A review by skroot
The Ruins by Scott Smith

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My favorite thing about this book is by far the way it was written. It's a page turner. The story and setting are engaging, and the characters feel real. I felt like they all talked like actual people (for the most part, though Jeff is pretty over the top in the way he's written. But the way he talks feels really in line with his character). Their relationships to one another were done really well, so when things inevitably started to go wrong between them for various reasons, it feels really natural. I just can't get over how good the writing was. My main gripe that kept it from 5 stars for me were some of the logical fallacies that kind of annoyed me throughout the whole latter half of the book (obviously looking past the concept, which isn't supposed to be logical to begin with).

After having finished the book, I kind of just felt like the vine could have killed them pretty easily right off the bat. We see the vines move very quickly and forcefully at multiple points, so why doesn't it just kill everyone in the tent in their sleep day one? Or why doesn't it trap Amy, Eric and Pablo down in the mine when they first enter? To me it just seems like a convenient way to prolong the tension and the book. "If you offer no explanation, you can't argue that it's illogical." That was the only thing I disliked about the book.

A lot of people complain about the dumb decisions that they make throughout the book as well, but that didn't bother me. It's kind of expected at this point.

Overall, firm recommend.