Review: The Ruins by Scott B. Smith

The Ruins by Scott B. Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is definitely a creepy horror genre book that I've been hearing about in a variety of places. I don't read a ton of horror these days (although I did read quite a bit when I was younger) so I was interested in seeing why this particular novel seemed to be mentioned in a variety of places.

I struggled with how to rate this book because although I think it was a fairly good book for the horror genre and that it had some assets (super scary and creepy, not terribly written, definitely successful horror writing). It also, however, had a lot of flaws. The lack of character development was disappointing - the characters were definitely not much beyond simple caricatures. But, I was most disappointed with the lack of follow through and answers. I don't need detailed answers but I was disappointed that rather than any answers, we got pages upon pages of watching these characters and their deaths play out. I didn't mind the gore myself but I wanted to mention it because it could certainly be off-putting for those who dislike gore. There were passages that literally made me feel sick to my stomach. I still feel icky just thinking about some of the story.

All in all, I think its worth reading for horror fans. If you aren't a horror fan, I think this is probably not going to wow you.

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