof.

But it was so violent and terrible. Truly horrifying. I had to stop reading multiple times. Maybe I needed to read it at a different time? It was so different from his more recent works that I read so maybe I was jarred by the change. I’m not sure what it was, but the horror of the events made it difficult to read. And irrespective of that, I didn’t like the ending; it felt rushed, a little confusing, and not believable with the rest of the book.

⭐️⭐️ (it pains me, it really does)
New Pub: 10/22/24

Thank you Random House Ballentine and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Run by Blake Crouch was a WILDDDDD ride!!

I'm not totally one for an apocalyptic thriller (I've never seen an episode of Walking Dead...l know), but this book had me completed hooked. At the 60% mark I knew there was no sleep to be had until it was finished.

This is the story of Jack Colclough, his wife Dee, and their children, Naomi and Cole, literally running for their lives in an America gone bananas. Killers have mobilized the country, pillaging and murdering by the thousands, and Jack and his family have left Albuquerque fleeing towards...safety? Their only chance for this ordinary family to survive is to run.

The pacing of this book was top-notch. It definitely kept my heart stopping and I couldn't get to the next page fast enough. If you're looking for an adrenaline-pumping read...it's this one!

It's worth noting that this book was also totally life affirming and had a lot of life lessons within it.

From family drama, to recognizing and appreciating what you have, this book left me extra thankful to be snuggled up with a blanket in a warm house with my family!!!

It looks like this was previously published in 2011 and maybe got a glow up when Blake Crouch's fame took off? This book releases October 22 and is definitely the perfect thriller for the season!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Blake Crouch for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Reading this right when the Northern Lights were visible to the majority of the US was a weird coincidence that really upped the antee yet, it didn’t give me the jitters I was looking for. The plot was certainly intriguing but I wanted more drama as much of the book is a family wandering the wilderness. It definitely felt repetitive and I skimmed a bit because there is only so much “I haven’t eaten in days” content you can read without getting bored. Now knowing this was self-published by Crouch over a decade ago makes this story a little clearer and probably one you could skip.

This seemed really familiar right from the get go. I thought maybe it was very similar to something else I’ve read. But no. I got to one particular scene and realized I had read this one years ago.

Reading this book is like watching an episode of The Walking Dead. Constant moving. Characters in and out. Long periods where the tension builds up. Maybe something happens. Maybe it doesn’t.

Not my favorite Blake Crouch book but still exciting to read.

Trigger warning: Scenes of rape and torture.

This really didn't work for me, probably because there are plot holes and coincidences galore that just never get explained. The ending didn't really work either. I think with what came before, it strained believability.

"Run" was first released back in 2011, but with Crouch's success, it has been re-released. I can't speak to any changes between the 2011 and 2024 version, but can say that this is just a passable horror end of the world book that you can't spend much time thinking about.

"Run" starts off with a woman [unnamed] who goes to a mass grave site and we find out that it contains men, women, children who who were shot and then cut up with chainsaws. She and another man make mention of New York. Then the book follows Jack Colclough and his wife Dee, his 14 year old daughter, Naomi, and 7 year old son, Cole. We don't know what is going on, but know they are fleeing their home and trying to make a run for it. Something has caused most of the Americans to turn suddenly violent and to rape and kill anyone else that is not like them. The book follows the family as they try to get to a "safe zone" in Canada [shades of Stephen King's 'The Stand."]

I don't really have an opinion on the characters we follow. I think because of how Crouch plops into the story, we don't get to see them as a family as much as a family on the run. Some things are revealed here and there, but it's mostly us following Jack for the majority of the story and reading about the things he has seen and he and his family do to survive. I think I had a harder time for why and how the mass murdering started. I won't spoil, but I went okay this is dumb like a thousand times. I think it may have worked better if Crouch had let that part alone. But instead it becomes central and it turns into a whole us versus them thing.

The flow of the book has it's up and downs, no spoilers, but the book moved much quicker when we shifted perspectives, and then when went back again it slowed down a lot. I also can't get away from the ridiculous coincidences that crept up with one character we see at the beginning and end. It didn't even make sense with the central plot point of hey [redacted] makes us murder and kill, but not in this one case cause reasons.

The setting is America, with Jack and his family trying to get from New Mexico to Canada. I think if you drove non-stop, you can get to Canada in something like 30 hours, but of course with the U.S. becoming a wasteland, Jack and family take much longer to get there and there just seems to be stops along the way that are just...I don't know I mentioned Stephen King earlier, it felt like parts of that were trying for "The Stand" vibes and fell. And since so many people were the villains' in this one, you just start to feel disaffected by the whole thing.

I don't know just don't think I was in the mindset to read a book about mass murders and rape right now. Also, I think things would have been a thousand times worse with the fact that most Americans have more than one weapon. So the ending felt very fantastical to me in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this backlist title from 2011. Did I have to suspend all the disbelief in the world that this family survived every horror that came their way? Yes. Was it ridiculously violent and gory? Absolutely. Was it a read that I flew through in just a few hours? Also yes. You will likely find Crouch's evolution interesting if you have read any of his recent novels. This is a nice reminder to take an occasional dive into the backlist.

I loved it!! Very good! Very bad, scary things happened in this story. Not one dull page to read. Blake Crouch is one of my favorite authors for a reason and this is it!

