elisabeth1st's review against another edition
1.0
Okay, this was pretty not good. Not really bad, but not good. And why did I continue when I really didn't care about any of the characters? Partly because Scott Smith's earlier book The Simple Plan was so good. I couldn't believe he would write one so not good. Nor would the publishers publish one so 'not good'. I would tell anyone considering this book to spend their precious time on something else.
spooky_librarian's review against another edition
5.0
Holy sh*t!!!! The body horror in this book!!!! So effing good!!!! (Will hopefully have a more eloquent review later. Haha)
cigarizard's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sierrainstitches's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Literally where were the ruins. Misleading title.
joelevard's review against another edition
4.0
Everyone seems to hate this book. While I agree it was pretty long and kind of a bummer, the villain was an evil plant and it used an annoying ring tone as a weapon! A very intense read, and one I quite enjoyed.
queenofstrays's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
jellybean_gene's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good read. Kind of felt like an MTV movie level of depth and quality. Fun fast and super creative for the big bad. Feels like this would have been perfect for me at like a mid-highschool point in my life
highonfantasy's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wavesgoodbye's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
gentlemanjeff's review against another edition
I can't say enough bad things about this book. I had already written paragraphs for my review, but it's not worth the proofreading, so this will be short.
The Ruins is definitely not survival horror--or even body horror, which usually has some meaning beyond pure shock value. "Torture porn" doesn't seem adequately derogatory to describe it, either. The Ruins is nothing but a handful of unrealistically irredeemable characters making not just illogical, but completely unbelievable decisions contrived to make them spill as many bodily fluids as often as possible. The dialogue is inane at best, the characters impossibly cruel and stupid, and the scant lore behind the killer plant so nonsensical it doesn't even qualify. Even the last surviving character's realization that she doesn't believe in god is rendered meaningless. There's zero reward for suspending disbelief in this very stupid, immature story. I've never regretted finishing a book more, and this will serve as the example I refer to from now on when trying to decide if a book will be a "DNF."
The Ruins is definitely not survival horror--or even body horror, which usually has some meaning beyond pure shock value. "Torture porn" doesn't seem adequately derogatory to describe it, either. The Ruins is nothing but a handful of unrealistically irredeemable characters making not just illogical, but completely unbelievable decisions contrived to make them spill as many bodily fluids as often as possible. The dialogue is inane at best, the characters impossibly cruel and stupid, and the scant lore behind the killer plant so nonsensical it doesn't even qualify. Even the last surviving character's realization that she doesn't believe in god is rendered meaningless. There's zero reward for suspending disbelief in this very stupid, immature story. I've never regretted finishing a book more, and this will serve as the example I refer to from now on when trying to decide if a book will be a "DNF."