This was intense. I don't know that I have ever read a book that was so intense when for the majority of the story you didn't really know what was happening, or why it was happening. You just know your characters need to run at a minute's notice. The dark setting and the intensity of the high stakes for Jack, Dee, Naomi and Cole gave very much The Walking Dead vibes. Where every day is a struggle to live, to keep going somewhere, but not knowing if that somewhere would be worse and if there was any true actual escaping whatever is going on. It is not a relaxing story in the least, I felt onthe edge of my seat the whole time, and worried for this family. I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend this!

3.75

Tbh this book scared me a lot more than I expected it to? That's fully on me though, I should have read the summary more carefully and thought about it before reading it.

Plot-wise, it didn't feel the most original. Basically, Jack and his family are on the run after their names are called out on the hit list. They run through the mountainous part of the country (Wyoming, Colorado, etc), trying to find food and to survive the other humans. Some of the population has gotten extremely violent, trying to kill as many others who are unaffected as possible, in pretty brutal ways.

I liked the family aspect of it as Jack reignites his relationship with his wife Dee after their emotional separation, and both Dee and Jack work really hard to protect their 14 and 7-year-old kids. I thought the inclusion of the children was interesting as they felt realistic--most kids their age would react like that to the circumstances, unlike other survival books where the kids act much older than they are.

However, I had a couple issues with the plot. First, it wasn't hugely original, as I said earlier. I read 5th Wave within the last year and the survival aspect felt pretty similar. Also, as other reviewers have said, I wish we zoomed out a little and explored the humanity aspect of what was going on. <spoiler>the rage being caused by the aurora and then suddenly going away could have been expanded on so much more, especially focusing on themes of morality and evil. Cole was affected by the aurora but never went "crazy". why is that? Why did we not explore that? What about showing the aftermath of the people who were affected--how did they cope with all the violence they committed? because after all that stress, I like a happy ending.

Overall, this was a very thought-provoking book. It's very short so it's not a huge time commitment which is a great plus. I just wish it looked more at some of the deeper themes rather than focus in on the family and their attempt to survive.

Oh my gosh, this was so unsettling and terrifying. This stayed with me long after I turned the last page, Blake Crouch continues to tick all the eerie boxes leaving you unsettled about the world.

Blake Crouch never disappoints and this novel was no exception. It is heartbreaking first. I felt so connected to the characters even though it is about an event I’m unlikely to ever encounter. I think every reader wants a book they can’t put down and that you are so immersed in forget it’s not your life, and this book did it for me. I was also surprised the author wrote the book years ago and it is now publishing in the states.

This just wasn’t the book for me I just didn’t get into. It didn’t like the characters and was not a fan of the horror aspect.

A mysterious event leads to part of the population committing mass murders filled with rage. When Jack Colclough hears his name and address announced over the radio he knows the only thing he can do is take his family and run.

Run is a fast-paced post-apocalyptic novel which will have you on the edge of your seat. I could easily see this one being adapted for the big screen. I will say that readers might want to be aware of the graphic violence depicted. Characters find themselves suddenly having violent thoughts without the ability to stop themselves from carrying out rage induced acts of violence. Jack and his family are trying to escape throughout the novel with several obstacles along the way. Despite being a bit of a dysfunctional family they begin to mend old wounds and bond as a family amidst their shared trauma. Although this was a little over the top at times it was highly entertaining and hard to put down. I was looking for something a bit different than most of my current reads and this one definitely scratched that itch…a must read for 2024!

Ugh not my fav from him. Really into his Pines series wish it was more like that. Love the end of the world vibes though. I love movies and books with this plot. The writing wasn’t really it for me though

Blake Crouch books are so much fun! Run was originally self published in 2011.
It is a suspenseful tale of a family that suddenly finds itself on the run after society suddenly seems to break down and go mad. Violence is everywhere so Jack and Dee take their family and run.
I enjoyed this fast read and highly recommend it! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

This is a fast paced thriller about Jack and his family who are on the run after a series of brutal murders.

The murders seem to have been taken place all over the country after a cosmic event.

Jack and his family soon realize that there is no where safe for them to hide and are constantly dodging the horror of these murders.

I thought the pacing was great and the overall story kept me engaged, but I felt like something was missing.

Overall I would still recommend. I would give it a solid 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this eARC.

