A family of four is forced to flee from their home in Albuquerque when the world seems to be going crazy and killing people. Names of those to be killed are broadcast on the emergency broadcast system and the Colclough family’s names are read. They are the family of four - Jack, Dee, Naomi, and Cole. They are on the run and go from one hair raising day to the next, somehow always escaping death. So many things happen and I don’t want to give it all away. It was very suspenseful but I have to say, in my opinion, it was all just overdone. I found it all rather unbelievable and ridiculous at times. The source of all the mayhem and killing is blamed on something but not really explained. I just didn’t find it to be my cup of tea. I’m giving the book 2 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. It is to be published on October 22, 2024.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Let's just rip the bandaid off, this did not work for me. Before this review is over I will tell you, who might like it.

Why it didn't work for me: Run, feels like Mad Max but in a post apocalyptic America where people are senselessly murdering each other (also think Purge style). We follow a family on the run, various groups of people trying to murder them. At the very start of the book we find out that the wife of the family has cheated on her husband. To be fair I DNF'd this about 1/3 of the way in so what I'm about to say may change later in the book but that would have been too late for me to enjoy the book. I wish the story would have had more character development, specifically would have been helpful to go back and forth in time or switch POV's. That's a personal desire as someone who wants to know more backstories about characters. The other thing I struggled with was sense of dread when I was going to pick up the book due to the very graphic and horrendous violence/ death. Not in a "it's a horror look at those creative kills," but in a suffering of humanity way. At the point I stopped reading, I just realized that this isn't for me. Lastly, I know this is in the synopsis but I just got tired of the chasing and running. I knew the story was about a family on the run, I just wanted more emotion and storytelling rather than action (again personal preference).

Who it might be for: if you like fast paced, cat and mouse thrillers. If you want a book that shows the realistic but devastating version of humanity in survival mode, and don't need a lot of character development I think this could be a 5 star read for you.

*3 star rating given due to fairness of me not finishing the book

I’ve said once and I’ll say it again— if the apocalypse comes, I want to go out with the first wave. I do not need this kind of stress.

This is punishingly brutal. The writing is great and the concept is horrifying and compelling but I HATED reading it because it was just so horrible with so little relief. The ending is really moving though, and I don’t regret reading it.

I read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch back in 2021 and gave it 5 stars. I LOVED that book, so I am not sure why I did not pick up another novel by Blake Crouch until now.
I could not get enough of this book. I read through it in two sittings but could've easily done it in one. I liked that the style of writing was a bit different - all of the 'fluff' was cut out and it was straight to the point throughout the whole book, yet it still had enough that I could picture everything that was happening. It was hard to read at times, but I could only think of how this could maybe one day be our reality (although I hope it isn't). My only gripe was how much the parents left the kids alone LOL. Every time they'd leave the kids alone to go check something out, I was screaming internally. Everyone in the book was a potential enemy - I would've never left my kids alone to go do something and risk never returning to them. But everyone makes different choices and I've never been in their shoes, so I guess I can't really say what I would or wouldn't do.
I will definitely be picking up more books by Blake Crouch in the future!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

Wow! I’m a little late to the Blake Crouch party and I do see what all the fuss is about. This was captivating and off the charts intense. I’m totally worn out after indulging. Fantastic cast of characters that brought a brutal yet tender aspect to the story. Packed with tension and terror.
Thank you NetGalley, Blake Crouch and Penguin Randam House for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Readers will tear through this book, much like the Colcloughs tear across the country fighting to survive the apocalyptic hell they are suddenly living in. Fleeing Albuquerque after their names are called to be executed, the family heads north through the mountains in hopes of reaching Canada where they seem to be unaffected by the recent solar event and are taking refugees.

This fast-paced thriller will certainly keep readers turning the pages. This is a rerelease of one of Blake Crouch’s earlier novels. If you are expecting more of a sci-fi thriller, it’s not this book, despite the phenomenon starting from a scientific anomaly. This action-packed story borders very much on the unbelievable (seriously a ridiculous number of close calls the family must face) and is very gory in its descriptions of the human destruction. Regardless, I still had to know how it ended.

Though the premise of Run was extremely interesting, it is obvious this is some of Crouch’s earlier work as the story doesn’t feel fully fleshed out compared to his more recently novels. Still, if you need a quick, albeit gory, thrill Run will do the trick.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballatine Books, and author Blake Crouch for the advanced copy of the book. Run is out again on October 22nd! All opinions are my own.

