eak1013's review against another edition
1.0
I got stuck on what was supposed to be a forty-five minute plane ride for five hours with just this book. I think that's the only reason I finished it. So bad it kind of makes me angry.
jackphoenix's review against another edition
3.0
With stylish suspense, Smith's survival story takes the monster plant sub-genre to a whole new level, even if the overall story simply fizzles out in the climax.
sch91086's review against another edition
4.0
Well. That was weird.
I like horror as a genre. It’s weird to say this but it feels like home. I like the dark things. The nitty gritty things. The things that strip away all the luxuries and comforts of modern life and force characters to make difficult decisions. The internal struggle of survival versus our emotionally charged human minds.
This was an excellent example of that. Four friends take a summer trip to Mexico before they go off to new jobs or grad school. They meet some friends along the way. Eventually, their German friend Matthias asks them to help him fetch his brother from an archaeological dig in the jungle so they can fly home together. Of course this is where it all goes wrong.
The characters really weren’t all that special here. They were sort of card board cut outs. There’s Stacy the ditz, Amy the whiner, Jeff the leader and future doctor, Eric the clown, Pablo the goofy tourist tag along, Matthias the brooding German. I never felt any emotional attachment to them. I never said: “oh no don’t kill that one. I couldn’t stand it if they died!” It was a guilty pleasure sort of book where you find yourself cheering the villain on instead, wondering what new inventive method the villain will finally get them with.
And that’s where this book shines. I thought I’d seen the movie The Ruins. It turns out I haven’t- because Horror books are great, but horror movies that involve lots of gruesome scenes are really not my thing. I’m okay to read it somehow, just not watch it. So anyway,
This is 500 pages long but they flew by. It was a very easy read and didn’t feel like 500 pages at all. My main issue with the format was two things: there are no official chapter breaks. Just a blank space between paragraphs indicating a POV change, and the POV changes themselves. Because there’s no chapter breaks, sometimes it’d switch POV and I’d have to go back and reread a paragraph or two when I realized the POV had shifted. It was a minor annoyance though and in retrospect, I think the author is always sure to mention the POV character’s name in the first line, you just had to make sure paid attention to it.
So anyway back to my main point: the will to survive vs emotional sense of right and wrong. There were plenty of times where it would have been easy to say, oh that’s stupid, Stacy should do X. Amy should do Y. But if you really think about it, what would you do in that situation, would it be so easy? I don’t think it would.
This last bit is about the movie, because I love comparing books to their visual counterparts so Spoilers Ahead for both:
So if you liked the movie read the book. If you like Horror, pick this up and don’t be put off by the blurb which doesn’t quite sell the book. It’s an easy read with a few flaws, but overall very entertaining.
I like horror as a genre. It’s weird to say this but it feels like home. I like the dark things. The nitty gritty things. The things that strip away all the luxuries and comforts of modern life and force characters to make difficult decisions. The internal struggle of survival versus our emotionally charged human minds.
This was an excellent example of that. Four friends take a summer trip to Mexico before they go off to new jobs or grad school. They meet some friends along the way. Eventually, their German friend Matthias asks them to help him fetch his brother from an archaeological dig in the jungle so they can fly home together. Of course this is where it all goes wrong.
The characters really weren’t all that special here. They were sort of card board cut outs. There’s Stacy the ditz, Amy the whiner, Jeff the leader and future doctor, Eric the clown, Pablo the goofy tourist tag along, Matthias the brooding German. I never felt any emotional attachment to them. I never said: “oh no don’t kill that one. I couldn’t stand it if they died!” It was a guilty pleasure sort of book where you find yourself cheering the villain on instead, wondering what new inventive method the villain will finally get them with.