Blake Crouch's Run, much like his recent release Abandon, is technically an older book that's getting an "official" release by a big publisher, rather than the self-published version that typified so much of Crouch's career until hitting it big. But whereas Abandon left me pretty cold, it's not hard to see why Run helped to jump-start Crouch's career. A lean story that's pretty much pure movement and adrenaline, Run takes place in an America where a huge chunk of the population abruptly begins murdering each other without rhyme or reason that anyone can see, and follows one family as they, well, run. Apart from a brief (and cleverly used) prologue and epilogue, Run essentially feels like one unbroken sequence - a nightmarish drive through a country that's eating itself alive and divided itself into camps that seem to follow some internal logic that makes little sense to an outsider. (In so many ways, this book can often feel like a response to the America of the 2020s rather than the 2010s.) Run is lean maybe to a fault; there's not much "depth" here so much as a book-length action/survival sequence, and characters can feel rushed and sketched in, relying on archetypes and quick moments to fill them in, and the central event that triggers all of this feels so arbitrary as to be meaningless (especially given its bizarre impact on one major character). But even so, Run is propulsive and addictive, showcasing Crouch's command of narrative momentum and ability to invest us in characters defined by their actions. It lacks the depth of what he would do in later books like Dark Matter and Recursion, but that doesn't keep it from being a pulpy thrill ride that just plain moves, keeping me pulling the "oh, just a few more pages" card late into the night. Rating: ****

This one was WAY too much for me... I knew going on that it centered around spates of inexplicable violence, yet was STILL stunned at the graphic and aggressive nature of this book. I thought it was a new tale from Crouch, and as I've really enjoyed his latest releases, was thinking I would be able to stomach it. The writing style felt off for his latest work - which is when I looked into things further and realized this was one of his earliest works, rereleased. That is fine, but it explains the disconnect I seemed to see/feel compared to the polish of his more recent novels. This one felt raw and wasn't for me. I wasn't able to finish...

I'm glad this book got re-published. Blake Crouch's writing style is amazing and it captivates you as soon as you start reading. At this point I wanna read all of his books.

I just finished Run by Blake Crouch as a netgalley ARC: I was hooked from page one. This book gives post apocalyptic vibes, and as someone who is very interested in that I found it great. Sometimes a story involves too many characters, and it can be hard to keep up, this is the opposite. There aren’t an over abundance of characters, as you’re mostly following the story of one family. A family who like many others are running for their lives and trying to survive. I rate this book 4/5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and always kept me guessing about what would happen next right up until the very end.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

While this novel is not as complex and scientific as the author’s latest, it’s a very intense, fast-paced, and gripping story of a family literally running for their lives after a apocalyptic event.

It’s descriptive, graphic and so vividly written that it makes you quite anxious! Definitely a captivating read for anyone who needs a suspenseful break from reality.

WOW is all I have to say!!! This is my first book my Blake Crouch and of course, it will not be my last. I started this book on Friday evening after worked and finished it at about 1am, I could NOT stop reading. There were a few parts that were a little on the gory side, but easily balanced out by the storyline and high tension thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own

Listen, I’m not sure what genre you want to call Blake Crouch’s books, but I am so here for it. The “sci-fi” (?) element pulls me in, but the emotion behind his writing keeps me so absorbed in the story.
I received this book as a galley before realizing it is a reissue of his debut, self-published book. He attributes this book as being the one that allowed him to write full time.
It was a BONKERS apocalyptic story that just places you immediately in the present with limited knowledge of what the heck is going on. You follow a family running for their life, gaining more info about the chaos surrounding them through their conversations with each other. There is constant action, but the emotional journey the family undergoes is the real gut punch.
It’s landing at 4 stars for me because it was a little gruesome for my taste and you also had to suspend a lot of disbelief.

#bookreview #netgalley #books #reader #reading #read #books #bookworm #booklover #bookish #kindle #bibliophile #bookstagram #instaread #readersofinstagram

The whole time I was reading this I had a sense of dread...I really enjoyed this book. It was written like a movie. It reminded me a lot of the happening.. very scary situations and very action packed all the way through.

This is my first apocalypse/survival story and I think it’s just not the genre for me. If that kind of a storyline is one that you like, I bet you’d love this book. It had strong characters, lots of action, and some gruesome details. I had to skim read some paragraphs because it got a little too intense for me! I felt like it wrapped up a little too quickly, but still had a great hero’s journey. I’ll be more careful about reading the summary before picking my next title, I don’t know if I can do another survival book like this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

4.25

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me this e-arc!

I REALLY enjoyed this one! For the most part, it was fast-paced and a page turner. I stayed up literally every night to read as much as possible.

This book follows Jack and his wife and two kids. They start to notice weird things taking place around them. People are being murdered and the world is turning into a blood bath, so they pick up all they can take with them and travel from Albuquerque to Canada to find a safe spot.

There was a couple instances in which the book started to feel redundant and slow, but other than that I really loved the premise of this one!

Read if you like:
~suspense/thrillers
~family bonds
~a fast paced novel
~a post-apocalyptic setting

I can’t wait to read more from him and keep adding on to my collection!