4⭐️
This is a very fast paced story about Jack and his family’s attempt at survival during a crazy end of the world situation. It’s wild and entertaining. I found used cheering not only for their survival but also their relationship.

This book was one that kept you reading from start to finish. I found myself thinking I had missed something numerous times thru the book however and it was distracting to me. I give this a sold 3.25 stars. I just wanted more from the ending that I didn’t get.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5!

I was SO very excited to get to read this re-release of Run by Blake Crouch! It was first published in 2011 and its new pub date is Oct. 22, 2024! Thank you to @netgalley, @randomhouse and Ballantine books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Synopsis:
A few days after a 'big event' (no spoilers here!) many people in the U.S. all the way down to Mexico begin to change into cold-blooded killers. This sudden new reality becomes those who are 'affected' actively seeking out those who are not, to kill.

The story follows Jack Colclough, his wife, Dee, and their 2 children Naomi (14) and Cole (7). They become hunted and are forced to flee their Albuquerque, New Mexico home, while staying as off-the-grid as possible traveling North to reach supposed sanctuary in Canada. The entire journey is just as the book's title suggests and they encounter an insane amount of obstacles on their way. The affected are everywhere and these people, in conjunction with the elements of nature, need to find food and water, and absolute exhaustion, make this an absolute page-turner from start to finish.

Opinion:
🚨This is NOT a story for the faint of heart. There is a LOT of death, murder, and desolation in this book. Do not read this if you can't handle gory, gruesome killing, including deaths of innocent families, including young children. I actually really enjoyed the book's fast-paced ride and how Blake Crouch was able to show how the Colclough family grew stronger even in the face of the most unthinkable adversity. It makes you think about just what you would do to protect your loved ones in a somewhat post-apocalyptic type of situation and whether or not any of us would be able to retain our humanity through all of these tests. Blake Crouch definitely knows how to craft an engaging science fiction novel!

Run by Blake Crouch
10.22.24

First off, huge Blake Crouch fan here! Run is one of those books I read in one night – I couldn’t put it down and on top of that, I couldn’t stop talking about it. Survival horror/thrillers is a favorite genre. I can’t get enough of it. Definitely an underrated genre in my opinion and when it’s done well it’s the cat nip that feeds my little kitty heart!

Imagine, if you will – you’re going about your life just like normal but suddenly on the news, you start to hear about a rash of bizarre murders. You think to yourself, ‘man, this world is whacked’. But then, it just keeps getting worse. Multiplying by the thousands until people who were previously non-murderous start to ban together, all to murder a certain group of people. Suddenly, you realize you and your family are in that group. How? It was publicly broadcast that anyone in that area should go and murder you. Doxing in its most extreme form.
There’s no power. The world has gone completely haywire. You have to protect your family. This is what happens to Jack and the only thing he can do is take his family and run.

This is action-packed, pure survival horror and be prepared for a bloody mess – yes, that’s your TW. Not for the faint of heart but if, like me, you love a good survival story, this will be your absolute dream story. Full of hardship and trauma, but also hope, it gives a worst-case scenario in a world gone mad and a true testimony of the strength of love.

Fantastically written, bravo, Blake, bravo! I’ll be talking about this book for years and thinking about it for even longer!

A little bit spoilerish: Kudos to anyone who, like me, read this during the recent Northern lights’ exposure!

The action never stops in this one, that's for sure! We follow a family of 4 as they try to escape this seemingly random epidemic of rage sweeping the U.S. People killing each other, burning towns to the ground, all out madness. We don't know what's happening or why, all we know is escaping is the only chance at survival.

I would give this a 3.5 star rating. This book ultimately wasn't what I expected. I've read Dark Matter and Recursion by Crouch, and enjoyed them both. I guess I was expecting another science fiction themed book, which is sort of intertwined. However, this is mostly a thriller. I just didn't find it as compelling as I hoped. I also found the explanation to be a bit spoon-fed and on the nose. It was a page turner, though.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this!

3.75⭐️

Sometimes the scariest thing about a story is how possible it is. While the cause of this reality doesn’t feel as realistic the outcome feels entirely possible. Also the idea of not realizing how good your life is until you’re so close to death is likely an unknown reality for many of people.

For the most part I enjoyed this. The story line was repetitive at times and probably could have been shortened but I enjoyed the way the end and beginning tied together and just the ending as a whole.

I would say there should be a warning for graphic violence/descriptions. It was okay but I foresee a lot of people not being able to stomach it.

