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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
On Christmas Eve 1883, all of the residents of the Colorado mining town Abandon grabbed their coats, and left, dinners still on the table. All vanished.
November, 2009. A hiking party gets a permit to check out the ghost town, all with their own motives. Abigail was invited by her father, and the article she intends on writing will kick off her career. Emmet and June are paranormal photographers, and wants to shoot the town. Lawrence, the historian, has spent his whole life trying to find out what happened to the people of Abandon - and where several bars of solid gold ended up.
After reading Dark Matter, I quickly grabbed another Crouch novel, thinking it'd be just as great. And sure, the writing is pretty much the same, but there are so. many. characters. And none of them have any descriptions what so ever, so I found it really bloody hard to remember who's who, and who's related to who, etc. etc. It's not a bad book, not by far - but if you intend on reading it, make it a two day mission, or three, at a push. It's one of those books that are better if you read a lot in it. Also, I found that the chapters didn't really help at all - It's much easier to read it if you read all the five 1893 chapters, and then pause when you reach 2009. The book jumps back and forth in time a lot, so no worries. This book is ok, I liked it, and it really shows how much Crouch has grown as a writer.
NOTE:
- It's been over a month. I still think a lot about this book.
- it's now june and i'm still thinking about this shit. It's so unsettling. God, I'm going to have to move it up a star i guess.
- i also noticed that this review has been saying "1983" for four months. oops.
Edit. Its literally been 3 years and i dreamt about this book last night
November, 2009. A hiking party gets a permit to check out the ghost town, all with their own motives. Abigail was invited by her father, and the article she intends on writing will kick off her career. Emmet and June are paranormal photographers, and wants to shoot the town. Lawrence, the historian, has spent his whole life trying to find out what happened to the people of Abandon - and where several bars of solid gold ended up.
After reading Dark Matter, I quickly grabbed another Crouch novel, thinking it'd be just as great. And sure, the writing is pretty much the same, but there are so. many. characters. And none of them have any descriptions what so ever, so I found it really bloody hard to remember who's who, and who's related to who, etc. etc. It's not a bad book, not by far - but if you intend on reading it, make it a two day mission, or three, at a push. It's one of those books that are better if you read a lot in it. Also, I found that the chapters didn't really help at all - It's much easier to read it if you read all the five 1893 chapters, and then pause when you reach 2009. The book jumps back and forth in time a lot, so no worries. This book is ok, I liked it, and it really shows how much Crouch has grown as a writer.
NOTE:
- It's been over a month. I still think a lot about this book.
- it's now june and i'm still thinking about this shit. It's so unsettling. God, I'm going to have to move it up a star i guess.
- i also noticed that this review has been saying "1983" for four months. oops.
Edit. Its literally been 3 years and i dreamt about this book last night
I had to force myself to finish this book. It became so boring.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
First Line Rating: 8/10
“Wind rips through the crags a thousand feet above, nothing moving in this godforsaken town, and the mule skinner knows that something is wrong.”
I think this is a pretty solid opener. “Something is wrong” is a bit cliché, but it undeniably grabs
I’ve read several of Crouch’s works: Recursion, Dark Matter, The Wayward Pines trilogy, and Run, and really enjoyed them all. Of his work, I think Abandon is my least favorite. I read it last year and just now getting to reviewing it, because it wasn’t what I hoped it’d be. It was not paranormal or science fiction as I thought it’d be, and instead flips between the 1800s and modern day, and centers around insanity and greed. There was a lot of action, but it was a bit too long of a story that could’ve stood a good shaving down, and it took me forever to slog through. Read this if you’re a fan of westerns/action stories and alternating timelines, but don’t go in expecting typical Crouch. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either.
“Wind rips through the crags a thousand feet above, nothing moving in this godforsaken town, and the mule skinner knows that something is wrong.”
