Pines (Wayward Pines Book 1)

Good fast paced read, what’s not to like.

Great book but I think Crouch just tries too hard and ends up over-egging his own pudding. Let me explain.This is the third Blake Crouch book I've read and the previous two, Dark Matter and Recursion, I had some major issues with, and I think I've finally realised what my problem with them is. I think he simply adds too much, he tries too hard. Just because you like sugar in your coffee you don't dump ten spoonfuls of it in there because it'll destroy it, you add just enough to make it just right. Someone needs to confiscate Mr Crouch's spoon!My criticisms come from a place of frustration because I love these books, especially this one. Pines is probably my favourite to date, but there's always a section or two in his books where I end up pulling out my hair, or I would if I had any, and screaming 'Why did you do that!' and Pines is just the same. Which is really unfortunate because this book could have made my all-time favourites list.The beginning of the book is a complete mind-bender, a full-on psychological trip. And I was loving it. Not knowing what the hell is going on, and the tension of having to discover at the same pace as the protagonist is fantastic, and Crouch does it brilliantly in this book. But then things degenerate a little into a bit of a trope, but that's ok, I can live with that, until we get to THAT scene. Where the town's entire population, for some unfathomably ridiculous reason in Halloween dress, go on a murder frenzy. NO NO NO! It doesn't work, it makes no sense and it just doesn't fit at all. Why!? I'm trying to be as vague as possible here in case you haven't read the book. But this just cheapens the writing and utterly destroys all the beautiful work Crouch put in prior to this.Then there's the rock-face climb, tense, dramatic and gripping...until the pack of creepy alien-looking creatures turn up out of the blue. NO NO NO! It's not needed! It's cheap titillation which kills the real tension the main character is going through. And the fact that they are dispatched so easily and quickly is just comical.Ok, after all that please let me apologise, I don't usually go off on one like that, but this book could have been so damn good! I've still given it four stars, even though it really, really, should have been a solid five-star book. And yes, I have the second and third books, Wayward and The Last Town, and I will be reading them. I'm actually intrigued to see how a strong and driven man like Ethan manages to handle working under a morally bankrupt man like Pilcher, and the murder frenzying townsfolk of course...if I must.

Pines is an Intense and suspenseful It is a very good start to a series. Pines' will keep you hooked from the start – a must-read thriller! 9/10

In the afterword, Blake Crouch (is that a real name?) discusses how Twin Peaks influenced him in writing this tale. The legacy is pretty clear but that does not detract from the pace and excitement of the book. The first half especially has a non-stop chase across a secluded town with shades of Wicker Man when it appears that the protagonist is the only one seeing that there is something strange going on.Secret Service agent Ethan Burke is in a carv crash on the outskirts of Wayward Pines township when a truck accident kils his partner and puts him in hospital. His ID and wallet are missing and the local Sheriff clearly knows about this sort of troublemaker.Cue chases and drugging in a mysterious hospital with no patients and the charge nurse who seems more at home in a dojo. This allkeeps the reader interested.Eventually Burke makes discoveries - no spoilers here - and the book seems to drift a bit. Some questions I would ask:Don't Secret Service Agents have some backup plans for when they are captured by bad guys? It seems to me that they would at least have a list of phone numbers memorised rather than just one for the office where a 'new secretary' is unable to pass a message to the boss. Also it seems likely that there might be a call centre number and identification method that would allow an agent to verify themselves and get help.The plot has holes I could drive a truck through, but the book is tightly written and I would recommend it as a decent beach read.

I bought this book when it was a special offer on Kindle and had it queued up to read on holiday. I've neither seen nor heard of the TV series, so I was lured in by the apparent "Twin Peaks"-type darkness the story promised.It's an odd premise. A secret service agent arrives in a small town to look for two colleagues who have gone missing. Soon after arriving he is involved in an accident, and when he wakes up he has no phone, no ID, and he can remember very little. The people in the town seem to be acting strangely, and no matter how hard he tries he can't get a message through to his wife, nor can he find a way out of the town. And then he comes across the electric fences surrounding the place...From the start it grabbed my curiosity, and held on until the end. The mystery is revealed late on and yes, it's all very far-fetched, but things were drawn to a satisfying conclusion despite this being the first in a trilogy, which apparently continue the tale. I'll certainly be reading the next book at some point.

