This book was more horror than I normally expect from Blake Crouch, utterly terrifying.

Jack Colclough and his family are living a nightmare. Suddenly the world has gone crazy and murders are happening everywhere. Jack and his family leave their home to escape death. After they have been on the road for a couple of days, Jack is wondering if that was the best option. This family goes through so many horrific things. Bravo!

This is a fun, fast, terrifying novel. I flew through "Run," which at times left me reminding myself to breathe.

For the most part, author Blake Crouch keeps the lead characters in "Run" - the unfortunate Colclough family - moving through a chaotic world where half the population seems to have gone insane with rage.

Father, mother, daughter and son fight to find a peaceful place to rest, narrowly escaping many dangerous situations as they deal with threats that are both internal and external. Parents Jack and Dee are reeling from pre-apocalyptic betrayal. Daughter Naomi, a teenager, is confused and frightened but is determined to survive. Son Cole is young - too young to understand what is happening and why, and his point of view provides a lens through which readers can imagine how a child would deal with the fallout of a major global catastrophe.

At times, "Run" can feel a little repetitive. You wonder just how many times the Colcloughs can scrape through a difficult, life-threatening situation. But Crouch manages to pull it off well, if a little strenuously. Despite its few faults in plot and character development - Jack and Dee feel like caricatures, while their children are well and fully formed, a strange turn that I usually find the other way around - "Run" is a fun and gripping read.

“𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞.”
—𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

Rating: 2.75/5 ⭐️⭐️✨

Pub Date: 10/22/24

*Thank you @NetGalley and @randomhouse - Ballentine for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Jack his wife Dee, and their two children are forced to go on the run after a strange event causes people to go mad and murderous in this apocalyptic reissue of one of this author's first novels.

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲:

*Apocalyptic Settings
*Short Chapters
*Graphic Details
*Popular Zombie Shows

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:

Im a fan of the short chapters Ive noticed this author prefers. I was completely drawn in from the start and compulsively kept reading. The detailed writing makes it easy to imagine what the author is trying to portray. The storyline itself didnt have much of a point to it though and I found the incessant descriptions of the family's travels to be monotonous. There wasn't a huge climax to the story either. The ending was ok, but not my favorite.
With all that said, I know this was one of Crouch's first books and its obvious his storytelling has improved since.

#runbook

I was not able to read this book and review it before its publishing date but now that I read it I have given it 5 stars.

As a Blake Crouch fan, I was very interested to read one of his older works. This book had some of his trademark fast-paced writing, which starts right from the get go and doesn't slow down throughout. I do love a good apocalyptic sci-fi, especially when it kicks off right at the beginning of the mysterious event. So that kept me pretty plugged into the story as Jack and his family flee their home in search of somewhere safe to settle. The story does get a bit graphic at times, but does a great job of showing the high stakes nature of their journey and how little you can trust each of the characters that they interact with throughout. If you are a seasoned Blake Crouch reader, you can tell that this book is pretty underdeveloped from a character standpoint. But it is an easy, enjoyable read.

Big thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blake Crouch almost always writes hits and this one was no exception. I could not put this one down! An older title, that was reissued, I am so glad the publisher did that because it was one I couldn't find and had wanted to read. You will be hooked by the plot, action and non-stop thrills.

I really liked this book! The mystery kept me hooked, and I enjoyed trying to figure out why the characters were acting the way they did. The family's decisions were interesting to follow, and there were surprising twists along the way. The story was well done, and I had a great time reading it.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness!! Fantastic!! This anxiety-inducing, adrenaline-fueled, fast-paced apocalyptic thriller is packed with relentless action and gripping family drama! The tension never lets up, and once you start, you won’t be able to put it down! It’s best to go in blind - just be prepared for a heart-pounding race for survival! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(Read as an ARC)

Honestly, a little hard to get into and then it was hard to put down. I really didn't like the formatting and it felt unfinished/unpolished/unedited (?) with all the mini jumps noted via asterisks. The acknowledgements at the end noted that this was Crouch's first novel and I think that wasn't very surprising. I read Dark Matter by him a few years ago and I liked that one too, but it also was missing something so maybe it's just not *quite* for me even if I enjoyed it overall. It's kind of like they both need a little salt. Fast paced thriller with a sprinkle of sci fi that left some unsatisfyingly unanswered questions, but still good enough and especially for casual readers.

I’m a huge fan of Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade by this author—these books are cerebral, scientific, and complex. They demand your full attention and completely immerse you in their worlds, and I absolutely love them.

Naturally, I was excited to dive into Run, expecting a similar experience. While it had an intriguing premise and a gripping start, it didn’t quite deliver in the way I had hoped. Don’t get me wrong—it’s definitely a tense read, especially in the beginning, but it started to drag toward the end. It just didn’t feel like the type of mind-bending story I’ve come to adore from Crouch. To me, it was more of a generic thriller.