I think this is a pretty solid opener. “Something is wrong” is a bit cliché, but it undeniably grabs
I’ve read several of Crouch’s works: Recursion, Dark Matter, The Wayward Pines trilogy, and Run, and really enjoyed them all. Of his work, I think Abandon is my least favorite. I read it last year and just now getting to reviewing it, because it wasn’t what I hoped it’d be. It was not paranormal or science fiction as I thought it’d be, and instead flips between the 1800s and modern day, and centers around insanity and greed. There was a lot of action, but it was a bit too long of a story that could’ve stood a good shaving down, and it took me forever to slog through. Read this if you’re a fan of westerns/action stories and alternating timelines, but don’t go in expecting typical Crouch. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either.
This engrossing story kept me turning the pages. I loved how the author made parallels between the past and the present. Warning though, this book is a thriller, but it does earn its "horror" classification.
An exercise in watching people get tortured; it was like a bad slasher movie. Random, nonsensical plot twists, zero character development.
You get the parallel stories of the day everyone from the town of Abandon disappeared without a trace, and the story of a party that hikes into the woods to visit the ruins. In the modern time we're following Abigail, who is a reporter interviewing the ghost photographers who are leading the expedition. Her absentee father is the guide, and they're tentatively considering un-estranging themselves. That's pretty much all the character stuff in the whole book.
Bad stuff starts happening. It's all about gold, you see, and how the love of money is the root of all evil. Which is a good point, but there is no unspoken corollary that goes "and no one can escape!"
The good thing I'll say: there were some nice bits where the two stories had parallel moments. Those were kind of neat. But I'll also say this: Abigail was a terrible reporter. She spent three days with the subject of her profile before she asked a single question.
Definitely not for me.
You get the parallel stories of the day everyone from the town of Abandon disappeared without a trace, and the story of a party that hikes into the woods to visit the ruins. In the modern time we're following Abigail, who is a reporter interviewing the ghost photographers who are leading the expedition. Her absentee father is the guide, and they're tentatively considering un-estranging themselves. That's pretty much all the character stuff in the whole book.
Bad stuff starts happening. It's all about gold, you see, and how the love of money is the root of all evil. Which is a good point, but there is no unspoken corollary that goes "and no one can escape!"
The good thing I'll say: there were some nice bits where the two stories had parallel moments. Those were kind of neat. But I'll also say this: Abigail was a terrible reporter. She spent three days with the subject of her profile before she asked a single question.
Definitely not for me.
This was definitely a different read for me. I went into this book ready to compare it to Crouch’s other book, Dark Matter, and I quickly found that the books are very different. Overall, I thought the first half of the book was very good, it kept me on my feet and wanting to know what happened over 100 years ago in Abandon. But, towards the end, I felt like the book just kind of drug on. I think it would have been a four star read for me if the book had wrapped a few things up at the end a little more quickly.
In the winter of 1893, every man, woman, and child in Abandon, Colorado, disappeared without a trace. Professor Lawrence Kendall has studied the history of Abandon for years and has pitched a story to his daughter, journalist Abigail Foster, that she can’t resist. Together, with a set of tour guides and a couple of paranormal photographers, they will hike out to the ghost town and try to discover the truth about Abandon. Their first day in the seemingly empty town, though, they are met with two masked men armed to the teeth and searching for something they are sure Lawrence can lead them to. The story alternates with the final days of the 1893 settlers, culminating with today’s explorers facing the same twisted fate. Crouch’s tale is engaging enough to keep the reader hooked, and that may be its saving grace. I didn’t feel overly attached to, or, truth be told, all that interested in, most of the characters. They were underdeveloped in most instances or over the top in others. Disappointing because I had so been looking forward to this one.
Edit: i just remembered Crouch uses "slender yet curvy" to discribe a women's CORPSE. 1 star.
I hated this enough to give it one star
I hated this enough to give it one star
I'd call this horror instead of thriller. It's written well - I felt like I was there. I'm worried I'll have nightmares! (3.5 stars)
This was okay; not what I was expecting. The disappearance of the entire town was a mystery neatly solved, and I was happy that all the loose ends were tied up. I was not left hanging, wondering what happened. I know it's probably just me, but I was expecting a less-logical explanation.