Blake Crouch is a favorite of mine but this one i just couldn’t get into. It was good for an early work but it didn’t have the science fiction aspect I’ve come to love about his more recent titles.

If you love apocalyptic survival thrillers, this is the book for you. I've never had a book give me so many nightmares... It absolutely permeated my brain. I'll be recommending this to my fellow thriller lovers!

Intriguing premise is the only thing that made me keep reading
Ending was lackluster and anti-climactic
Gory post apocalyptic world with no overall theme or development

Fast paced and quick read. It definitely delivers on the action, though the story itself didn't completely wow me.
But still a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the advance copy.

Note: This is a rerelease of Crouch's first novel, originally published in 2011.

From the very start of this novel, we are MOVING! It is fast-paced, action-packed, and had my heart racing for this family. Because it moves so fast, it turned out to be a pretty quick read for me.

Unlike Crouch's other novels (that I've read - Dark Matter and Recursion), this book is not steeped in science and reasoning. So, if you want in-depth answers for why we're in this apocalyptic world where much of the population has gone batty, this is not the book for you. We don't get much in the way of why.

I did find the number of times they escaped certain death a little unrealistic or the last minutes saves convenient, but hey not any more so than any tv program out there, so I tried not to let it bother me.

4 stars for pacing worth the knowledge this was his debut novel.

This was a book I didn't want to put down, it was so good. Like, leaving it open on the counter so I could keep reading while I brushed my teeth good.

This is the story of a family as they try to outrun murderous mobs and find safety. For some reason, some people have started going berserk. The news had some stories about individuals doing crazy things (like opening fire in an old-age home or murdering their families), and the book begins a few days later when there are now radio stations reading lists of people's names and addresses, and killers are on their way to the Colcloughs' house.

The Colcloughs take what they can, get in their car, and run, even if it means driving through people blocking the way. The rest of the book they are in total survival mode as they try to find a safe place while it seems the crazies are only becoming better organized and more vicious.

In the acknowledgements at the end of the book, the author mentions that this was his first book and it had originally been self-published. That would explain the parts that took me out of the story. There were a few things that made me pause, which is why I give it 4 stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

I will start by saying that I am a HUGE Blake Crouch fan. I have read pretty much all of his work, and while not my favorite of his books, Run is definitely worth the read. It is a re-release, originally published in 2011, but having now re-read it I feel like I enjoyed it much more this time. Crouch is very good at the "smart sci fi" genre, and Run is quite a genre-blending thriller.

Run is an apocalyptic-type, where the people in America are seemingly afflicted by something, causing them to start murdering everyone around them who isn't "like them," including friends, families, and neighbors. As the murders increase, and the country is swept into a state of emergency and panic, the killers begin to mobilize, reading out the names of their targets over the broadcast system. And then the power goes out. Jack Colclough hears his name read over the radio, and realizes people are on their way to kill him and his family. So he does what any normal person would do...RUN. Jack and his family head toward Canada, and face a lot of horrifying events, dire situations, and close calls along the way.

The gore factor in this book is on point, and quite descriptive. The backstory or cause of the killing was not exactly clear, and the while I liked the Colclough family (and was rooting for them), it seemed that everyone else in the story were background characters. The story has definite The Road and Purge vibes, and fans of apocalyptic stories will love Run and should definitely check it out!

**3.25 stars rounded down to 3**

I'm a big fan of Blake Crouch's newer, sci-fi books (even as someone who isn't typically a sci-fi fan). Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade were all 4.5-5 star reads for me. This was my first of Crouch's older books that are more thriller/suspense. While it was certainly fast-paced and action-packed, I felt like I got thrown into this story with minimal build-up or backstory.

Also, the book title is extremely literal. This entire story is the main characters running for their lives. While this kept me on the edge of my seat, it eventually got boring because the sequence of events went: run/travel, find shelter/food/water, killers comes, rinse & repeat. Over and over again throughout the whole story. There are a million apocalyptic stories that go exactly like this, so it was nothing mind-blowing.

Lastly, the ending left a lot to be desired for me. I love Crouch's writing, and I'll definitely continue to read anything he writes knowing this was his first novel, and despite its faults, it was still captivating.

Run is a rerelease of Blake Crouch's first 2011 self published novel about a family on the run for survival after the start of a devastating apocalyptic event.

