The Ruins, by Scott Smith
08-12-06 | 09:12 PM
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The Ruins, by Scott Smith
Has anyone read this yet?
I picked it up based on all the recommendations I've seen (especially Stephen King's), and will probably start reading it tonight.
I picked it up based on all the recommendations I've seen (especially Stephen King's), and will probably start reading it tonight.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. At long last, Smith follows up his bestselling first novel, A Simple Plan (1993), the film of which received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay, with a stunning horror thriller. Four American friends on vacation in Cancún, Mexico—Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacy—meet a German tourist, Mathias, who persuades them to join his hunt for his younger brother, Henrich, last seen headed off with a new girlfriend toward some ruins. The four soon regret their impulsive decision after they find themselves lost in the jungle and freaked out by signs that they're headed for danger. Smith builds suspense through the slow accretion of telling details, until a deadly menace starts taking its toll, leaving the survivors increasingly at each other's throats. While admirers of such classic genre writers as John Wyndham or Algernon Blackwood may find the horror less suggestive than they might wish, the eerie atmosphere and compelling plot should appeal to fans of ABC's hit TV series Lost, who will help propel this page-turner up bestseller lists. Ben Stiller's production company has bought film rights. 100,000 first printing. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Starred Review. At long last, Smith follows up his bestselling first novel, A Simple Plan (1993), the film of which received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay, with a stunning horror thriller. Four American friends on vacation in Cancún, Mexico—Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacy—meet a German tourist, Mathias, who persuades them to join his hunt for his younger brother, Henrich, last seen headed off with a new girlfriend toward some ruins. The four soon regret their impulsive decision after they find themselves lost in the jungle and freaked out by signs that they're headed for danger. Smith builds suspense through the slow accretion of telling details, until a deadly menace starts taking its toll, leaving the survivors increasingly at each other's throats. While admirers of such classic genre writers as John Wyndham or Algernon Blackwood may find the horror less suggestive than they might wish, the eerie atmosphere and compelling plot should appeal to fans of ABC's hit TV series Lost, who will help propel this page-turner up bestseller lists. Ben Stiller's production company has bought film rights. 100,000 first printing. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
08-13-06 | 10:07 AM
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I was wondering what happened to Smith since it's been so long since his terrific debut novel, A Simple Plan. Stephen King's endorsement of that first novel gave it a big, deserved boost and I'm glad to see Smith has finally written another and I will read it though I don't know exactly when.
08-13-06 | 10:29 AM
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I've read it, but I can't say I enjoyed it. It's a quick read and mostly well-written, but I wished I hadn't read it by the time I finished. I don't want to go any further, but I'm guessing others will have know what I mean after they've read it.
08-13-06 | 10:39 AM
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From: NJ, the place where smiles go to die
I also didn't care for it. It's a very quick read. The pacing is way too fast, there is no build up & the characters are paper thin so you don't care what happens to them. And the ending felt like the author was going for some shock factor but it was really nothing shocking. I though I read somewhere that Adam Sandler bought the rights to the book, but I don't think it would make for a very good movie. There isn't much to it.
08-14-06 | 11:56 PM
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Actually Ben Stiller's production company bought the rights.
I was a HUGE fan of A Simple Plan the book so I was definitely excited to see this coming out. Then Stephen King gives a rave review..
But like the other posters, I was kinda... meh. It had some cool scenes and was a quick read but even still felt long cause when you think back, not a whole lot actually happened.
Plus I just found the
to be not that interesting. Especially the fact that
I was a HUGE fan of A Simple Plan the book so I was definitely excited to see this coming out. Then Stephen King gives a rave review..
But like the other posters, I was kinda... meh. It had some cool scenes and was a quick read but even still felt long cause when you think back, not a whole lot actually happened.
Plus I just found the
Spoiler:
to be not that interesting. Especially the fact that
Spoiler:
08-16-06 | 02:34 PM
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From: Taxachusetts
I finished reading this early last week and I wasn't all that impressed with it. It had some pretty gruesome moments but there wasn't much suspense and the ending felt very rushed. I do think that this book would have fared much better as a short story or maybe as a novella. It did not need to be 300+ pages, IMO.