I was unsure about the layout in the beginning, no real chapters. More broken up into short paragraphs and few pages at a time but ended up really liking it. Made this a quick and easy read.

I struggled between 3.5-4⭐️ so decided to split the difference.

I wish that I knew this was a rerelease so I could adjust my expectations accordingly. This was a fast-paced book with a great premise and it should have clicked for me but the execution was lacking. I love Blake Crouch and look forward to reading some more of his newer works.

3.75 stars rounded up.

Run is one of Blake Crouch’s earlier works and is so different than what many know him for (Dark Matter, Recursion, etc). The story is dark and fast-paced from the very beginning. The setting is in a dangerous, post-apocalyptic world and the reader is following a family find shelter and safety.

This story felt a lot like The Last of Us to me, although written long before this show aired. Other humans are the real threat in this world and there is some mystery around why things are happening and who is a good guy and who is not. There is quite a bit of violence and gore and that may bother some readers. Overall, it was an exciting ride and was a nice break from my usual genres.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballentine Books for sharing this ARC (of the reprint) in exchange for my honest review.

It was full of action, and kept me on my toes but I wish that it wasn't the first Blake Crouch book that I had read.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the E-ARC.
Regardless, I gave it 3.5 stars rounded up.

This one was not for me. I’ve loved Blake Crouch’s books because they were different. This was like every other apocalyptic book I’ve read. The ending really left a bad taste in my mouth though. “Maybe sometimes we just need to kill each other.” No thank you. I will not recommend this to anyone.

I fell in love with Blake Crouch’s writing with the Wayward Pines Trilogy. This book was written years ago too, and it is also a great read! It is a thrill ride from the start. I didn’t really think an entire book about a family running would be so entertaining, but it kept me turning pages as fast as I could to see what happens to everyone. It’s like having one of those days where you can’t take one more bad thing and then something else horrible happens.. A few of the things were even a little hard to read, because the way it was written you could picture the horror of what was happening so vividly in your mind! Read this book if you like to gasp and need to give yourself a minute before reading on to the next page.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

I love all the books I have read by this author and this one is no exception! He keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat the whole time. You think you have everything figured out but you are so wrong! He never disappoints in his writing styles and has become one of my favorite authors to read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House - Ballantine, and Blake Crough for the opportunity to read Run.

At first I was very confused if this was already published or if it was an upcoming book. The listing on NetGalley says it's being published in October 2024 but I saw reviews on Goodreads from five, seven, and even ten years ago and that it was released in 2011... Checked the publishing info in the beginning of the file and saw the 2011 copyright. I don't have an issue with books being updated and republished but I would’ve maybe advertised it to say as much? I might be alone in that though.

I'm writing this portion at 39% read. I was pulled in by the summary and I've ultimately been let down at this point. Honestly the writing does in fact scream ‘written in 2011’, and I'm finding it very difficult to continue the book. It’s not the horror or gore aspect, because I read books with those themes all the time, to a much more disturbing degree. The writing is just... I don’t know, it’s writing, I guess.

I have a completely personal issue with the fact that the file is showing as one chapter in my Kindle app, as well as the NG reader app, so I have no clue how many chapters are here which makes it harder for me to be able to get through. I'm not sure if that was the intended approach but… it's definitely a choice. Not being able to incentivize myself to get through the book adds to the drag.

At this point in the book, none of the characters are likable. None. At all. Except maybe the guy the MC was talking to over the ham radio. He seemed pretty chill, but I guess we’ll find out if that holds true going forward.

The daughter feels like a budding psychopath. I don’t know what it is, but she does. The son is probably going to get them killed if he keeps whining the way he is. The wife is a hypocrite and makes me want to slam my head into a wall. I don’t understand her criticism of the MC. He’s literally just trying to keep you and those kids alive. But honestly, the MC isn't much better.

I didn't like the reveal of why people are acting the way they are. (The concept of) Seeing Jesus in an aurora borealis honestly just sounds like a track title taken from an indie band’s first EP, but I would also hop in a DeLorean so I could pitch it to an early Fall Out Boy. I think they would've liked it during their From Under the Cork Tree era.

I’m now writing this after finishing the book and I really only have one thing to say, and I hate to say it; however: this was neither a memorable nor an entertaining read for me, unfortunately.

I liked that the son was affected and could in turn see who else was affected, but it took so long for him to actually say that truly useful piece of information that it felt like an afterthought.

The writing didn’t really improve. There was nothing captivating about any of the characters. They felt like they were pulled off of a shelf of safe characters. None of them had any real personalities. None of them had any redeeming quality. None of them were given any true development.

