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A review by erinflight
Abandon by Blake Crouch
2.0
This novel is engaging. That's part of the reason it sucks.
This is a story built upon escalating tension. Things get worse. And then they get worse again. And again. And again. And again.
The final escalation, in the last chapter, was honestly just exasperating. This is the point in the novel where you'd be expecting some sort of payoff, resolution, the wrapping up of the story. But no. At this point in the book, the "twist" was the opposite of shocking. I'd have been more surprised if things actually had resolved.
At the very end of the book, the last five pages maybe, the tension does stop. But there's no reward there, no satisfying conclusion. Just a "well, I guess it's over".
Also, the mystery at the core of this book ends up being, frankly, not that interesting. You get an answer as to where all of the people vanished to, sure, but it's not a particularly enthralling or surprising answer. Humans are sometimes greedy. Humans sometimes go crazy. Combine those things in an out of the way mining town in the heart of winter and well, there you go.
So, this novel is a ride, and maybe it's worth reading for that. But it doesn't go anywhere, and I ended up feeling like I'd wasted both my time and the little emotional investment this book managed to wring out of me.
This is a story built upon escalating tension. Things get worse. And then they get worse again. And again. And again. And again.
The final escalation, in the last chapter, was honestly just exasperating. This is the point in the novel where you'd be expecting some sort of payoff, resolution, the wrapping up of the story. But no. At this point in the book, the "twist" was the opposite of shocking. I'd have been more surprised if things actually had resolved.
At the very end of the book, the last five pages maybe, the tension does stop. But there's no reward there, no satisfying conclusion. Just a "well, I guess it's over".
Also, the mystery at the core of this book ends up being, frankly, not that interesting. You get an answer as to where all of the people vanished to, sure, but it's not a particularly enthralling or surprising answer. Humans are sometimes greedy. Humans sometimes go crazy. Combine those things in an out of the way mining town in the heart of winter and well, there you go.
So, this novel is a ride, and maybe it's worth reading for that. But it doesn't go anywhere, and I ended up feeling like I'd wasted both my time and the little emotional investment this book managed to wring out of me.