Reviews

The Ruins by Scott Smith

ghostbirds's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

bbboeken's review against another edition

3.0

Goed en niet goed. Een beetje dunnetjes in het begin, maar het werd al gauw een boek dat ik niet gemakkelijk liet liggen --ook al omdat het heel vlot leest.

(Heb vandaag al meteen zijn eerste boek ook gekocht zie.)

blind_lawyer's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Creepy. Lots of good body horror. Reminded me a lot of Annihilation. 

ashley_marie's review against another edition

The formatting was super weird and the plot reminded me of a horror movie that was released in recent years. I just couldn't get into this one.

chemi's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

sarahnquigley's review against another edition

These are four of the most unsympathetic characters I've ever read, and they deserve whatever is coming to them for their bad decision-making.

nai777's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

laura_vee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

aundreaspencer's review against another edition

3.0

3.5… The character development and body horror/gore were great, but I would have loved to have a little back story on the Mayans and the vines. Seemed like a missed opportunity to delve in to their point of view/beliefs/history with that wretched place. I’m glad I finally read this since it’s been on my TBR forever. I watched the movie a few years ago, but it really is very different and didn’t convey the creepiness and desperation of the story.

cherylsarnoski's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

3.5

Spoiler

The beginning was amazing I was in IT. I’m an adventure traveler so I found myself really questioning my own behaviors. Then the monster showed up…the vines. I really couldn’t buy into this. The author tried , really tried but I got more skeptical as the story went along. (Vines producing random smells on cue, one ex apple pie in the middle of a Mexican forest surrounded by Mayans.) The last third draaaaggged. The author was really trying to make us understand the designated tropes to each character, really beating it in, repeating over and over how disheveled they were. I started skimming towards the end. Like, I GET IT.  Then a perfect ending. I’m so conflicted about this book good vibes, good no GREAT body horror, the feeling of dread, chef’s kiss. I guess my biggest complaint is it could have been 70 pages shorter and the vines (side eye).