I really, really liked the premise of this book. So much. I found the execution to be severely lacking, to the point where I think I can safely say that the author will be going on my “Do Not Read - Authors” list for the foreseeable future. Which is really quite a shame because I really enjoy books with the same general topics/genres. This one was just... I don’t know... It mentally felt like a door stopper without the physical page count to match, which is kind of bizarre.

2/5 rating because the idea was there but the lack of character development and overall lack of any type of development kind of shot the book in its foot. The ending was an ending. I truly feel like a lot of the book was eaten up by the repetitive early chapters where nothing added to the story. If the ending was developed a bit better, I think the book could have gotten a 3/5. It felt rushed, which... I expected after hitting 50% and nothing really standing out in complete honesty.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House - Ballantine, and Blake Crouch for allowing me the opportunity to read this book ahead of its re-release. I wish each party involved much success.

4.5 stars - Run grips you from the very beginning. It’s fast paced, non stop thriller that reminded me of Taylor Adams books. My heart was racing the entire time and I could not read this fast enough. This is not like Blake Crouch’s other books that I have read. Less sci-fi and more apocalyptic, end of the world survival.

You will not be bored reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6612840517

The very first thing that I want to write (for those of you who are considering reading this book, especially if you have read any of Crouch's other work): Run was Crouch's first ever self-published book. It is over a decade old. While it is just now getting published by a traditional publishing house, it is *not* a new release from Crouch. I think this is important to know, because I believe that Crouch has grown significantly as an author since writing this book.

If there's one thing I can say about Blake Crouch, he certainly knows how to write a page turner. This book went from 0 to 100 in suspense right from the start, and then it just stayed there, leaving the reader constantly wondering what horrors lay ahead for the protagonists on the next page/in the next paragraph/in the next sentence.

Even though the book was highly suspenseful, it was also surprisingly quite monotonous. (I know this may sound contradictory, but those are the two words I would use to describe this book: suspenseful and monotonous.) The storytelling was very linear. The family travelled from one place to the next, and in each new location they ran into variations of the same threat over and over again. At a certain point it started to feel a little tedious, and I was just waiting for something *else* to happen. While I didn't love this aspect of the book, it certainly didn't keep me from turning the pages. What did disappoint me, however, was the ending. Even with some fairly significant suspension of disbelief, I found the ending to be much too convenient (and also kind of unbelievable). I don't want to elaborate more, at risk of spoiling the whole thing, but I think the resolution could have been significantly stronger.

If you enjoyed The Last of Us (especially the video game), you might enjoy reading Run.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

I have read other works by this author and I am always impressed by their work! This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It truly made me process how I’d react if I only had minutes to gather a few belongings and my family to go on the run. The story follows a family of four that are encountering that exact situation due to a mass outbreak of murderous people, and the reader gets to endure the chaos that ensues. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to my friends!

Run is an apocalyptic novel in which people begin to murder randomly and the murders increase exponentially with the passing of every day.

When the husband in a family of four hears his name for elimination he and his family have to go on the run in an effort to survive. And of course the killings must end.

The book wasn't as clever or well written as some of Crouch's other books. I wasn't a great fan of the characters and the plot seemed convoluted. It isn't a bad book but is rather mediocre.

I love everything Blake writes and this is another to add to the list!! Quick read, but full of excitement. Loved it!!

I am a huge fan of Crouch’s books! I was excited to see one of his older books getting more attention! This book is everything you expect to see in his books: fast-paced, lots of energy, conflicts, and also a lot to make you think and examine yourself and what you would do in this situation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for my review.

My third Blake Crouch novel and I’ve loved them all. This one was self-published by the author many years ago, and is being released again. Many times, when you come across a first novel of someone you’ve been reading, you can see how for they’ve come or, conversely, maybe they really only should have written that first book. Mr. Crouch is just consistent. I’m always sucked in right away, the action starts from the first chapter, the story doesn’t falter, and things stay intense until the end.

This story is about a family who is on the run from pretty much everyone. A mysterious “event” has occurred that has turned anyone who saw it murderous, and the targets of that violence are anyone who didn’t witness the event, so there really isn’t anywhere that’s safe as they flee across the country. I’m reminded a lot of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, with a bit more directness and less eloquence, which was totally fine with me, as it sets this novel apart from the other. It also delivers quite a bit of Walking Dead-level gore, another thing I’m fine with, but not all readers will be.

Overall, a great, fast-paced read.