Huge Blake Crouch fan. I started with Dark Matter and I was all in after that.

It’s my understanding that this was published once before and this is a revised version ?? Maybe?

Imagine living in a world where if you hear your name called you are the next one to die ? What would you do ? How would you survive? And how did the world get to this place ?

Very emotional, high stakes, apocalyptic vibes. This is a hard book to write a review without spoilers so let me say this - once you start you will be invested

I was thrilled to receive a copy of this book! I loved Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines series by him. This is a republication and I think it was actually his first published book. This book, Run, was a bit different than his newer books but I still really enjoyed it. This story is about a man named Jack and his family. They hear on the radio that people are being killed and if your name is listed, you’re next. He hears his name so he and his family leave. The book is about the family running for their lives. There is a lot of violence in this book so that should be noted. The ending is a little abrupt but does wrap up the family’s story well.
Highly recommend this book and look forward to reading all of Crouch’s books!

RUN • Blake Crouch • Pub Date: October 22, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC. All opinions shared in this review are my own.

Abridged Goodreads Synopsis: Your name is Jack Colclough. You have a wife, a daughter, and a young son. You live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to your house to kill you and your family. You don’t know why, but you don’t have time to think about that anymore. You only have time to….RUN.

This book was unlike any other I have ever read (by Blake Crouch or in general). It is a true testament to how a writing style can impact the entire vibe of a novel. Within the first five minutes of reading this book, I was hooked. Readers are immediately thrown into the chaos and fast pace of the story, quickly catching up to the post-apocalyptic world that Jack Colclough and his family have been thrown into. Yet, through the running and the rampant, nonsensical violence that this family is forced to endure, the growth between the characters and the love this family shares is palpable. There is a point around the halfway mark that gets a little repetitive, however it is still a quick read that has a satisfying ending.

I recommend this book to those who have liked and read Crouch's other works, though bear in mind this is a re-publication of one of his older works, so his style has changed. I think that is why this book may feature more mixed reviews. But overall? This is a fun, suspenseful, mysterious, and interesting read. This is also a great read for any thriller lover, though it is more suspense than fear/horror based. There is also a good amount of violence (against adults as well as children), so proceed with caution.

Once again bamboozled by a re-release. Definitely suspenseful but I was caught between wanting to crank it out and also just not finishing it.

Run was a fast-paced adventure about a broken family trying to survive a horrific turn of events and how they revived their relationships. Every twist and turn kept me on the edge of my seat during their nail-biting adventure across America. I enjoyed that each encounter was different and you never knew what was coming up next. I love Blake Crouch's storytelling style and how detailed he explains things, it immerses you so feel like you're there. While uncomfortable at times, Run poses the question "Who would you be during the apocalypse?"

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher, Ballantine Books, for an advance copy to review.

When the world turns to rage, what will you do to save your family. All across the country terror has ensued. People are killing neighbors, friends, family without cause. Jack gets his family out, his wife and kids load into the car and leave their life behind. What follows is a host of terror and misery as they try to stay alive.

This Crouch book fell flat for me. I liked the premise but it just seems like a high stakes car chase through a good chunk of the book. I think I was hoping for more twists. It's a pretty graphic read that showcases a lot of horrible deaths/massacres. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

An apocalyptic novel pitting normal people against those who have seen a strange aurora borealis in the sky.The focus of the story is a family of four (2 children) on the run and run they do from one seemingly catastrophic event to the next( many improbable). There is an “ ah ha” surprise ending but somehow it seems totally tacked on to conclude the book. I was definitely expecting more from the book (Cormac McCarthy ‘s THE ROAD comes to mind) but was frankly disappointed

This book left me confused. Did I like it? It's certainly fast-paced and gripping, though EXTREMELY violent, even gratuitously violent at times. It did keep me entertained, however much of the draw were increasingly implausible situations and over the top near-misses - a la cheesy action/thriller films. If that is your jam then this is definitely one for you. We don't really get any character development other than the couple that seemingly hated each other at the start are somehow madly in love after just a few days?

If you're after something to hook you fairly quickly and keep you entertained as long as you don't think too hard or look too closely, then this is a great read. Any, and I mean ANY sensitivity to violence than STAY. AWAY.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was incredibly fast-paced, so much so that there was little to no character development. All plot, no thought given to detail. Cool idea for a story, but didn’t do it for me.

Blake crouch always delivers a book that is action packed and like nothing else I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put this one down. It is a little gory but was so interesting and I had to push through it to find o it how it ends. Really made me think and is terrifying all at the same time.

