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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
slow-paced
This book was good, however I can only give it three stars. Two things really irked me about this book, and are the main reasons why I cannot give it more stars. The first reason is that the description of this book makes it seem as if it is a ghost story. There is nothing paranormal at all about this book. Which kind of let me down when I went into it believing I was going to read a ghost story set in an old mining ghost town. The second thing is that bothered me was that I didn't understand half of what the characters in the past were saying when they talked. I understand that's probably the words and language they really used, but I am not a historian of the old west, and I was utterly confused a lot of the time about what they were trying to say.
This is in no way a horror. Action, perhaps.
It changed gears at the 25% mark, which before that was proving to be a good premise for a horror. I tried to carry on, but I'm sorry, I just couldn't. Action thriller is just not my game.
It changed gears at the 25% mark, which before that was proving to be a good premise for a horror. I tried to carry on, but I'm sorry, I just couldn't. Action thriller is just not my game.
This book was written well. I liked the alternating passages between past and present. It was a good story and many good characters. It just went on way too long. I most likely would have given it four stars had it just been edited down a bit.
This book was a raw, brutal, visceral experience in the best way. I was utterly captivated by Crouch's ability to paint such a vivid picture of life in an 1800s mining town. Reading about Abandon of old made me infinitely grateful to live in today's modern era with all its amenities: central heating, running water, women's rights.
Crouch has an uncanny skill when it comes to painting pictures with words--especially the gruesome, gory, and bone-chilling. I loved the short chapters and the fast pace and ended up staying awake way past my regular bedtime on a few occasions because I was desperate to find out what happened next.
The story continues to haunt me, long after I've turned the last page.
Crouch has an uncanny skill when it comes to painting pictures with words--especially the gruesome, gory, and bone-chilling. I loved the short chapters and the fast pace and ended up staying awake way past my regular bedtime on a few occasions because I was desperate to find out what happened next.
The story continues to haunt me, long after I've turned the last page.
Very clever. I love books where everything ties together nicely
3.5/5.
So. I am not a particularly big fan of terror books or even films for that matter. They tend to get under my skin and give me a hard time when trying to sleep. But when I discovered the Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch a couple of years ago, I was hooked. And after that, I occasionally come back to his work, pick up a kindle and dive in its mysteries. In view of the above, one could validly assume that I am not an expert of the kind and this would be a fair conclusion. But I will do my best in reviewing this book because I really enjoyed it. And in any case this actually turned out to be more of a thriller/action book rather than a horror book (the description is quite misleading in that regard), although I can't say I'm much of an expert on those either.
To begin with, Crouch is no Stephen King - obviously - but he knows how to make movies in book form. "Abandon" has the rhythm of a good thriller and constantly leaves the reader on a cliffhanger, craving to discover what happens next. So you have to rely on plot twists rather than technique, although I did find his writing improved in this one compared to his other works, smoother than what I was used to and more elaborate on the descriptions (scenery and otherwise), with improved dialogue quality and character development (all of which still need work though).
As to the plot, the story of Abandon is simple and yet inexplicable: in the late 19th century, a whole town, Abandon, is disappeared. All inhabitants have gone missing and no sign of them has ever been discovered. So what happened? How can a whole town vanish into thin air without so much of a dead body evidencing its fate? A strange team comprising of a history professor, a journalist and two paranormal photographers accompanied by their guides visits Abandon in 2009 trying to figure out what happened to the town, only to be caught in a circle of blood, violence and utter horror. I won't say anything else about the story, because anything would be a huge spoiler, except that although the plot twists weren't exactly mind-blowing (some of them even were expected), as was the end of "Pines" (I keep coming to this epic finale!), the pace was very good and the whole reading experience was rewarding.
All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this type of literature. It is a fun page-turner based on a tested recipe: mystery, fear, running, shooting, some more running and the optional metaphysical twist. I think I will definitely read another book by Blake Crouch in the future.
So. I am not a particularly big fan of terror books or even films for that matter. They tend to get under my skin and give me a hard time when trying to sleep. But when I discovered the Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch a couple of years ago, I was hooked. And after that, I occasionally come back to his work, pick up a kindle and dive in its mysteries. In view of the above, one could validly assume that I am not an expert of the kind and this would be a fair conclusion. But I will do my best in reviewing this book because I really enjoyed it. And in any case this actually turned out to be more of a thriller/action book rather than a horror book (the description is quite misleading in that regard), although I can't say I'm much of an expert on those either.
To begin with, Crouch is no Stephen King - obviously - but he knows how to make movies in book form. "Abandon" has the rhythm of a good thriller and constantly leaves the reader on a cliffhanger, craving to discover what happens next. So you have to rely on plot twists rather than technique, although I did find his writing improved in this one compared to his other works, smoother than what I was used to and more elaborate on the descriptions (scenery and otherwise), with improved dialogue quality and character development (all of which still need work though).
