I should’ve realized this was a re-release when I saw it but didn’t and was definitely disappointed. The story jumps really quickly from point to point without much exposition which may be what he was going for but it made for less investment in the characters. Overall the story is alright. Being almost 13 years old though, I’m not sure how relevant this review is.

Having read and loved “Dark Matter” and “Recursion” by Blake Crouch, I knew I would love “Run” too. This is a re-release of his first self published novel. While the quality of this book isn’t bad, you can tell there’s a difference and improvement in his more recent books.

This apocalyptic thriller was so fun and kept me engaged and locked in. I read it over the span of a few days, I was hooked! This book felt like a pretty accurate representation of what an actual apocalypse might be like- it was redundant in some spots, but that could be expected over days of travel, trying to cross a lot of ground. It can definitely be grim and gory in some spots, make sure to look up trigger warnings if that could bother you.

The ending was a bit quick and easily explained, but overall I really enjoyed this book! I fully recommend for fans of apocalyptic, action thrillers!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books, and the author Blake Crouch for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love anything Blake Crouch writes and this is no different. I didn’t realize this is an older book being republished at first and enjoyed his newer work better but overall a great read.

It's been exactly one month since I read this book, in one sitting I might add, and I cannot stop thinking about it. This is a contender for best book I've read in 2024.

A picture of this book should go under the definition of "fast paced, edge of your seat thriller". When I tell you this starts with a bang and then never stops. Ever chapter seems to end with a cliffhanger, and I genuinely could not stop myself from finishing it in one sitting.

Crouch is one of my auto-buy authors, all of his books have been easy 5 stars for me and this one is my new favorite. Run follows a family who is on the run after something horrifying happens in the United States. People are turning on one another and brutally murdering each other. The president calls for peace, but it doesn't stop, it only creates these people to mobilize and continuing killing. You can't trust anyone and you have no idea where to turn to.

Run is gruesome, dark, and honestly I had nightmares for days following this. It's also full of emotion and I was rooting for this family to make it out of this crazy awful epidemic. Crouch truly wrote amazing characters and I think that's why I loved this book as much as I did. It was absolutely crazy and full of horrific scenes, but I loved the characters and was SO worried for them the entire book. The characters are imperfect and realistic.

Run is a non stop thrill ride that will have your stomach turning and whispering to yourself holy f*ck!?!?!

Absolutely phenomenal

The re-release of Blake Crouch’s first self published novel, Run, was quite a read. While the quality of the work is not bad by any means, you can tell the difference in improvement of the writing style in future books, such as the Wayward Pines Trilogy. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. I recommend this fast paced thriller.

I didn't realize this book was a re-issue when I requested the ARC from NetGalley. I had previously read "Dark Matter" and enjoyed it. "Run" was like a rollercoaster with no end in sight. I literally got exhausted reading it, and so many chapters were more of the same -- the family running from one place to another, encountering violence at every stop, running some more, splitting up, getting back together, etc., etc. I started skimming through chapters because it was so much of the same thing. The ending was a little too contrived, but I actually welcomed it after all the chaos.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC and the opportunity to review this book.

The good news is that Blake Crouch has improved immensely as a writer over his career. This is a re-release of the his debut novel. It was interesting to see themes he would bring forward into future works - unique premises, family bonds, propulsive action. Heavy on the action. The bulk of the story was interchangeable with any violent apocalypse novel and I was hoping for a little more.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 25%-I'm always interested in what Blake Crouch puts out, but I didn't realize that this is what looks like a re-release of one of his prior books. Needless to say, it was not striking my fancy.

Run is about a family who is indeed on the run a apocalyptic type situation where a group of people suddenly have become violent and begin attacking others at random with absolutely no reason. It appeared to be an interesting concept on paper with lots of mystery and trying to figure out what is going on and why it happened. However, the family of four that are the main characters are absolutely dreadful and make reading the story a complete slog. Between the constant sniping between the husband and wife who were already dealing with a strained marriage and their two children I couldn't keep going despite how each chapter ended on a cliff hanger leading you to the next chapter.

In reading other reviews, it seems like one of those books where people absolutely adore or hate it. I'm hanging in the latter group on this one.

Fast paced and kept my attention! Hard to believe all the coincidences in the book! But I did enjoy reading it. And glad for a happy ending!! I would have liked to have more science in this book similar to previous books. I will recommend to friends to read!

Having this republished older Blake Crouch book listed as a "new" book is disingenuous. You can tell how much less mature his writing is and this book stresses me out. I feel like it should have been labeled as a reissue or rerelease so that expectations could have been appropriately set.

Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

Wow wow wow! I could not put this book down. In fact I started reading it in the evening and was up until almost 3am still reading it. The story is so good, and the family dynamics are wonderful. It's a story about survival, and family and the lessons we learn along the way. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would!