I've only read Blake Crouch's novels, Dark Matter and Upgrade, so my experience with his writing style is very limited. I will say that just based on the readings of those two novels, Run fits in very well with Crouch's current novels even though it's a book that was released over 13 years ago. For a book that was his first, the reader can see how much his writing has improved over the past decade. Run doesn't feel like a first novel. It feels like a book that was just written recently.

I love how the book didn't overly focus on the root of the apocalyptic event. It was used as more of a plot device and remained as a secondary character. The Colclough family was the focus of the story as the reader took the horrific journey of the family just trying to survive.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. I never felt that there was a dull moment. By the conclusion, I was satisfied with the overall story.

If Blake Crouch can write a novel this good that is over 10 years old, I'm excited to dive into his back catalog that I have yet to read. Run was an excellent book about survival through the hardest times. Definitely worth a read!

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

1.5 stars

I was very excited to read this because I recently read Dark Matter and thought it was so interesting and written that I couldn’t wait to pick up another book by Blake Crouch.

Unfortunately, this truly could not have been worse of a match for me. It was so gory and gruesome that I actually felt super nauseous reading this book and I can’t say that happens often. Even though the writing did have that thriller where it makes you want to keep reading, at the same time, characters were annoying, and it was very repetitive. The ending really didn’t make any sense, but I added half a point for the prologue and epilogue rounding each other out.

I would not recommend this book, but I will be trying some of his new ones because of how much I liked Dark Matter.

Run was a engrossing thriller from the first page. We follow a fractured family on a desperate journey to reach some type of safe haven after an unknown event turns a majority of the population into blood thirsty killers. I do not want to give out too many spoilers, but Crouch may have solved the mystery of what killed the dinosaurs. I read this book in one sitting as I was so invested in this family's journey but with that being said I wish Crouch had spent less time detailing every nuance of the repeated attempts on their lives and more time on the wrap up at the end. Although the book did take care of the majority of loose ends, I still have so many unanswered questions which had me thinking about this story long after I finished it.

Blake Crouch is an auto-buy author for me. So when I received an advance copy of his newest publication, Run, I was excited to hear that it was initially self-published in 2011. Congrats to Mr. Crouch on the publication!
Bottom line: this book made me so nervous!! It reads like a season of The Walking Dead, except instead of zombies, the bad guys are random adults who are suddenly super angry and overaggressive on a murder spree with axes, guns, and knives. The story was gory – sometimes overly – but it was a ride. If you’re looking for a super quick read that you 100% will not be able to put down, grab this book when it releases on 10/22.

Quick recap without spoilers:
Jack Colclough and his wife and two kids just heard their name spoken on the radio while sitting in their home in Albuquerque. This announcement starts a timeclock for an angry mod to arrive at their house to massacre everyone. They have no choice but to run. As they piece together what is going on, the family must steal, injure, and kill anyone on their way to what they hope is safety. Non-stop action as the family keeps running to survive.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the advance copy. I will post a review on Instagram and Goodreads a month before publication and re-post once the book is released.

Woah. What a nonstop roller coaster. This book hit the gas and never lifted its foot from the pedal. I still have a thrum in my veins from the adrenal ride it put me on.

This story is a grim one with very little joy, but when it did happen is was all the sweeter after everything the characters endured. This is a story of survival, the darkness within humanity, and second chances. I felt sad and defeated most of the time while reading it, but it was still so good. It was terrible and wonderful how well the author was able to make me feel an intense range of emotions. Such a paradox.

I love Blake Crouch's writing so much. I was surprised to learn that he self-published this book back in 2011!

The United States is plunged into chaos by a sudden epidemic of rage. Senseless murders spread rapidly, and the President's pleas for peace are met with escalating violence. As the power grid fails, the killers announce their targets on the emergency broadcast system. One man, Jack Colclough, discovers his name among the victims and must flee with his wife and children. They don't know where to go, but they know they have to run.

If nothing else, this book was high octane nonstop action! I love post-apocalyptic madness, and this delivered across the board with plenty of gore. I will say, that the speed at which it started almost made me feel like part of the book was missing... If that makes sense? I spent a good portion of this intense! book wondering what the hell was happening, but I do feel like that was intentional. There wasn't a ton of character depth in this one, but it sure was intense!

This is a reissue of Blake Crouch's first ever novel, which he self published in 2011.