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A review by pagesplotsandpints
Pines by Blake Crouch
3.5
Read Completed 3/6/23 | 3.5 stars
The library got the Wayward Pines trilogy on audiobook and since I'm a big fan of Blake Crouch's "modern" releases (DARK MATTER, RECURSION, and UPGRADE), I really wanted to check these out.
I went into this book literally knowing nothing about it. I dove in head first and all I knew were random images from the TV show adaptation that I had seen when trying to look up Wayward Pines. Honestly, it was a bit too slow and this book didn't quite have the pacing I know and love from Crouch's recent sci-fi thrillers. It's also the first in a series so it did a LOT of set-up, getting both Ethan and the readers into the world of its own that is Wayward Pines, Idaho. Ethan's discoveries and evasions just felt like they took a loooong time to go anywhere. There's a lot of time spent in the dark and it got a little too frustrating. We do get some clues along the way but I would have liked to spend a bit more time with the reveal at the end. Yes, it's a series but the end of the book is already setting up book two and I just would have liked to see more of all the good stuff in book one!
I guess that was... all of the book? I liked following Ethan's story but aside from a little past with his family, we really don't learn a lot about him. He doesn't get a lot of character development, and I think we'll see more of that in the second book with him taking charge instead of being chased.
PINES was also just a bit weird. Crouch's books are always a touch of weird, but the way things were laid out in this book, sometimes it was just a little too odd. Again, a lot of it was to keep readers in the dark but some things were just plain weird in the moment. There were a few other things that seemed like they just didn't quite fit in the flow of the book, but I was also still getting the vibe of everything.
I did like the answer of why everything was happening and how and even though I didn't quite love this book, I definitely want to binge read the whole thing and I'm anxious to pick up the next book to see where things go.
The library got the Wayward Pines trilogy on audiobook and since I'm a big fan of Blake Crouch's "modern" releases (DARK MATTER, RECURSION, and UPGRADE), I really wanted to check these out.
I went into this book literally knowing nothing about it. I dove in head first and all I knew were random images from the TV show adaptation that I had seen when trying to look up Wayward Pines. Honestly, it was a bit too slow and this book didn't quite have the pacing I know and love from Crouch's recent sci-fi thrillers. It's also the first in a series so it did a LOT of set-up, getting both Ethan and the readers into the world of its own that is Wayward Pines, Idaho. Ethan's discoveries and evasions just felt like they took a loooong time to go anywhere. There's a lot of time spent in the dark and it got a little too frustrating. We do get some clues along the way but I would have liked to spend a bit more time with the reveal at the end. Yes, it's a series but the end of the book is already setting up book two and I just would have liked to see more of all the good stuff in book one!
I guess that was... all of the book? I liked following Ethan's story but aside from a little past with his family, we really don't learn a lot about him. He doesn't get a lot of character development, and I think we'll see more of that in the second book with him taking charge instead of being chased.
PINES was also just a bit weird. Crouch's books are always a touch of weird, but the way things were laid out in this book, sometimes it was just a little too odd. Again, a lot of it was to keep readers in the dark but some things were just plain weird in the moment. There were a few other things that seemed like they just didn't quite fit in the flow of the book, but I was also still getting the vibe of everything.
I did like the answer of why everything was happening and how and even though I didn't quite love this book, I definitely want to binge read the whole thing and I'm anxious to pick up the next book to see where things go.