Reading other people's reviews are always interesting to me, seeing different perspectives, some are really harsh and some aren't. My perspective is that if, this was one of Blake Crouch's earlier works, then he was learning his craft, feeling it out. I have not read any other of his books, so I had nothing to compare. I felt, at first, the book grabbed me from the beginning and did not want to let me go. I read it at night, reading is my sedative, but wouldn't let me sleep, I just wanted to keep reading. There were comparatives to Stephen King, not by a long shot, in my opinion. I read SK long ago and he was very in depth with his characters, hence, I think, why The Stand is so stinking long, awesome book. But I digress. I enjoyed the fast paced storyline in Run. Jack, Dee Colclough and their two kids Naomi and Cole, Run for their lives through the story because of people, just out of the blue, start acting crazy, trying to kill everyone, so they end up, in the middle of the night, running for their lives. Heading out of Colorado to get to the Canadian border. I did wonder why though, Canada would be a respite for them seeing how the Auroras would have been brighter in Canada than in Colorado or Mexico, so why would Canada be a safe place to run to? Although I enjoyed the fast-paced storyline, the running and their continuous struggle, got to me after a while, I stopped reading for several days because that's all they were doing with no explanation of why the lights bothered them plus the fact that Cole was the only one affected when the rest of the family, wasn't even though they were all together, Crouch never expanded on that. Also the ending was a bit of a disappointment, he kind of just dropped the ball and left you wondering about the lights. I hope his other books are better. I did not realize that he wrote Wayward Pines, I will have to check on that one and also Dark Matter. I did recommend this to some people because I did enjoy the fast paced tempo. Thank you to Net Galley and Ballentine Books for this Kindle edition.

Run is being reissued by Random House Ballantine, given Blake Crouch's recent publishing successes. As such, I was given an ARC through NetGalley for reading and review.

I am a fan of Crouch's more recent books, so I was eager to read this, but it certainly didn't live up to my expectations. In Run, we're presented with an apocalyptic United States, where people are ravaging the country, massacring others in a gruesome fashion. Our main character is Jake Colclough, on the run with his wife and 2 children after his name was read off on a "kill list" over the radio. The book is told primarily from his perspective as they drive from Albuquerque to rural Colorado and further north.
This book was very short and written like a novelization of a movie. There were minimal details, with continual action, that becomes repetitive as the book goes on. What is happening and why is barely delved into as the family moves from one place to the next, encountering both people who have been affected and want to kill them, and those who were not, and while not on their side, are safer. It was a very quick read, but just left me wanting, and I truly think he wrote this hoping it would be optioned as a movie, because the change to a screenplay would take almost no work at all.
I'm rounding up from 2.5 stars to 3 because it was such a quick read, but the lack of depth and explanation of what was going on and how it ended was so lacking to me.

This book was compelling from start to finish. He knows how to capture a reader from the get go. The only part that I didn’t enjoy was the ending. I felt like it happened so fast.

This is a variation on a theme first presented by Stephen King in his novel The Tommyknockers. It involves those who see or do not see the aurora borealis in the United States and the aftermath until the effect wears off. While this book may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I found it to be somewhat engaging and a fast read. Parts of the book do stretch one’s ability to believe surviving various events.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, Net Galley, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

I love apocalyptic novels. The thing I felt most reading this novel was the anxiety. This constant foot on the gas, pedal to the floor, cold-sweat fear they felt. Yet, through this you really get attached to the characters. Yes, Dee and Jack are both flawed, their marriage in tatters. They've both done enough shi**ty things to each other that the kids were apathetic to their parents inability to get it together.
Then all hell breaks loose and Jack and Dee pull it together for the sake of the kids. Their arc was great.. the kids became a minor extension of their connection. The "what" of what happened fades into the background too as you get caught up in the family's desperation to just survive. I noveled at their ability to remain calm with each other and the kids until it became critical to not be calm. I felt very fortunate to be on this ride with a professor and a doctor. My daughter got pulled into the story and we read the last half to each other, getting excited while picking up the bread crumbs left throughout the story. This was a fun (anxiety filled) ride. Thank you too Blake Crouch, Netgalley and Ballentine books for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley. Blake Crouch and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the eArc of Run.

This book was originally released back in 2011 and even though Ive heard of Blake Crouch, Ive only recently read/listened to The Wayward Pine series which I loved. Run is no exception and I devoured this book within 1 sitting. Id say it's a high octane survival novel that surrounds a mysterious sky event which to those who watches it, turns them almost primal. Those who slept through the event, remained normal and have to fight to survive those who are content to looting, murdering and setting everything on fire.

Run follows Jacks family who has to take to the streets after their name and address was mentioned on the radio just after the event occurred. It becomes apparent that this isn't a particularly happy family, Dee is having an affair because Jack isn't showing up in their marriage. Their kids, Naomi a teen and Cole, a young child are just ticking along.. Throughout the book, you can see them change from a modern day family to badass survivalists, Especially the kids. The character building I really enjoyed because of this and it does make you wonder how on earth people would survive in this day and age.

The plot itself is medium paced and for me, a page turner. You are hoping, praying that they find a place of safely and within the plot there are some cliff hangers as the POV swaps from Jack to Dee. I also throughly enjoyed the description of the places they drop through and hiked, I found I could visualise every place they had to survive in. It is. quite graphic and gory which again for me, adds to the visceral experience.

4 stars

I love all of Blake Crouch's books and this one was no different. Run is much darker and more violent than his other novels, but I loved the science fiction / apocalyptic theme. Couldn't put it down.

Wow what a ride!!! I ate this book up! It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was read it! I must go read everything this man has written at once! Lol
I loved how as the characters fought for survival you got to also see them healing the broken bond of their family! It was such a good read!