I'm a huge Blake Crouch fan, so I think anything I say must be weighed with that bias in mind. In my opinion, Dark Matter is top-tier sci-fi thriller, followed very closely by Recursion. Honestly even the weakest stuff this man writes (looking at you, Upgrade) is worth a read. This is no exception. Crouch knows exactly how to grip you in from the first page and keep you hooked until the very end.

This wasn’t a bad read at all. I’d just recently gotten into this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it has you hooked from the first paragraph to be honest.

“Run” feels like a return to Wayward Pines. Action packed, non-stop and intense, I could not put it down.

Thank you @randomhouse #partner for the gifted copy of this book!

Eek! This book will definitely get your heart rate up! I felt like I personally was running with these characters the entire time! Talk about a book that will make you want to buy a cabin in the remote woods of nowhere and stock up with canned goods, dried meats and some ammunition! 🤪 This book starts out where a bunch of what seems to be random murders happen. Each day more people are slaughtered and everything and everyone feels very bizarre and completely off its hinges. The president begs for peace and order but as that is happening Jack hears his name announced over the radio as being one of the next potential victims! He has a wife and kids and hence starts to….RUN! What unfolds is a fast paced, stressful, sweat dripping, shocking RUN to get out of town and away from all civilization!

I’ve been on a Blake kick lately and this is actually his first book he published that is being re-released later this year. It is absolutely incredible to have seen the change in writing over the years! Blake definitely has a style (mind bending stress 🤣) that has carried over throughout his years in writing. There were several times in this book where I was crossing my fingers and toes hoping for him to get out of the situations he was in. He just knows how to make my heart race! Fair warning however if you read this book….you’re going to need some extra cash laying around to buy that remote cabin I was mentioning! This book is perfect for sci-fi, adventure, thriller loving fans!

I love a good Blake Crouch. All of his works are an auto-buy book for me. Run is his self published first work and it feels like it. Nothing terrible here, but it definitely feels like a first work from someone I’ve come to know and trust. Run is heavy on plot and a lot more violent than the works he well known for.

I’m so glad I received an advanced copy! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers. I’ll never not recommend Crouch.

Completely fine book for a summer read.I couldn’t really care about the characters and plot was fine.

Like a gory Jack Kerouac... This book was decidedly alright to me. I don't regret reading it but it didn't change my life. I was wondering why it seemed underdeveloped compared to the other novels of Blake Crouch's that I've read, then I got to the acknowledgments. Turns out he self-published this back in 2011, and that answers a lot of questions for me. I couldn't help but feel like the male protagonist was a self-insert and the other three main characters were like NPCs. They just weren't very fleshed out or well developed, and despite the superintense storyline I didn't find myself really deeply connecting with her caring about them. That being said it was certainly action-packed and for the most part held my attention. I did kind of get to the end feeling like not much substantial happened and that it was overall pretty predictable. But at the same time I liked the ending and found the experience enjoyable overall. If you like violence you'll like this book! Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

Wow! This book had my adrenaline pumping from start to finish. I was completely hooked. This book can easily be read in 1-2 sittings. Although some of the scenes were graphic and disturbing, there were also a positive focus on family, forgiveness, love and compassion. I would recommend this quick read for anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction.

Thank you to the author and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine via NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I did not do my homework before requesting this book via NetGalley- I saw Blake Crouch and could not hit "request" fast enough given how much I loved Recursion, Upgrade, and Dark Matter. This book- a rerelease of his first- is very different, and is a violent, apocalyptic novel that extremely fast-paced and bloody. This one was just not for me. It had me turning pages as fast as I could- not because I needed to know what happened, but because I couldn't wait to finish this book fast enough to erase it from my memory. Some will love this book- but this one was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the #ARC for the opportunity to give my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Initial first thoughts: fast paced thriller, hectic, gory/violent/brutal/traumatic, apocalypse, survival, raw.

What it’s about: This follows the POV of Jack and Dee and their 2 kids. There is a sudden onset of violent attacks in the US following a unique aurora event and no one can explain why or what is happening. Communications are down. The violence becomes exponentially worse when Jack and his family become targets. To survive, the only thing they can do is RUN.

My thoughts: Considering how polished some of Blake Crouch’s other books are, this one seemed raw and less polished, but in a good way. The scenes are choppy, like cutting back and forth in a movie. Quick glimpses of moments. The book is heavily plot driven and action packed, but the characters do still have some dimension to them - failing marriage, disconnected family. Everything starts off rushed, hectic and confusing. There are 3 POVs within a few pages. The story doesn’t build, it just throws you in at full speed. I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of that. Also, there isn’t much closure about the why/how and that left me a bit hanging.

Interesting fact: This book was Blake Crouch’s first self published novel written in 2011 that allowed him to pursue a full time writing career. Later this year, it will be officially published!