And that’s where this book shines. I thought I’d seen the movie The Ruins. It turns out I haven’t- because Horror books are great, but horror movies that involve lots of gruesome scenes are really not my thing. I’m okay to read it somehow, just not watch it. So anyway,
Spoiler
I thought killer plants would be sort of boring. I mean they’re plants. That’s why I never read it before. How scary could plants be? I was wrong. I think the author did a great job of setting them up to be a psychologically terrifying enemy. Really- the plants only kill one or two characters outright. The rest of it is a slow psychological breakdown. And that ending... ugh.This is 500 pages long but they flew by. It was a very easy read and didn’t feel like 500 pages at all. My main issue with the format was two things: there are no official chapter breaks. Just a blank space between paragraphs indicating a POV change, and the POV changes themselves. Because there’s no chapter breaks, sometimes it’d switch POV and I’d have to go back and reread a paragraph or two when I realized the POV had shifted. It was a minor annoyance though and in retrospect, I think the author is always sure to mention the POV character’s name in the first line, you just had to make sure paid attention to it.
So anyway back to my main point: the will to survive vs emotional sense of right and wrong. There were plenty of times where it would have been easy to say, oh that’s stupid, Stacy should do X. Amy should do Y. But if you really think about it, what would you do in that situation, would it be so easy? I don’t think it would.
Spoiler
Jeff seems cold for his wanting to eat Amy, but really, if it’s a matter of survival, can you argue with him? But yes, she’s a friend, and though it’s a life or death situation It just feels wrong. It’s the same with Pablo’s legs. Jeff is trying to do the right thing, but afterwards no one is happy, no one is sure he didn’t feel it, and what did it really accomplish? If Pablo had been saved, would everyone have felt differently? These were the questions the book posed that really made you think, and upped the ante for me.This last bit is about the movie, because I love comparing books to their visual counterparts so Spoilers Ahead for both:
Spoiler
The movie really doesn’t do this book justice at all. I know they were trying to cram 500 pages of writing into a 90 minute film, but wow did it fall flat. Killing Pablo immediately was just stupid. This was a psychologically terrifying book about survival. They didn’t need the senseless death scene with Pablo getting his face shot off in the first five minutes. How do you share water 6 ways? Food? Do you kill Pablo, or let him live? They completely left out the part about the plant thinking and setting traps and setting them against each other, and sort of just left it as a plant that mimics. They touched on it briefly with Stacy’s crazy scene thinking Amy and Jeff had sex, but it isn’t obvious to the viewer how “smart” the plant really is. I didn’t get to see the ending because my 5 year old came home, but I am almost certain at least one of them survived. Which if you read the book, well you know that’s not how it ended.So if you liked the movie read the book. If you like Horror, pick this up and don’t be put off by the blurb which doesn’t quite sell the book. It’s an easy read with a few flaws, but overall very entertaining.
authenticdmckee's review against another edition
5.0
Holy hell! I didn’t think an unrelenting 500+ page book with NO CHAPTERS would be quite so enjoyable but this book is one of the best horror novels I have ever read. Seemingly endless terror that will stick with me for a very long time. I would say it’s the best book ever…but that is not a hill I wish to die on
eggp's review against another edition
3.0
Dumb kid finds true love
seeks her out in the jungle
new dumb kids follow.
seeks her out in the jungle
new dumb kids follow.
gwenhwyfar82's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
danidani814's review against another edition
4.0
This was definitely a page turner. I had already seen the movie years ago, but had no idea there was a book.
I can honesty say, I didn’t know how the book would end, which was refreshing. The story itself was not predictable, although there are moments where you think you know what’s about to happen.
There are parts of the book that drag on for a bit, but nothing too excruciating.
The one thing I found frustrating throughout the entire book was that the women were written to be incredibly stupid, weak, and incompetent. I found myself wanting to shake them or hoping someone else would. There were so many instances of “I should’ve said something but I didn’t” and “I should’ve done this but I was too scared” that I wanted to scream.
I can honesty say, I didn’t know how the book would end, which was refreshing. The story itself was not predictable, although there are moments where you think you know what’s about to happen.
There are parts of the book that drag on for a bit, but nothing too excruciating.
The one thing I found frustrating throughout the entire book was that the women were written to be incredibly stupid, weak, and incompetent. I found myself wanting to shake them or hoping someone else would. There were so many instances of “I should’ve said something but I didn’t” and “I should’ve done this but I was too scared” that I wanted to scream.
ohsunnyaa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Self harm, Vomit, and Body horror
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual content