Excellent story that grabs you right from the beginning. It was such a heart pounding, page turning thriller, that I couldn’t finish it. It gave me too much anxiety. It’s that good.

This was great from the start. I liked how there was no build up, that we just get thrown into this action pack adventure. This is your usual family adventure except humans have witnessed a natural event that has made them feral. I liked how this author writes the relationship between characters and essential life skills. He seems mindful of knowing the limitations of this skills and his characters.. I loved how it never dragged, while it was a simple concept that has been done plenty of times, but it seemed refreshing to do it without using zombies. I wish we could have gone more scientific than we did for the explanation, but I did liked how it was open ended to one of life’s many mysteries. If you like The Violence (movie) and The Last of Us, you would love this novel.

SYNOPSIS
- A family of four has to flee Albuquerque when the world starts going crazy.
- Jack hears his name and address broadcast on the radio, so he knows it’s time for his family to run.

MY THOUGHTS
- Fast-paced. Action.
- Disappointed that there isn’t much exploration into the why behind what’s going on or how it eventually resolves.
- So much suspension of disbelief required while reading.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️lots of suspension of disbelief required. not much depth here.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on October 22, 2024.

“Run” could not be a better title for this book. It takes off at a sprint and only increases the pacing as it moves towards the fiery conclusion. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat for this thrill ride of a novel. The family bond is visceral and I loved the flawed nature of the two protagonists. Life isn’t perfect, and neither are our main characters. You will fall in love with them and root for them throughout the chaos. This book will grab you from the beginning and leave you gasping for what comes next! ‘Run’ and get this book. You won’t be disappointed.
A huge thank you for the ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a very quick read.
If you're looking for a fast paced, post-apocalyptic, thriller/horror to keep you on the edge of your seat, this certainly is not bad choice. The writing is good, the story is fine. It's just not very unique, and a bit predictable.

The characters in this felt realistic. They were imperfect, messy, and downright annoying at times, but you couldn't help but root for them.

Now I don't believe this book is anywhere near as good as Dark Matter, and some of Blake's other books, it's still a decent read.

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

Run is a quick read and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes books about apocalyptic events and their aftermath. If you are in the mood for a generic apocalyptic book this is for you. If you are a Blake Crouch fan and loved Recursion, Dark Matter or Upgrade you might be disappointed.

Personally this was such a let down for me. There is nothing new here and at times I felt like I have already read a book like this or seen a movie or series very similar. But my biggest issue is this is written by Blake Crouch who writes really great Sci-Fi novels with a heavy focus on the expansion of science and there was no science, no expand your mind plot points, nothing that makes a Blake Crouch book so good.

I later read the author's notes and found out this was his first self-published book which explains a lot.

I adore Blake Crouch books. This one is not going to be leading the pack on my favorites. Had I not read a lot of Blake Crouch prior to this, I probably wouldn’t feel as indifferent about this book. But I also guess that’s a good thing - the quality of books has gotten better and better. The overall premise is great, especially since we just had an aurora event that made it to the Midwest. But, some of the transitions between chapters or scenes were choppy and abrupt. The characters also were just meh. While I get there needed to be conflict to drive the plot, I hated Dee. She was just annoying and while she went through a character arc, it wasn’t really believable (I’m pretty sure if Kiernan wasn’t killed she’d have gone back to him after everything settled out). All in all, it was fine but not the pinnacle of Blake Crouch-ness.

I'm a big Blake Crouch fan, but the writing in this book isn't my favorite. It felt forced and overly choppy. I appreciated the fast-paced plot but the ending wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped. I just saw that this is a book written over a decade ago, and it shows how much Blake's writing has grown since then.

fast-paced and thrilling. hard to put down. there's a lot to like here, this isn't a book of depth and drama, it's definitely a book that flies rather than meanders. definitely recommend for fans of post-apocalyptic thrillers, rather than for those looking for in-depth characterization and relationship dramas.


and yes, I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Blake Crouch is one of my all time favourite writers and the king of balancing timing, story, genre while maintaining his unique point of view with a whole lot of technical skill.

The only book of his I had never read was Run and when I saw it was being rereleased and an ARC, I jumped at the excuse to finally read this story. As always, Crouch has a unique perspective on something that’s been done a myriad of ways. This was like reading The Walking Dead (there are no zombies) from Rick’s perspective if he was still with his family and it just go, go, GOES. Run is a fast paced, honed in view of a family who has no room to breathe while trying to survive an apocalyptic situation while being hunted around every turn

But I do have to say my favourite part of reading this book was seeing just how far Crouch has come as an authour and the growth when it comes to his skill. Crouch is known for dropping you right into the meat of the story and it just never stops and Run does this but not nearly as tightly as Recursion. Dark Matter, etc. I can see where he has fine tuned the lines of train of thought and keeping you in the action while still pacing in a way to give you reprieves. Run doesn’t quite nail the nuisances in technique that I’m so used to! And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, he started as an innovative voice but it definitely felt like reading a first book by someone who could one day be the best.