As to the plot, the story of Abandon is simple and yet inexplicable: in the late 19th century, a whole town, Abandon, is disappeared. All inhabitants have gone missing and no sign of them has ever been discovered. So what happened? How can a whole town vanish into thin air without so much of a dead body evidencing its fate? A strange team comprising of a history professor, a journalist and two paranormal photographers accompanied by their guides visits Abandon in 2009 trying to figure out what happened to the town, only to be caught in a circle of blood, violence and utter horror. I won't say anything else about the story, because anything would be a huge spoiler, except that although the plot twists weren't exactly mind-blowing (some of them even were expected), as was the end of "Pines" (I keep coming to this epic finale!), the pace was very good and the whole reading experience was rewarding.
All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this type of literature. It is a fun page-turner based on a tested recipe: mystery, fear, running, shooting, some more running and the optional metaphysical twist. I think I will definitely read another book by Blake Crouch in the future.
I will read anything [a:Blake Crouch|442240|Blake Crouch|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1479398727p2/442240.jpg] writes and this is one I hadn’t read yet (but owned it for a while). Right away there is a barrage of characters that was a little difficult to keep up with. In 2009, it’s only six characters and you get to figure it out over some time. But in the 1893 story line, there are a ton of characters that made it a little difficult to follow who was who.
As the book went on, I found myself not really caring much about the 1893 storyline and just wanted to stick with the 2009 storyline. Oh well, it was mostly enjoyable. The ending parts of the 2009 storyline were pretty intense. There’s some weird short story at the end of this book that sounds like a prequel of the 1893 Abandon storyline. I didn’t really care for it. (what’s also weird is that this short story repeats itself on the audiobook, so it’s included twice. Oh well…).
Audiobook narrator [a:Luke Daniels|2978188|Luke Daniels|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1331514576p2/2978188.jpg] rating: 3 stars
This is like old school Luke Daniels. He reads a little faster, doesn’t sound as silly, and just generally sounds younger. He didn’t change his voice as much as he does for silly sci-fi, but he was still good. He does take many audibly deep breaths throughout his reading which can be distracting but I started to forget he was doing that. As the book went on, he was better at narrating the 1893 people and pretty monotone with the 2009 people. It was a little disappointing.
As the book went on, I found myself not really caring much about the 1893 storyline and just wanted to stick with the 2009 storyline. Oh well, it was mostly enjoyable. The ending parts of the 2009 storyline were pretty intense. There’s some weird short story at the end of this book that sounds like a prequel of the 1893 Abandon storyline. I didn’t really care for it. (what’s also weird is that this short story repeats itself on the audiobook, so it’s included twice. Oh well…).
Audiobook narrator [a:Luke Daniels|2978188|Luke Daniels|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1331514576p2/2978188.jpg] rating: 3 stars
This is like old school Luke Daniels. He reads a little faster, doesn’t sound as silly, and just generally sounds younger. He didn’t change his voice as much as he does for silly sci-fi, but he was still good. He does take many audibly deep breaths throughout his reading which can be distracting but I started to forget he was doing that. As the book went on, he was better at narrating the 1893 people and pretty monotone with the 2009 people. It was a little disappointing.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, I'm giving it a 4.5 really. I take off half a star for the following:
*Lofty word choice - it may just be me, but his word choice slowed me down a LOT. And not like, big words, but really unusual words that don't help the story at all. There WERE unusual words that were pertinent during the time period and so, yes, I don't mind looking those up, rock on. But LOADS of other words I feel like nobody would use over and over and it helps nothing. Maybe I'm just grouchy, but it seemed arrogant-ish.
* So many characters that were hard to keep up with. I had to go back a few times and say, "wait, what?"
HOWEVER.
This is THRILLING and I found myself holding my breath while I read sometimes. Ridiculously good story (of course it is, it's Blake Crouch). The back and forth in time were aligned perfectly and many times I found myself shivering because the cold was described so perfectly. So much of it believable and unbelievable at the same time.
*Lofty word choice - it may just be me, but his word choice slowed me down a LOT. And not like, big words, but really unusual words that don't help the story at all. There WERE unusual words that were pertinent during the time period and so, yes, I don't mind looking those up, rock on. But LOADS of other words I feel like nobody would use over and over and it helps nothing. Maybe I'm just grouchy, but it seemed arrogant-ish.
* So many characters that were hard to keep up with. I had to go back a few times and say, "wait, what?"
HOWEVER.
This is THRILLING and I found myself holding my breath while I read sometimes. Ridiculously good story (of course it is, it's Blake Crouch). The back and forth in time were aligned perfectly and many times I found myself shivering because the cold was described so perfectly. So much of it believable and unbelievable at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Torture