3/5 - thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! I was super excited to get this as I’ve heard this author is super good - I have a few of his other books but haven’t read it yet. So interestingly enough this was published in 2011 and it’s one of the first books from the author and it is getting re-published later this year.

It was a super fast read for me and I didn’t want to put it down. I usually like pretty dark stuff - but this was one of the darkest I’ve read in a while. It somewhat reminded me of The Road which I read in AP lit. Anyways it’s apocalyptic thriller, and again realllllly graphic. It definelty pulled me in - and I like the little addition to the beginning and the end of the book, but overall it was the darkness of the book that pulled me in and wanting to find out what happened if that makes sense? Not a bad book by any means and definitely makes me excited to read his other books. You seriously need to like apocalyptic, graphic things to enjoy this book. Basically thing Walking Dead without the zombies but all the murder and gore.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Run is a fast paced dystopian novel. The book starts quickly with a news report giving out names and addresses urging people to go on a killing spree. Jack, his wife and their 2 children are on the run taking little possessions with them. They are in a non stop fight for survival in a world where no one can be trusted.
This book gives the purge and the walking dead vibes. I did find the middle to be a bit repetitive and the ending to be abrupt. Overall I enjoyed the book and read it quickly over 2 days. I do wish it had some more character development and explanation.
Thank you to NetGalley for this free digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

“He listened to everyone's heavy breathing, thinking how, in his lifetime, he'd lain awake at night worrying over so much pointless shit-money, his job, a fight he'd had with Dee, and now that he had real life-and-death stuff to obsess about, all he wanted to do was sleep.”

How do I even write words. This book jacked me up. I couldn’t stop reading it. I couldn’t force myself to look away from the page. I walked over three miles on the treadmill without even realizing it because I was so horrified, I couldn’t stop reading. I still can’t figure out what to say after sitting with this note open for over twenty minutes. I’m blown away.

My friend says sit with it. And yes, this is the kind of book you need to sit with. It’s dark and paralyzing. I love this era of Blake Crouch, it brought me right back to the anxiety of reading the Wayward Pines trilogy for the first time.

First and foremost, aside from the utter human horror depicted in this book, once the nonsense society places on us mammals is removed, the human experience is exposed and clarified. It was beautiful, in a way, to see a family working together, surviving together, at the most basic level. Despite the strife, the violence, the crude nature of humanity, there is an appreciation for Mother Nature. A respect depicted in this book that was humbling. It’s hard to be a human in a world designed to kill us, though we’ve made good progress into easier lives - save for the turmoil society places on us. It was cool to see this all stripped down to the essence of what it means to be human.

Blake Crouch is one of the greatest authors I’ve ever read. He has an ability to suck you in, terrify you, change the way you experience life.

Lastly, I know this book is a reissue and is likely from a different time in his life, but the images depicted in this book make want to ask:

Blake Crouch, are you okay?

Blake Crouch's Run is an intense, edge-of-your-seat thriller. From start to finish, it keeps you gripped with nonstop action and emotional depth. The pacing is relentless, and the plot twists will leave you breathless. Crouch's writing is both vivid and gripping, pulling you into a story full of suspense and surprising turns. It's a book that makes you feel every possible emotion and keeps you questioning long after you’ve turned the last page. Highly recommend reading this. Wow, just wow!

This book was absolutely wild! From the beginning it starts with nonstop action. Every time I thought there was going to be a pause, the family was being hunted again. I started to fall into so many theories in my head on how they kept being found. My only complaint was the ending felt a little anti-climatic and abrupt. I was on such a high from all the action and then it just stopped. This was an easy read that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!

As a big fan of Blake Crouch, this was pretty decent! I wasn’t aware at the time of requesting that this was actually published in 2011 and you can kind of tell this is an older work but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing! I really enjoyed the ride!

3.5 Stars rounded up

Run by Blake Crouch was an enjoyable read, even though I didn’t realize it was one of his earlier books. I’m not usually into apocalyptic stories, but this one had a fast pace that kept me turning the pages. The action kicks off quickly and doesn’t let up, making it a pretty thrilling ride.

I’d recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of Crouch’s other works or enjoys similar fast-paced, high-stakes thrillers. It’s not my favorite of his, but it’s still a solid, entertaining read.

It turns out this was originally self-published in 2011, so not a new title for Crouch. This definitely reads very raw and unfinished, but it still decent and good something fans of the author may enjoy.

Honestly? If Blake Crouch wrote the phone book, I'd read it. I will forewarn you, if you pick this up expecting something like Dark Matter or Recursion, you will be disappointed. 'Run' is just as masterfully brilliant but in a very different way. Previously released in 2011, Run is a testament to the genius of Blake Crouch.

Big fan of Blake Couch and his other books. This was a good read Definitely would recommend to others looking for a good read

This book took off running straight away and was fast-paced the whole way through. It was just as expected which is why I would rate it 3 stars, the plot seemed very familiar to something like The Walking Dead or even A Quiet Place. It was just like a movie playing in my head that I had seen before. I did really enjoy it, I just would have preferred a little something extra to rate it even higher.

This book was interesting. I am not one to be a fan of apocalyptic like books and ones that speak of survival. The only thing that made it hard for me was the not having the divider for the chapters.

