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pascalibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Edit - While I still think this book is great, there are many plot holes that don't make sense after reading the second book. Given how connected the two are, I'm not sure if I can just excuse it as a case of sequel syndrome.
4/5. Pines is a captivating mystery with a satisfying payoff, but seriously lags in the third quarter of the book.
I did not expect that I'd like this book so much. Seriously, I never thought I would genuinely enjoy a novel like this. I never thought a mystery with such a good set-up would actually have a conclusion that felt earned. I was so wrong. Despite the flaws in Pines, I can't deny just how much glee I derived from it.
Ethan, the main character, wakes up in Wayward Pines with zero memories to a series of strange happenings. At first, I was not impressed. The structure of the chapters felt very standard, and its unusual that an amnesiac protagonist is done well. Fortunately, the book does away with this very quickly. It hits its stride soon after, and doesn't really let up for a while. I was worried it would set up a mystery at the beginning of every chapter, and then give a solution at the end of that same chapter. It does not do this. Blake Crouch clearly knows how to delay satisfaction.
Ethan Burke is the main character, and he's pretty great. While he doesn't have the most depth, I think this is actually a good thing. If Ethan was an 8-Dimensional character, a lot of the effectiveness of the novel probably would have been lost. He functions as a main character but also as a reader surrogate, and this really drew me in. He has enough characteristics, motivations, and emotional ties so that we feel invested in his welfare, but lacks just enough that we aren't taken out of the immersion.
I won't spoil anything, but another thing this book does well is evoke a serious sense of despair and isolation. The surrogacy of Ethan only maximizes this feeling, and this made me NEED to keep reading, to understand what was happening. I felt what Ethan was likely feeling at every turn. I felt his confusion, his wonder, his awe, his horror, his terror, his resignation, and his resolve. The other characters within the book also amplify this aspect. For the most part, they aren't overtly sinister, just incredibly strange and off-putting, al least for a while.
I've seen people criticize how dumb Ethan is for not just immediately trying to escape, but I seriously can't understand this. They mostly point to the obvious danger of the town and how creepy the people are, but as I said above, they really aren't. They are just uncanny, and I think Ethan's motivations perfectly explain his actions. In fact, I think this is so off that I have to wonder if those people even read the same book that I did. I won't go into anything because it would be a spoiler, but don't listen to people who say that. Its not well founded.
One flaw I will admit is that I think Pines seriously drags towards the end. The compelling first part is only that way because of the eerie human drama and the omnipresent sense of mystique, but this is mostly discarded in a later section. Pines devolves into a Man v. Nature/Beast survival scenario, which was nowhere near as interesting as the first part and probably would have slowed down my progress in normal circumstances.
Thankfully, the book rectifies this with a genuinely cool payoff to all the build-up. I cannot stress how much I loved the ending. It wasn't earth-shattering, no, but it was completely earned, mostly made sense, and matched the strangeness of the first part. There are a couple things that are not explained, but this is a series, so Blake Crouch had to leave something to explore in the next one. Again, since this was the biggest cause for hesitation in me about starting Pines, there absolutely is a good payoff. The author obviously wrote this first novel with some type of ending in mind. Whether or not this holds true for the rest of the books, I don't know, but the first works well as a standalone. I will be continuing the series, though. I liked it that much.
If you like mysteries, or sci-fi, or folk horror, read this book. Its worth it.
4/5. Pines is a captivating mystery with a satisfying payoff, but seriously lags in the third quarter of the book.
I did not expect that I'd like this book so much. Seriously, I never thought I would genuinely enjoy a novel like this. I never thought a mystery with such a good set-up would actually have a conclusion that felt earned. I was so wrong. Despite the flaws in Pines, I can't deny just how much glee I derived from it.
Ethan, the main character, wakes up in Wayward Pines with zero memories to a series of strange happenings. At first, I was not impressed. The structure of the chapters felt very standard, and its unusual that an amnesiac protagonist is done well. Fortunately, the book does away with this very quickly. It hits its stride soon after, and doesn't really let up for a while. I was worried it would set up a mystery at the beginning of every chapter, and then give a solution at the end of that same chapter. It does not do this. Blake Crouch clearly knows how to delay satisfaction.
Ethan Burke is the main character, and he's pretty great. While he doesn't have the most depth, I think this is actually a good thing. If Ethan was an 8-Dimensional character, a lot of the effectiveness of the novel probably would have been lost. He functions as a main character but also as a reader surrogate, and this really drew me in. He has enough characteristics, motivations, and emotional ties so that we feel invested in his welfare, but lacks just enough that we aren't taken out of the immersion.
