3.5 stars

Run by Blake Crouch sets up a tense, apocalyptic thriller in which ordinary people are thrown into extraordinary circumstances. The story follows a family on the run across a landscape that has descended into chaos after a mysterious event turns citizens into violent, bloodthirsty killers. As the family races to find safety, they must battle both external dangers and their own fears in a world where survival seems increasingly impossible.

This book is a quick and fast-paced read that wastes no time throwing you into the action. The premise is intriguing and certainly delivers in terms of suspense. However, the writing style was a bit frustrating for me. It often read like stream of consciousness, which would make sense in first-person perspective, but since it wasn’t, the effect felt jarring. I found the erratic sentence structure and grammar distracting at times—if I focused too much on the writing, I’d lose track of the story. Despite that, the pacing and intensity of the plot kept me reading to the end.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sudden and apparently random acts of violence are on the rise, and the cause is unclear at first. It seems that folks are waking up one day, absolutely certain that they need to murder persons x, y, and z, “the unaffected.” One family makes a desperate choice, the only choice available to them: run.

The best thing I can say about this book is that it’s aptly named and a quick read. Not a lot happens, except for driving and walking and numerous acts of senseless violence. Imagine the Holocaust and you’re in the ball park. There are also some themes of familial love and sacrifice, but they’re just not enough to hold interest or be memorable.

The only reason I did not DNF is because I’ve read and loved Dark Matter, Recursion, and the Wayward Pines trilogy. Those stories are so rich and the characters so real - I really did think this one would go somewhere thought provoking, too. But it just… didn’t. This book is a rerelease and one of Crouch’s earliest works, so this tracks.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book. This review is also shared on Goodreads.

Run was originally published independently in 2011 and is now being traditionally published. It is very different from Crouch's newest novels that made him as popular as he is now. I would not go in expecting his current writing style and plots, this is very different. I still had a fun time bingeing this WILD ride of a book.

One day the entire mainland United States and northern Mexico has seemed to lost their minds. Half of the population is dead set on murdering the other half and no one knows why and no one can stop it. We follow a family as they travel from Albuquerque to try to reach refugee camps in Canada. Through multiple mountains, hiking in the woods, and desperately trying to find food and water we watch this family reach the limits of what they can handle.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine books for an early copy of this book! Out 10/22/24.

Run by Blake Crouch is a very highly recommended apocalyptic thriller. This re-release of Crouch's first novel (originally 2011) is an un-put-downable horrifying death march following a man and his family running for their lives while trying to escape incomprehensible evil killing mobs in an America gone mad.

The epidemic of a killing rage began an now the infected are mobilizing and reading the addresses of those to be killed on the Emergency Broadcast System. Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife Dee, his teenage daughter Naomi, and his seven-year-old son Cole. They were packing their range rover to leave, but now they must leave immediately.

The race to escape the killing hoards sends them heading north with the goal to evade and survive. At one point they learn that an intense aurora borealis which could be seen in most of North America, likely in the 5 range, set off in those who watched it some genetically ingrained need to eliminate everyone who didn't see it. (Sort of a Day of the Triffids event and plot.) They also learn that Canada wasn't infected and has camps for refugees, so their goal is to keep going north.

Set disbelief aside and enjoy the fast-paced, intense, horrifying, heart-stopping, action-packed adventure. Along the lines of many classic B movies and stories of a similar ilk, the crisis sending them in survival mode may not be as fully explained as some readers want, but there have to be plenty of us who enjoy this kind of survival-thriller-action-adventure trope (dinosaurs, zombies, triffids, insects, etc.).

If you like apocalyptic stories mixed with survival tales, read Run. Thanks to Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

"Run" by Blake Crouch is an electrifying thrill ride that captivates readers from the very first page. This fast-paced, nail-biting novel keeps you on the edge of your seat, ensuring that you remain fully engrossed from start to finish. Crouch masterfully crafts a story that is not only an action-packed page-turner but also an emotional rollercoaster that tugs at your heartstrings.

