Pines

Wayward Pines: 1

By: Blake Crouch

Narrated by: Max Meyers

The first book of the smash-hit Wayward Pines trilogy, from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade

One way in. No way out.

Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a mission: locate two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase.

As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation turns up more questions than answers: Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out?

Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan farther from the world he knew, from the man he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.

The nail-bitingly suspenseful opening installment in Blake Crouch’s blockbuster Wayward Pines trilogy, Pines is at once a brilliant mystery tale and the first step into a genre-bending saga of suspense, science fiction, and horror.

dang

I loved this trilogy so much . plot twists and just an energetic story that had me drop my jaw a few times

Sustained tension

More traditional psych horror than Crouch’s other books. The tension in this book never lets up. Not a lot of character interaction so it can feel a bit like watching someone else play Resident Evil. I actually enjoy that, but there’s a sense that the reader/listener is being dragged along through this nightmare same as Ethan. It can, uh, drag in places bc the story unfolds in “real time.” Except when Ethan blacks out, we’ve gotta stumble along, step-by-step, with him. Like a video game, we gotta open all the doors in all the corridors. Maybe that adds to the suspense.

If you hang in there, the last hour-ish brings it all together. I sense that the next book will feel like other Crouch books where things move a little faster alongside excellent character moments.

Narrator does a fantastic job portraying what’s going on in Ethan’s head. I’ve listened to other books that fall really flat when the narrator can’t nail “inner” dialogue. He also adds a lot of emotion to the narration, pulling you into the suspense really well.

Big Reveal Made Up for Dragging Chase Scenes

I thought this was a good read, very suspenseful and engaging. The only downside for me were the chase scenes, which seemed slow and a bit excessive. The big reveal at the end made up for it though. overall I thought it was a clever story and I'm interested in reading the second book of the trilogy.

David Lynch must be this author's spirit animal

Fantastic premise, somewhat mysterious execution in ways that are good and bad. Author sometimes uses a lot of descriptive words where developing a better sense of character would help move the plot along. Without spoiling anything, main character is a vet who was taken captive and tortured...but this book has almost nothing to say about war or humanity. Come again? Oh...there is judgement of the human race, but it's tepid and predictable. There is a monster in this story, and it isn't scary. The TV series probably does it better...but props to the author for coming up with the work. My lack of excitement over the execution may just be a matter of taste, after all.

Couldn't stop listening

The story was very well written and hard for me to put down. Thrilling and complicated enough to keep me guessing the whole time. Narrator did a fantastic job as well