Then I discovered that Run is actually a re-release of a book originally written 14 years ago, in 2011. While it’s clear how much Crouch has grown as a writer since then, I wish NetGalley had mentioned this detail upfront. It would have shifted my expectations going into the book.

That said, if you enjoy high-stakes disaster stories like Falling by T.J. Newman or heart-pounding survival thrillers packed with action and adrenaline, Run will likely be right up your alley. For me, it wasn’t a bad read, but I expected something very different and was ultimately left a bit disappointed. Knowing it was a re-release might have made a difference in my perspective.

Thank you to @netgalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for the eARC, which I’ve read and reviewed voluntarily.

Okay, my first thought about 53% into this book is "what the ever-loving eff is going on right now?" They are running. Like. The. Whole. Book. Yes, I understand the book is called "run" but this is the author of recursion and dark matter. Extremely cerebral and science-based type stories. And this one is just... running? Sometimes in a car, sometimes on foot. So again I started to wonder what on earth I was reading. What happened to our brilliant author with his mind-bending stories and his jaw-dropping, thought inducing plotlines?

The answer. The author didn't exist yet. This book already came out 2011. No wonder everything that felt so Blake Crouch is missing. This is before he found his voice! If planning a rerelease I do not think it will do well, that's just my opinion though.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really enjoy Blake Crouch so I had high hopes for this. Early on I was not 100% invested in this but it reads pretty fasty so I kept on. This was mysterious and suspenseful and I needed to know what was going on. Definitely sci fi and dystopian horror vibes. Unfortunately DNF at 40% because it was too much for me.

Wow, wow, wow! I was on the edge of my seat throughout this entire ride. Blake Crouch puts you right there in the thick of the emotions and chaos of this family. Running for their lives, with people that had been exposed all around them. It's terrifying, emotional, and suspenseful. It was a really enjoyable read, while also making me reflect on humanity in general. Highly recommend!

Even though this is the working of Crouch's earlier work - it was enjoyable! I really enjoyed the simplicity of it. There was nothing for me to have to remember; characters, facts, dates, etc. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat wondering how this family was going to survive day after day. I am a big nerd for any type of movies, shows, books on post-apocalyptic theories. I think they leave everything up for interpretation. This book seriously just jumped right into the action and stayed there. I highly recommend to anyone who just wants a fast-paced, page gripping read. Definitely not like his newer stuff, so go in open-minded.

Heart pounding and relentless, I could not stop reading. I really liked the full circle moment at the end. You can tell however this was an earlier novel from Blake Crouch as his writing and plot skills have improved massively since this.

VERY ACTION AND FAST PACED and it is best to go into this book blindly. The mystery plotline was great and I love Blake Crouch's books so much!

It’s easy to see that this is one of Crouch’s earlier novels, because it has the quick paced edge he does so well but doesn’t quite have the level of depth that I’ve come to expect from him. Regardless, I was on the edge of my seat. I absolutely devoured this book, and I loved the many angles — the relationship between the parents, between the parents and children, and between strangers (what we owe to each other).

3.5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books & Blake Crouch for a copy of this book.

3.5⭐️
I liked how in the beginning of this book we jumped right into it, and we’re thrown into this chaos and sudden apocalyptic world that we have to know follow this family try to escape from. However in the middle it started to get a little repetitive, and it felt like we were just following a family on a cross country road trip lol. I feel like I’m still a little confused about some things and some things i wanted answered or clarified but overall it was great! Not my favorite from Crouch but i still enjoy his books nonetheless.

Read Completed 2/27/25 | 2.5 stars | Book #21 of 2025

This was not very good. The writing was intense, fast-paced, and VERY action-based. In fact, there's really not a plot at all. You can summarize the plot in one sentence, and that's all you get from the whole book. RUN is entirely that: running. The main characters flee their home when the entire country starts going homicidal after witnessing an aurora in the sky. Aaaaand. That's it! That's the whole book!

If you like action and don't mind a lack of plot and character development, then maybe this will be an exciting book for you! It really could have benefitted from SOME quiet moments where the characters calm down, share things about themselves, have touching moments, create some other interesting points of the story. It almost happened... once. We didn't get to see the other parts of the book that would have given it depth.

I kind of expected this because Blake Crouch's earlier works just don't seem to have the development that I like of anything from DARK MATTER on, but I still wanted to try it. At least it was fast and kept moving!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of Run by Blake Crouch. I’m a huge fan of Dark Matter, which is one of my favorite books. At times, Run gave me the same mysterious feeling that Dark Matter did. However, the story fell a little short for me overall. At times, it felt a bit too gruesome, and the repetitive nature of the plot left me feeling as though Jack and his family were trapped in a never-ending cycle, like Groundhog Day.

That said, I really enjoyed the concept of the story, and there were moments that kept me intrigued about what would happen next. I’d give this book a 3.5/5 and am still looking forward to reading more from Blake Crouch in the future.