I knew what I was getting into when I requested @RUN from @Netgalley Or so I thought. Run is a story of violence that breaks our in America after a Geometric storm of lights., but more than violence it's a story about a family trying to survive in a world they know nothing about and what will this family do to stay together.

Solid 3.5 star read. Reads like an apocalyptic horror movie. I was rooting for this families survival the whole time and it kept me glued to the pages. However I found some things too coincidental and was left wanting a bit more.

Run is a fascinating and thrilling story of survival and family but it is far from Blake Crouch’s best book compared to Upgrade or Dark Matter

Absolutely GRIPPING

A night event in the sky causes a terrible rage to infect Americans. Join a family of four lead by husband Jake as they move from the safety of Albuquerque New Mexico to the unknown wilderness of the US, Crouch has taken some of the basic horror ideas and created a masterpiece of fear that is fit for the big screen! I absolutely stayed up all night to see how it ended. My only complaint is that it was tied up too well - I had hoped for a sequal.

What would you do if your neighbors were your enemies - if your every day job of a professor was now put to the test in the wilderness with you teenage daughter and seven year old son? Join this family of the scariest adventure of a lifetime! #dytopic #horror #run #runthenovel #blakecrouch

This book was good. I would rate it about 3 1/2 stars. It feels like an earlier work from Crouch. The story went by quickly and kept me engaged enough to finish. The characters were a little flat and the main woman is disliked from page one, ad she tells the guy she is cheating on her husband with, that she wants to run away with him and abandon her kids and husband. I mean talk about reasons not to like someone this happened on Like the first page. The action was good and thrilling and I enjoyed it, still.

Dates? Timeline indicators?
I actually enjoyed the lack of chapters and just the continuous story of the chaos and mess that jack and his family were in. But would have loved to see some dates or locations or something to help with the flow of information and bouncing between POV's in the beginning.

Overall, I really enjoyed this take on an apocalyptic story line. I felt that the writing style at times was a bit hard to follow when describing certain scenes. It was hard to follow exactly what was happening, (where were the cars coming from, over a hill but also in the desert and then also climbing over rocks at the same time? what was the trail pass they had to climb with three walls around them? and why did he need to lose the bag??) though I do find with Blake crouch's books I sort of figure it out as I go anyways.

Would have love to see a bit more of a backstory in regards to their relationship, by including Kiernan it felt a bit missing in impact. Why were they falling out? Why were they sleeping in separate beds? Why were they still married but she was allowed to cheat and he wasn't???

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨✨ (4.5)
Run
By: Blake Crouch
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Format: eBook

It’s been recommended to me that I should read Blake Crouch so I jumped at the chance to read this in @netgalley.

This book was first published released in 2011/2012 (read two different stats) but was provided as an eARC with an October 2024 re-release.

Thanks to Blake, NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this copy!

Welcome to one of my worst nightmares, bands of murderous people stalking me and my family as we run out of food and water and supplies - no thank you!!

It felt similar to the idea of The Purge, but the madness continues for more than one night.

The book was so tense - I couldn’t relax while reading it!

Even though the bands of murderous humans are not zombies, this book had all the great qualities of a zombie apocalypse story.

The ending was … neat. That’s all I’ll say at risk of spoiling!

I started reading this book as I was laying down for bed, thinking I would fall asleep quickly since I wasn’t emotionally invested in the story at all. Let me tell you, I was wrong. I had to force myself to stop reading at 2 in the morning after finishing half of the book in one go.

This story is incredibly fast paced and I was hooked from the beginning. You follow Jack and his family running from.. well, everyone. There is an event that happens one night that impacts millions of Americans, and they start killing like crazy. It felt very much like The Purge but with a supernatural element to it.

I really enjoyed this overall, I just wish we had a little more context on “why” people were impacted. Like, we know why but we don’t know WHY.

RUN was a really great palate cleanser read for me, and I really enjoyed this overall.

This was a 3.5 star rating from me. When I got this ARC from Netgalley I thought it was a new Blake Crouch book and then was surprised to learn that this was an early self published work from him. It’s pretty standard societal collapse sort of stuff. It has his signature break neck thriller pacing and big heart and the idea of people all suddenly becoming enraged and killing others doesn’t seem far fetched in the current climate we live in, but overall it just felt familiar. Like I’ve read this a billion times before and that doesn’t make it bad cause he writes so damn well, but it didn’t blow me away like most of his other works. Still a fun, bleak, quick read.

Apocalyptic. An outbreak of violence. Jack and his family are desperate to stay together and alive as they’re being hunted by “the affected”. Fast paced. Scary. This is a wild ride..

Thanks for sending this to me, NetGalley!