Reading 2024
Book 118: Run by Blake Crouch

Not sure what is happening with this book, there are reviews for the book from 2011, but it appears the book will be released in fall 2024. Thank you to #NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Synopsis: Your name is Jack Colclough. You have a wife, a daughter, and a young son. You live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to your house to kill you and your family. You don’t know why, but you don’t have time to think about that anymore.

Review: Well, this was my least favorite, by a long mile, Blake Crouch book. I did not like the premise of the book, the writing, or the characters. Not sure what was happening here, very sad about this book. The way the Kindle version presented, the reading was like a race. Prose hurried from one thing to the next. The only sort of cool thing was the past/present tie together. My rating 2.5⭐️.

Whew! Just able to catch my breath. This was an intense read towards the last half. The short, clipped tone of the starting chapters made it a little slower to relate to the characters and the kids said and did the most annoying things. However, it’s as if the writing and the characters evolved towards the end. There was gore, terror, and despair. Solid book by BC. Shout out to @netgalley and random house for the ARC.

I have always been a fan of Blake Crouch, I first fell in love with Wayward Pines. This book kept me up at night and I had a hard time putting it down. Run is a thriller unlike any others. I love the sci-fi aspect throughout the book!

This was a crazy thriller. blake crouch never disapoints. the message and the twists really had me shocked.

It was really interesting to jump back and read a Blake Crouch book from 2011! Unfortunately, while I love thrillers and particularly sci-fi thrillers, I don’t much enjoy straight horror.

In short, this book is about what happens when an aurora borealis appears in the sky and those that can see it begin to go insane and kill people. The story follows a family of four (Jack, Dee, and their two children) as they are on the run, trying to stay alive.

I struggled to see the ~point~ of the book. I don’t think all books need to have a point (I really like speculative fiction), but for a book like this I don’t know what a reader is supposed to get out of it. Horror can be interesting to me when the evil is perpetrated by humans and you can explore the different facets of humanity, but in this case the evil was more or less a disease and people were not in control of their actions. It just felt like there was very little depth here. It was mostly a show-and-tell of guns and blood -- the whole book felt repetitive and stagnant.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Having read Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, I was very intrigued by this synopsis. While the premise of an event that causes an apocalypse of sorts is definitely not new, I was still invested in the journey of Jack and his family. It definitely does give a mix of The Happening and The Mist vibes, but I still loved every second of it. Jack, Dee, Naomi and Cole are really put through it. Their journey is harrowing and for me, seeing Jack and Dee's relationship blossom amidst the crisis that is this rage epidemic was amazing to see. Being a parent myself, I was really put into Dee's shoes in regards to being a mom. It really got me thinking how I would handle myself in this situation (or something similar). I would recommend reading this if you're looking for a dark thriller that doesn't stop with the horror.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for this advanced reader's copy. I love Blake Crouch's books so when I saw he had another book coming out I had to get my hands on it. This is actually a rerelease of his first book. Still shows his signature style. A fast-paced thriller where society is attacking each other, and a family is on the run for their lives. No one knows what made some humans to go mad and start killing, but as society starts to crumble and others must find a way to run and hide. Normal society breaks down and the story follows Jack and his family as they run and try to survive and find others out there like themselves. They figure out why those are going mad and just try to find a way to survive all this. This book was a fast, super fun read.

Thank you netgalley for the book.
I feel conflicted.
I wanted to love this. I did like it, but the writing style was somewhat confusing to follow and the ending was not what i was anticipating. I will continue to read Blake crouch though.

I loved Dark Matter, so I had high expectations for this book. It was very different in style, but I still enjoyed it. Blake Crouch does a good job of writing tales of survival, formulating characters with an incredible grit and will to survive.

I have to say- I’m thankful the story ended the way it did. Had it been slightly different (I won’t elaborate because I don’t want to spoil), I would’ve been sad.

My only criticism is that I still don’t understand exactly WHY this happened. Was it really the lights? Or do they not know? It was discussed so briefly at the very end.

Blake Crouch is seriously one of my favorite authors. "Run" by Blake Crouch is a gripping apocalyptic thriller that follows Jack Colclough and his family as they flee from a sudden and inexplicable epidemic of rage sweeping across America. Unlike Crouch's other works, which often delve into sci-fi, this novel is a raw, relentless race for survival. As society crumbles and killers mobilize, Jack hears his family's names announced on an emergency broadcast, marking them for death. With no time to understand the chaos, their only option is to run.

The novel's fast-paced, high-stakes narrative keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Crouch's ability to create a compelling, page-turning experience remains undeniable, making "Run" a must-read for fans of apocalyptic thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an advance reader copy !

Run is a really a wild ride. Blake Crouch originally self-published this in 2011 and it is now being updated and re-released. He is a master storyteller and that is evident in this book, but this book is definitely not for everyone.

We follow a family who is on the run trying to survive an apocalyptic event. Many people in the United States have experienced a phenomenon that is turning them into killers going on a rampage. I was invested in this family and their journey for survival. I do feel like we've seen this story before in many other dystopian/apocalypse stories. This story doesn't particularly stand out, but it is really well written. Even so, this book was hard to read because it is very very graphic. There are scenes in this book that describe the deceased and the acts of killing in very graphic detail that was pretty hard to stomach. I started skimming over those parts. I think he was trying to add to the horror of the situation, but I could have done with out it.

If you have a strong stomach and enjoy apocalyptic stories then this book could really be for you. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Let me start off by saying that I have read other books by Blake Crouch and absolutely love them. However, this one just didn’t do it for me. I never felt really invested in the characters and the ending was lackluster at best.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this re-release in exchange for an honest review.

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.