I won't spoil anything, but another thing this book does well is evoke a serious sense of despair and isolation. The surrogacy of Ethan only maximizes this feeling, and this made me NEED to keep reading, to understand what was happening. I felt what Ethan was likely feeling at every turn. I felt his confusion, his wonder, his awe, his horror, his terror, his resignation, and his resolve. The other characters within the book also amplify this aspect. For the most part, they aren't overtly sinister, just incredibly strange and off-putting, al least for a while.
I've seen people criticize how dumb Ethan is for not just immediately trying to escape, but I seriously can't understand this. They mostly point to the obvious danger of the town and how creepy the people are, but as I said above, they really aren't. They are just uncanny, and I think Ethan's motivations perfectly explain his actions. In fact, I think this is so off that I have to wonder if those people even read the same book that I did. I won't go into anything because it would be a spoiler, but don't listen to people who say that. Its not well founded.
One flaw I will admit is that I think Pines seriously drags towards the end. The compelling first part is only that way because of the eerie human drama and the omnipresent sense of mystique, but this is mostly discarded in a later section. Pines devolves into a Man v. Nature/Beast survival scenario, which was nowhere near as interesting as the first part and probably would have slowed down my progress in normal circumstances.
Thankfully, the book rectifies this with a genuinely cool payoff to all the build-up. I cannot stress how much I loved the ending. It wasn't earth-shattering, no, but it was completely earned, mostly made sense, and matched the strangeness of the first part. There are a couple things that are not explained, but this is a series, so Blake Crouch had to leave something to explore in the next one. Again, since this was the biggest cause for hesitation in me about starting Pines, there absolutely is a good payoff. The author obviously wrote this first novel with some type of ending in mind. Whether or not this holds true for the rest of the books, I don't know, but the first works well as a standalone. I will be continuing the series, though. I liked it that much.
If you like mysteries, or sci-fi, or folk horror, read this book. Its worth it.
readingtasha's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
enjoythemouse's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kiyamarie's review against another edition
3.0
Let’s start with the good stuff ! I really liked the concept and I think what is discovered is super important. (To know that you’d have to read it). Ethan is going through a terrifying experience and even though he’s an asshat you can kinda sympathize with him. He’s part of the secret service sent on a mission to find two missing agents. When he wakes up, it seems as if everyone is preventing him from contacting anyone outside of the town. He’s just stuck. But he refuses to be, and so he goes searching for answers, which gets him into some serious shit.
I know there is a show and I think I would be interested in watching it, but I’m not interested in finishing the book series. I wasn’t too impressed with the writing like I had been in Dark Matter and Recusion and it just lost its appeal with me. I found myself not really wanting to finish the book, but did it anyways because I wanted to see if the build up was worth it. I wasn’t very invested in any of the characters because none of them seemed fleshed out and the only reason I sympathized with Ethan is because I put myself in his shoes. I’d hate to be in a situation, not know what is going on, and everyone around me is literally refusing to tell me.
Oh well, if anyone has a recommendation that is from Blake Crouch, but not of this series, let me know !
I know there is a show and I think I would be interested in watching it, but I’m not interested in finishing the book series. I wasn’t too impressed with the writing like I had been in Dark Matter and Recusion and it just lost its appeal with me. I found myself not really wanting to finish the book, but did it anyways because I wanted to see if the build up was worth it. I wasn’t very invested in any of the characters because none of them seemed fleshed out and the only reason I sympathized with Ethan is because I put myself in his shoes. I’d hate to be in a situation, not know what is going on, and everyone around me is literally refusing to tell me.
Oh well, if anyone has a recommendation that is from Blake Crouch, but not of this series, let me know !
molliebegolly's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
darnfeinbookthoughts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
abynikkel's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book was absolutely insane. After the first 100 pages, I literally couldn’t put it down. I was blown away by the emotional intensity and action-packed plot when the book was fairly short! It is nuts how much was packed into it, while still being a well-written story. I tried so hard to figure out the mystery of it all, but still ended up totally surprised at the end. Never in my wildest dreams could I have begun to guess the ending. Blake Crouch did such a good job with this one and I can’t wait to start the second. If you need something to get you into a sci-fi, his books will absolutely do the trick!