Read if you like: Zombie apocalypse stories where you just have to know what happens next, but without the zombies and just as gory.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the #ARC for the opportunity to give my honest review.

3.5 rounded down.

The post apocalyptic story line was so intriguing to me. A weird light in the sky is observed by many people... then they start acting strange and killing everyone. This is a gory, dystopian story with lots of on-page murdery action.

This is a rerelease of the story from 2011.

I had so much fun with this book! It’s completely bingeable and I flew through it in two days!

From what I’ve seen it seems like this books cover is getting a change and maybe the book as well as a lot of the issues I saw people having with this book in their reviews I didn’t see within this ARC.

I loved the high stakes of all of this, I was holding my breath through several scenes and Crouch creates settings that make the reader truly terrified. There were parts that annoyed me in relation to the kids, but ultimately I could understand their reactions as they are young kids, and don’t understand everything to the full extent of the parents. I wish the world was explained a bit more, why this issue is happening with a more logical explanation but with a no thoughts head empty book it was super fun!

Very fast read and hard to put down however very violent. It didn’t feel even close to some of his other books but it was a great change of pace. It felt more like some Stephen king novels than others I’ve read of Blake’s.

Blake Crouch is one of my auto buy authors, I really love the research that goes into his sci-fi novels. This book was a bit harder for me to get through because I'm not one for horror or gore which I think this book very strongly starts off with. I think this will make a fantastic horror screen adaptation one day and I can see why this was recently re-released. I think so far, sadly, this was one of my least favorite Black Crouch books to get through.

The story starts with the country in chaos. Brutal, seemingly random killings are erupting everywhere. From cops gunning down innocent people to school shootings and prison riots, violence is escalating at an alarming rate. Days tick by, tensions rise and the President pleads for calm.

Suddenly, the power goes out, leaving everyone in the dark. Then, a chilling announcement crackles over the radio - the Emergency Broadcast System is reading off names of people marked for death. One of the names is Jack Colclough, a husband and father of two living a normal life in Albuquerque. He doesn't know why he and his family are targets but they are and the only thought is to RUN. We follow along as the family undertakes a dangerous journey to safety.

This was a really tense read. It made me reflect on how well I would survive if something like this happened. Long story short I wouldn't make it very far, lol. I enjoyed the book but I found the ending to be very convenient. I wanted more answers but if you're looking for a relatively short read with suspense and horror elements, this would be a good choice.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley for the arc.

I've read most of Blake Crouch’s books, and he’s one of my favorite authors. His books usually grab my attention from page one. "Run" took a little longer to pull me in, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Before I knew it, I couldn’t put it down. It was thought-provoking, with unexpected surprises that kept me engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

Wow this was a wild ride of a book! That's basically what I've come to expect when I read a book by Blake Crouch though. This book was intense, dark, gritty, gut wrenching, and I struggled to put it down. Definitely check trigger warnings before you decide to read this book.

The characters were realistic and relatable. You get to see the story unfold from more than one point of view. I really enjoyed how you're kind of in the dark as to what is going on and why at first but as the story progresses you start to discover clues. I was nervous about how the story was going to conclude because there was so much going on do close to end but I ended up really liking how it ended.

I think this book should be made into a movie or television series. I look forward to reading more from this Blake Crouch in the future!

This review will be cross-posted to my social media accounts.

Blake Crouch wrote this novel, Run, in 2011. Run is a very fast paced thriller about a dystopian world where people just randomly kill each other.
This book is "good" but it does not have that WOW factor found in Blake Crouchs later works.
If you have never read Blake Crouch before, you will enjoy this much more than his regular fans.
This would be the perfect book to START reading before diving into all of his other AMAZING books.

Really enjoyed this book - Blake always leaves an impression and makes me think about the story long after I finish. I’d say this was more thriller horror this time around- no sci-fi. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and found the wrap up was fantastic. Highly recommend

3.5 stars rounded up. I am not the target audience at all, so it is a testament to Blake Crouch’s writing that I enjoyed this as much as I did. Stories about surviving while running from zombies or people make me uncomfortably anxious. I am not the person you want to draft for your apocalypse team, despite having a few essential survival skills, I don’t have the constitution for running. Run is perfectly titled as I was in a state of mild panic for the entire book as the literally characters ran for their lives. Some of the story felt tired, a community akin to Woodbury lead by the Governor in Walking Dead as one example, but I think it would have felt fresh when Run was originally released in 2011. There is a lot of violence and gore (which I usually don’t care for- again not the target audience) but the violence didn’t feel gratuitous, given the circumstances.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I am glad I stepped outside my comfort zone and read this, but it is back to contemporary fiction with a sprinkle of fantasy, romance, and sci-fi for the sake of my nerves.