I love that he rereleased this and it was a unique experience seeing how far he’s come but I would be so fascinated to see him rewrite this story with all the things he’s learned throughout the years. It’s a solid thriller but it doesn’t quite capture the genius of Blake Crouch I know and love today.

Unfortunately I DNF'd this ~30%. I loved Recursion and Dark Matter, but this just didn't grip me in the same way - I found the plot to be confusing and I think more details about what was going on were needed upfront. I think I'll stick to the authors more recent works

Everything Blake Crouch does is good, but this one is special - it's hard to believe that this hasn't been traditionally published before now! One of the things I loved about this story was that we do get a glimpse of the after of it all, I really liked getting to see that there was an after and what that looked like. Honestly I'd love to see something else set in this world, because I think there's plenty more to expand on.

I truly wanted to love this book, as I love Crouch’s other work. It was good, but very drawn out. I lost interest until the end. Not a bad book, just not something I could get into.

Was surprised to see this wasn’t new, but republished. Felt a little banboozled but I still read it. Lots of confusing time gaps and details that just aren’t believable. The end was ok, it got better for me! Won’t recommend but will continue to read anything Crouch offers!

I received an advance readers' edition of this book from Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

I've read a few of Blake Crouch's books, and I like his writing style. From the start, Run is exciting and fast-paced. It was a fast read and kept me wanting to find out what happened next. Fans of Stephen King and Cormac McCarthy will probably like premise of the novel. It is quite violent, and the violence does not hold back when it comes to children. It is often very disturbing and depressing. It was also a bit hard to figure out what was going on in the beginning, since the story dives right in, and had I not read the synopsis, I would have struggled to get into the plot as early as I did.

The characters' emotions throughout felt real and relatable for the most part to me. I could connect with the feelings of despair and rejoice in the bits of good luck that they had. They felt every bit like a family that lives in your neighborhood with real flaws and conflicts. Sometimes, children in these kinds of books can be a bit exaggerated, but the younger characters in Run were well-written and demonstrate all the types of behavior you'd expect from seven and fourteen-year-olds.

That being said, I ran into a few areas that could have been better... I wanted more character development for the two adult leads. They are experiencing a lot of turmoil prior to the events of the novel, and none of that is really explored in depth, which seems like a missed opportunity. Also, for the characters being an average American family, their ability to survive in demanding and grueling scenarios is a bit far-fetched. Finally, the ending seemed so abrupt compared to the rest of the novel, with several unanswered questions. It just all felt a but rushed and convenient.

Overall, Run is a good read for people who like apocalyptic type thrillers and fans of Blake Crouch's writing, though the story wasn't as strong as some of his other work, in my opinion. It's a little hard to call it "fun" or "enjoyable" since it's so dark in nature, but it held my attention, and I was invested in the characters throughout.

I’m in an apocalypse phase so I loved this! Like usual, Blake Crouch kept me on the edge of my seat. This book had a faster pace and more action than others (and more of a horror element) and it worked really well in my opinion. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

It made sense to me when I found out this was an earlier Blake Crouch novel being rereleased. There was a world of difference between it and Dark Matter which was complex, action packed, and mind bending. This one was fast paced too, but it took a long time to resolve the matter. He did a great job of keeping the reader on the edge of their seats and giving the story a sense of do-or-die urgency as one would expect in a post apocalyptic novel. I did enjoy it for the most part, I just think it might have functioned better as a novella or even a short story. Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I have been a fan of Blake Crouch for a while now. Abandon and Wayward Pines have been a few of my favs. Seeing that he was rereleasing Run had me pretty excited. Also, being from Albuquerque, NM made this book a must read for me. I love reading books where I can actually picture the scenery and locations. This book was originally published in 2011, but reading it now, with all the change we have seen in the world, makes it hit a little closer to home. For how long it is, it was a pretty quick and fast paced read. Gripping and entertaining. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this!

4⭐️

I realized 30% thru this I had read this book many many years ago when it was first released. Remembered that this book had the pit scene that was seared into my mind and how shocked I was the first time I read it.

I love old Blake Crouch apololyptic style books before his sci fi black mirror style stories. They are terrifying, thought provoking, and such a fun read. Run didn't disappoint. It's stressful and isolating as a family try's to survive an event. People who saw an Aurora event triggered a violent psychosis killing anyone who didn't see it. Doing horrible things to others. This family does thru hell as they run away.

It was fun revisiting this book and makes me want to reread wayward pines. I'm not a huge fan of the new cover and I like the original so much better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for this advanced read copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Love love LOVED this! Blake Crouch’s independently published novel “Run” is finally getting the treatment it deserves!

From the first page you are dropped into a world on the edge of collapse - there was a weird light in the sky one night that turned those that saw it crazy! Neighbors are murdering neighbors for simply not seeing the light! All you can do is RUN to stay safe.

This book had me totally in this world. I read it cover to cover in one sitting because I simply had to know what happened next! Will the family survive? Will only some of them survive? The only way to find out is to finish the book!