Run by Blake Crouch

If you were lucky enough to know that Mr. Crouch self-published this book back in 2011, you may have already read it. Lucky you! I was offered this book as an advance reader’s copy, so I assume that this is a re-release by Ballantine Books. The Acknowledgments give you more details on the history of this book. I had never heard of this book and was excited about reading another book from one of my favorite authors. If you read my reviews of Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade, you know what a fan I am.

Run was written before those books mentioned above. It is Wayward Pines-esque in terms of tone, mood, excitement, and overall breath-taking suspense. It is not a Wayward Pines story, though. I loved it. The first thing you will notice about this book is that it contains no numbered chapters. There are occasional space divisions. I generally do not like books without chapters for this reason. If I like/love the book, I cannot put it down. If you have this problem, beware. I read this book in about a day and a half. I was glued to it.

Starting a few weeks ago, the news began reporting that the aurora borealis would make appearances much further south in the U.S. than ever before. When you begin reading Run, you won’t be able to stop thinking about that. Is the release of this book tied to that? I cannot help but think that it has to be. Maybe just an unbelievable coincidence? Have you seen the aurora lately? How are you feeling? I have not seen it, and now I do not even want to. Ha!

I am not going to spoil anything in this book for you. I have just one last comment. I am a pretty harsh judge of families and family members in books. I seem to run into families who have members making obviously ignorant choices. I have little patience for that. The Colclough family was a wonderful exception to this. The family endures nightmare after nightmare and makes the best possible decisions every single time based on all of the horrific circumstances they encounter. I liked them all…even the kids.

Oh…a reading suggestion: once you finish the book, go back and reread the first section again. I’ll bet you will have forgotten it. I had forgotten it or just not understood the context. It makes for additional closure.

I hope you enjoy Run as much as I did.
Star rating: 5 stars

*this is a republish of Crouch’s 2011 novel* it’s a pretty good, high-action and fast-paced survival thriller, Crouch’s signature character work is still present. I personally definitely prefer his newer sci-fi leaning stuff though. this was fun and quick but not my usual genre choice.

Readers should know that this is not a new book by Blake Crouch, but it rather a wide release of a book he initially self-published in 2011. The novel follows a family on the run as they try to make their way from New Mexico to Canada while fleeing individuals who have been struck by an inexplicable rage virus.

The plot is an interesting premise and I love dystopian fiction. I have had the opportunity to read some of Crouch's more recent sci-fi novels and appreciate his dark, thought-provoking stories. However, I found this novel extremely unpolished and the plot holes distracting. The widespread nature of the virus seemed implausible given its origin, and I was very frustrated by the book's sudden resolution. The book sank to a one-star review for me during an episode of needless body horror and torture that just made no sense to the plot.

I regret that readers might pick up this book thinking that it is a new release from Crouch and up to the caliber they have come to expect from him. I know that I was disappointed that the rage virus was not better developed as a plot point and wish that the publisher had taken this opportunity to assist Crouch in crafting a better version of this novel.

Run by Blake Crouch was a WILDDDDD ride!!

I'm not totally one for an apocalyptic thriller (I've never seen an episode of Walking Dead...l know), but this book had me completed hooked. At the 60% mark I knew there was no sleep to be had until it was finished.

This is the story of Jack Colclough, his wife Dee, and their children, Naomi and Cole, literally running for their lives in an America gone bananas. Killers have mobilized the country, pillaging and murdering by the thousands, and Jack and his family have left Albuquerque fleeing towards...safety? Their only chance for this ordinary family to survive is to run.

The pacing of this book was top-notch. It definitely kept my heart stopping and I couldn't get to the next page fast enough. If you're looking for an adrenaline-pumping read...it's this one!

It's worth noting that this book was also totally life affirming and had a lot of life lessons within it.

From family drama, to recognizing and appreciating what you have, this book left me extra thankful to be snuggled up with a blanket in a warm house with my family!!!

It looks like this was previously published in 2011 and maybe got a glow up when Blake Crouch's fame took off? This book releases October 22 and is definitely the perfect thriller for the season!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Blake Crouch for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Wow this book is brutal. The horror of close up warfare, loss of humanity, end of the world apocalyptic events and my personal worst - mountain climbing without a map. I could not put this down. I didn’t realize when I got the ARC from NetGalley that this was a re-release of Blake Crouch’s first novel. It was my first exposure to his books but won’t be my last. Propulsive, ominous, mysterious and sad - highly recommended.

No time to think. No time to ask why. Only time to run.
Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began.
Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.
Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace—even as the murders increased tenfold.
Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize.
One day ago, the power went out.
And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.
Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son. He has no idea what’s happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past. His only chance is to run.

This book follows Jack Colclough & his family as they travel across the U.S. trying to reach the Canadian border where they hope they will be safe. They have no idea what they are up against when they leave home. The scenes reminded me of those in the Walking Dead, only without zombies. Instead, there were a lot of gun-toting murderous men & women bent on killing anyone that did not also have "the glow". What caused "the glow", you ask? Apparently seeing the auroras that had lit up the skies of the entire United States and Northern Mexico. Before reading this book, I had always wanted to see an aurora, but I have never had the opportunity. Now, I don't know that I want to anymore. This book was excellent. It set me on edge, kept me captivated the entire book, had me wanting to tell other people about it. If you are a fan of high octane thrillers, then you should definitely check this out!