Blake Crouch has become one of my favorite writers and this book is definitely of the best

I was intrigued right from the word go and I would go on record on stating that I have never read such a thriller novel in my life.From Page-1 you know something is vastly amiss, midway you start wondering whether the protagonist is imagining it all, is it all real or is it some isolated community a la. The Village of Manoj Night Shyamalan.There were brief interludes to protagonist’s torture in the Gulf War which I felt did not contribute anything to the storyline. I learnt that this has not been covered in the TV version of the story. Wish could watch the Fox TV show too (believed to be better than the book) but it’s not available in India.Mismatch in time lines in the character’s lives does lead one to conclude that some delusional reality is in existence but before you end up pulling all the hair from your head the author pulls the rug right from under your feet.As other reviewers have commented the writing though highly engrossing isn’t exactly top notch and the climax is on your face type without much of a buildup to the actual reality prevailing at Wayward Pines.Nevertheless, I am not complaining, as I mentioned earlier this is the best thriller novel I have read till date and I am definitely going to read the next two installments of Wayward Pines series by Blake Crouch.

Ethan kommt aus Seattle. Er hat eine Frau und einen Sohn und ist ein Secret Service Agent. Das Leben ist nicht einfach, er macht Fehler, doch alles scheint gut zu sein. Zumindest bis sein Auto, während er auf der Suche nach zwei verschwundenen Kollegen ist, von einem Truck erfasst wird. Verwirrt erwacht er an einem Bach. Er weiß nicht, wie er heißt, wer er ist. Orientierungslos tapst er durch die fremde Kleinstadt. Kennt er etwas? Gehört er dorthin?Sein Zustand verschlimmert sich, seine Erinnerungen manchmal zum Greifen nahe, entgleiten seinem Verstand doch immer wieder. Und als er sich endlich erinnern kann, sieht er sich mit einem noch viel größerem Problem konfrontiert. Was ist das nur für eine Stadt, dieses Wayward Pines? Sie ist idyllisch, ein Traum inmitten eines Canyons, malerisch - und etwas stimmt mit ihr ganz und gar nicht, dieser Gedanke beschleicht Ethan immer mehr. Was geht hier vor sich? Und was verbergen die Bewohner von Wayward Pines?Der Klappentext hat mich sofort angesprochen. Geheimnisse und Mystik - absolut das Meine!Und dann dieser Schreibstil. Es ist alles so leicht und schnell zu lesen, gleichzeitig baut sich eine wahnsinnige Spannung auf, die einen das Buch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen lässt. Das Gefühl von Anspannung und Bedrohung schleicht sich sofort zu Beginn ein und bleibt bis zum Schluss fester Bestandteil des Lesegefühls. Außerdem ist es so actiongeladen, dass keine Längen entstehen. Die Story geht voran, aber trotzdem ist Zeit, die Figuren kennenzulernen. Rückblicke sind so gestaltet, dass sie die Geschichte nicht stören, sondern gut zum Eindruck passen und ein dreidimensionales Bild des Protagonisten formen.Daher mein Fazit: Ich habe das Buch sehr schnell durchgelesen und hatte viel Freude dabei. Zwischendurch blieb mir einfach die Spucke weg, weil ich kaum verarbeiten konnte, was alles passiert ist und wie genial sich alles entwickelt hat.

I picked up Pines after someone recommended it as being relevant to my own work. After looking into the concept (and having a little of it spoiled) I knew it was going to be right up my alley.The novel follows Secret Service agent Ethan Burke on an investigation into Wayward Pines, a tiny, isolated town deep in the mountains of Idaho. On arrival, he’s in a terrible car accident, in which his partner dies. From there, things spiral out of control. The idyllic town is far from what it seems, and soon agent Burke is fighting for his life while attempting to unravel an unbelievable mystery. I can’t say any more without serious spoilers.I enjoyed this book though it wasn’t without its flaws. The story is excellent, and the world Crouch has created is thrilling. I’m definitely going to continue the series, so that should confirm the flaws are relatively minor.I didn’t really like Ethan Burke as a person. Honestly, it wouldn’t have bothered me too much if he died. This wasn’t entirely his fault *redacted due to spoilers*, but the fact remains. I will be interested to see how he develops in the next book.The other niggling issue I had was some of the prose. Most of it is fine, but when emphasizing something Crouch has a habit of using sentences that are oddly formed, and it brought me out of the flow every time. The other aspect that bothered me was some of the descriptions, which veered into unusually (unnecessarily) technical / specific. None of the descriptions were inaccurate, they just didn’t feel like they fit the rest of the prose (or the character’s POV).These are relatively minor gripes, and subjective. I still enjoyed the book and will keep reading the series.

Avvincente, letteralmente divorato in pochissimo tempo. Comprato dopo le prime puntate in TV della serie, non volevo aspettare anni per sapere come finiva. Trovo la storia molto originale, difficile da immaginare come possa finire. L 'idea che ci si possa svegliare nel futuro, in un mondo in cui l'umanità è ridotta ad un piccolo gruppo accerchiato da una nuova razza più simile ad un animale che un essere umano è davvero angosciante. Questo è il primo della serie di tre libri, anche quelli comprati e letti subito.Consigliato se anche voi non avete la pazienza di aspettare settimana dopo settimana per anni di sapere come finisce.