Wow. There are so many mixed reviews for this book. As a Blake Crouch fan, I can see how this may differ too much from his more recent releases. I’ve been told this was actually the first book he wrote and self published (so this is technically a rerelease).
However, I loved it. It was dark, and so intense. It was shocking and fast paced. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I feel like the vibe was more reminiscent of his Pines series than, say, Dark Matter or Upgrade.
Run is gritty, mysterious, and edgy.
This is a pretty hard story to swallow being apocalyptic with plenty of graphic violence. I was so immersed in the story it gave me anxiety (which isn’t really hard to do I guess 😂).
I don’t think this book will be for everyone. But, if you want a fast paced, semi-sci-fi thriller, check it out 👀

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Publishing Group- Ballentine for an e-ARC of this book!

This was, like, such a wild ride! 😱 If you’re into fast-paced, apocalyptic thrillers, this one’s totally got that high-energy, edge-of-your-seat vibe. The whole premise of a family fleeing from chaos and mayhem as society crumbles is super intense. 🚗💨

Jack and his family are, like, thrown into this insane situation where everyone’s suddenly going on killing sprees, and they have to navigate through a chaotic world just trying to survive. The action never slows down, which I loved. 🌪️🔥

However, even though it was entertaining, I have to admit it didn’t quite hit the mark for me like. The plot felt kinda familiar and didn’t dive into the deeper themes I was expecting. It’s definitely a gripping read, but maybe a bit forgettable compared to Crouch’s other works. 📚💭

Big thanks to NetGalley for the online copy in exchange for my honest review. If you're looking for a quick, action-packed thrill ride, give this one a go! 🙌

This white-knuckle thrill ride puts your heart firmly in your throat right from the start and is unrelenting until the very last line. The writing and style and pacing are intense and go a long way to propel this story. By and large it is written in short bursts as we follow this family on the terrifying journey, a journey that is more about surviving one more day than it is about reaching any proper destination. It is almost cinematic, with every chapter divided into a number of discrete scenes, keeping the story in constant motion. The writing is clear and direct and brutal, not shy of displaying the gruesome alongside the intimate. This frantic pace and staccato rhythm do a lot of work in setting the atmosphere of the story. The journey is well-paced, with moments of peace just long enough for you to think maybe it is okay to let out that breath you had been holding in, only for any pretense of serenity to be ripped away a split second later. The world-building is both simple and chilling, because it is the America we know with only one small difference… and that difference is, maybe most frighteningly, even less different now in 2024 when this novel is being re-released than it was in 2011 when it was first independently published. When people are motivated by an unmitigated, uncompromising call to violence, how can you respond and keep your humanity intact?

The characters feel genuine, but they also feel a little bit empty. What I mean is that they feel like an audience surrogate, with enough personality and character traits to make them somewhat distinct but not so much as it isn’t remarkably easy to see yourself in their shoes. Usually, character depth and exploration are my way into a story, but here that is mostly eschewed in favor of pure adrenaline. We see the characters’ commitments to each other and to their humanity as they navigate the traumas and terrors of the story, and you spend too much time trying to catch your breath to be really concerned with character growth—though, with that said, there are a few moments of reflection that are tender and go a long way to making this story feel more human.

What I think I especially enjoy about this story is that this is just a snapshot of a family during this apocalyptic event. We aren’t following members of the government or military or high-level scientists that are working to fix the situation. This is a story about one family’s survival, not about saving the world. That makes it feel more intimate and makes it easier to relate to the characters. I don’t know what it feels like to have the fate of millions of people resting on my back, but I do know what it is like to feel personally threatened, to feel like everyone is out to get me. This story forces you to ask what you would do, how would you cope, in a scenario like this. Will survival instinct become intertwined with love to make you stronger in the face of wanton nihilism? Or would you give in to a more craven, self-serving impulse and sacrifice others just to keep your head above water for a few minutes longer? What storehouse of human emotion and strength will you turn to when literally everyone is out to get you?

I want to thank the author, the publisher Random House - Ballantine, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After reading Dark Mattter I was super excited to read Run by Blake Crouch. For me- this fell flat. I wanted to dnf it as it got super painful to read/finish and just felt absolutely ridiculous at some points. I powered through to finish but just didn’t love it.

Wow! Read this straight through! This book started out at 90 miles per hour and never slowed down. The family was so easy to fall and cheer for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC. This one was only OK for me. Can't really pin point it. Just expected more compared to his previous books.

Wow! This book was terrifying, disgusting, fast-paced, and gripping as hell! I loved it. My heart was literally racing as I read. Thinking about how I would handle being in an apocalyptic situation and trying to keep my family alive, like the characters in the book, made the story even more riveting. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group.

I gave this book 5 stars.

I love Blake Crouch’s writing. I was a little confused why I was getting an arc of a book that had been out for a long time, but I guess it’s just now officially getting published in the U.S. for the first time.

There may be some small spoilers in this review.

Jack and Dee are on the run with their 2 kids, Naomi and Cole. An astrological “light event” had happened a couple days before, and anybody who didn’t see is being sought out and murdered. While Jack and Dee’s marriage has been falling apart, they are forced to work together to save their family and try to survive. Their youngest son, Cole, did see the event, but he hasn’t become violent or murderous yet. He can see the difference in people though. And he knows the people with light around their heads are the bad people.

They leave Albuquerque, and want to make it to Canada because this phenomenon is only happening in the lower 48 states. While millions (?) are being murdered, Jack and his family run into many road blocks and people who want to murder them, as well as natural problems they have to get through.

Like all of Crouch’s writing, this had me on the edge of my seat. I love the way he started the book, with Dee and Keirnan just starting to change, and the way the book ended. As always with his writing, I highly recommend this book! He writes characters that you just want to root for.