The relentless pace of the book makes it nearly impossible to put down; I found myself reading it nearly all in one sitting, eagerly flipping pages to discover what happens next. The characters are well-developed and relatable, drawing you into their world and making you genuinely care about their fates.

Crouch's writing style is crisp and engaging, with vivid descriptions and suspenseful twists that keep the tension high throughout the narrative. "Run" is a perfect choice for fans of thrillers who enjoy a blend of action and emotion. Whether you're new to Blake Crouch's work or a long-time fan, this book will not disappoint.

This is not my kind of book, but I still really like Blake Crouch and look forward to his future work. “Torture porn” is the wrong phrase, but every page of this is so, so punishing. Its length reveals an intentionality that I appreciate and flashes of the greatness of Crouch at his best… but I rarely comfortably stomach something this nihilistic unless I feel like there’s something more meaningful beneath the surface. This is pulp - which is not a problem - and thus not really for me.

Dear Run,
I absolutely love Blake Rouch's speculative fiction, but I wasn't sure what I was getting into with you. You were short, and so face paced. The horrors that the Colclough family has to go through while they scramble for safety in their new, and terrifying world amazed me. You were not a comfortable book to read, and you left a lot of questions up in the air as to why society collapsed and people turned on each other. I just wanted a happy ending for all the Colclough family.

Another story from Blake Crouch about the strength of love, under layers other heavy topics. This book is a reissue of his first self published novel, back in 2011. Emotion driven, speculative fiction are this author's forte, no doubt. A little bit apocalyptic, a little bit sci-fi and a dash of The Purge, this book is a wild ride. Thank you Ballantine Books & NetGalley for the ARC. Check this out when it publishes October 22, 2024.

What a post-apocalyptic triller! Blake Crouch has once again combined action, family drama, and a terrible world where everything has gone wrong in his novel Run. With senseless brutal murders, killers mobilizing, power out in many places, and names of those to be killed being read on the radio, Jack Colclough, his wife Dee, and their children Naomi and Cole run for their lives. The setting starts in New Mexico, but most of the events occur in Wyoming and Montana.

Once again, the author has created an adrenaline-pumping thriller that kept me rapidly turning the pages. The prologue was initially difficult to see how it fit in, but it eventually becomes clear. The premise was intriguing with a different take on how the situation occurred and rapidly got out of control. How do you get food, water, and gas in a world gone mad? Where can the Colclough family go and find safety? After a slower start, the action soon picks up and doesn’t stop until the epilogue. My main quibbles are that the characters don’t have as much depth as I would prefer and resolution was too abrupt. Despite this, it was a riveting novel with a lot of violence in it. Readers should be aware that this is a re-release of one of the author’s earlier novels.

Overall, the storyline gripped me and kept me engaged throughout the novel. If you enjoy post-apocalyptic thrillers with plenty of action, then I recommend that you check out this book. I am looking forward to finding out this author writes next.

Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and Blake Crouch provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for October 22, 2024.

I have read several Blake Crouch books and was excited about this one. It is listed as an upcoming release but it is actually a rerelease of one of his older books. It shows. It is a dystopian, apocalyptic story about a family of four who is under attack from friends and neighbors who suddenly are attacking others. It is reminiscent of Birdbox or The Quiet Place in theme (and many other dystopian novels). There were several issues with this book, without giving spoilers, that limited my enjoyment of it. One is the onset of the event and how people were affected, who should have been affected and yet somehow could resist the urge to attack others, how it progressed, and how it ended. This felt like an early novel for Crouch. If this had been my first Crouch book, I would have liked it and it would have given me the reason to try another. His later books are so much more compelling and well written that going backwards didn't completely work for me. I'm happy to have tried it though and if post-apocalyptic stories are for you, try it. Despite the shortcomings (or super high expectations on my part), it is a fun read.
#RandomHousePublishing #Ballantine #Run #Netgalley

Hold on to your butts! This one was a wild ride. It was so action-packed and anxiety inducing! Run is an apocalyptic survival story on steroids. My heart is still racing as I write this. I wasn’t a fan of one weird and only flashback 89% into the book that didnt really add to the story. But otherwise, this is a page turner!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ebook in exchange for a honest review

I had a hard time coming up with a review for this as I loved the beginning of this book, and soon got bored with how repetitive it got.
I felt like nothing of significance happened to the family, and they always had a good outcome to every bad situation they experienced.
The kids were infuriating in this and I’m not sure if I missed their ages but I couldn’t figure it out based on the text.

4.5 stars

✨Wow! This was a propulsive, mile a minute heartstopper of a read.

✨Talk about fast-paced tension; I was on the edge of my seat for the entire book.

✨The characters in these pages are flawed, but you can’t help but root for them.

✨There’s just something about survival, end of the world scenario stories that really draw me in, but unfortunately most are really poorly written. This is one of the best I’ve read by far.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Survival fiction
✨Post-apocalyptic stories
✨TEOTWAKWKI/SHTF books
✨End of the world scenarios
✨Family drama

🎧I listened to this book on audio, and the narrator Scott Brick @thescottbrick did a phenomenal job of lifting the story right off the pages. I was riveted. Excellent performance.

“Run” follows a family of four as chaos erupts in the US and large groups of people suddenly start killing others. The family flees in their car and start a trek through the wilderness to find safety. It was an intense and gruesome ride and, now that I’ve finished the book, I don’t have any large explanation or major revelations. I feel like the idea was an interesting and compelling one, but the characters and events are all pretty generic and predictable.

As someone who usually doesn’t read horror novels, this felt overly gruesome and violent at times and, since we aren’t given a clear explanation for the events of the book, it felt unnecessary.

If you enjoy thriller novels and aren’t afraid of some gore, then buckle up and get ready for a wild ride.


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

Blake Crouch is certainly a master of stories about the dystopian and apocalyptic fictional worlds that scare us to death. The key is that they could be real or they could happen before we know it. In RUN an ordinary family faces a battle for survival after a celestial aurora's bizarre fallout unleashes havoc on the lower 48 of the USA. A college professor and a doctor are pulled out of their comfortable if lackluster lives and tested in ways they never imagined as they try to figure out what's happening in this unexpectedly new world. Their two children give them added incentive to succeed. The boy Cole saw the aurora, but the rest of the family did not and that provides a hint to what's going on.
As the family travels and fights their way from Albuquerque to Canada the harsh landscape of the American West is detailed along with the search for the most basic life-sustaining necessities of food, water and shelter. They overcome the incredible kind of odds that make you wonder if you could ever do it too. What if it did happen? What would you do? What could you do even if it's unimaginable to you now?
I highly recommend RUN to anyone who likes thriller adventure reading with a good dose of fear worked into the story. Thank you Random House/Ballantine and Blake Crouch for the opportunity to read this book!

It's like the plot of every apocalyptic novel ever, but with dialogue that appears to have been written by Michael Scott. Would not recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for the ARC!

Blake Crouch has been a marvelous writer for a few years now. I was first introduced to him with Dark Matter.

Run is definitely riveting from the beginning. I was on my toes the entire book literally pacing to find out what happens. You will not want to put this one down at all!

Mind blowing………..

This fast-paced sci-fi thriller kept me interested from the first chapter. I enjoyed the premise, but I did wish there was more background on what happened before this family’s story began. I was surprised to find out this was a re-release, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Run by Blake Crouch
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you @netgalley for the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First off WOW!

I knew Black Crouch could write an amazing book because months ago I read Dark Matter and I still think about it a lot. I think I enjoyed this one even more!

Day by day the world is going more to shambles. People are being killed. A man hears his name being called over the radio to be the next to be killed. He takes his family and he runs.

Blake has a way of writing that I love. He paints the story so vividly. This book is filled with so many twists and turns. The entire time I was rooting for the family to make it out alive. My heart was beating so fast the entire time.

I would 100% recommend reading this book!

Excited to see an older Blake Crouch novel get a new release. Everything he writes is so thrilling and great to read.