Name: The Ruins
Rating: 3.844827586206896 (58 reviews)
ISBN: 9781400043873

Scott Smith

The Ruins follows two American couples, just out of college, enjoying a pleasant, lazy beach holiday together in Mexico as, on an impulse, they go off with newfound friends in search of one in their group—the young German, who, in pursuit of a girl, has headed for the de leg Mayan ruins, site of a fabled archaeological dig.

This is what happens from the moment when searchers —moving into wild interior—began to suspect that there is an insidious, horrific “other” among them.

The Ruins

Fun thriller. I was fairly surprised and couldn’t guess where the story was going. The mystery was pretty original survival story. It’s an enjoyable read watching the events unfold. There are some dark aspects to the book. The horror element was entertaining. To be vague with no spoilers, the “monster” element took aspects of the characters and amplified them, mirroring those qualities and their own actions really sent them into oblivion. It almost read like the “monster” could not have existed and it was just desperation and stupidity that sabotaged themselves. Some negative things about this book which does makes this 3.5 stars: the use of indigenous ppl was really predictable. It’s 2024 we are board of white savior and indigenous savages. The characters were flat, I wasn’t interested in any of them. One of the main characters Jeff was very dislikable. Especially how he was framed as the hero in comparison to everyone especially the women, who are presented as useless. There was a long section where Jeff was measuring up his girlfriend, second guessing and comparing the other women in his life. It was boring, dragged on and made the character dislikable. It feels like the we are reading the authors inner world with this characterization of Jeff. Overall a fun thriller. I would recommend if you like the survival thriller genre

there were several points i felt like the story dragged, but this could be due to the untraditional storytelling and chapters. it still had intense, disturbing and gorey scenes that made me squirm as i skimmed the pages. 

each character is very well written, they each had annoying and frustrating qualities but i could also resonate with each of them. the hope and anxiety and absolute despair really comes through. a great read 

Sophia Rico

who am i? am i still me? 

there were several points i felt like the story dragged, but this could be due to the untraditional storytelling and chapters. it still had intense, disturbing and gorey scenes that made me squirm as i skimmed the pages. 

each character is very well written, they each had annoying and frustrating qualities but i could also resonate with each of them. the hope and anxiety and absolute despair really comes through. a great read 

Ryan Mateyk

This is a favourite and I can’t believe it’s taken like 12 years to reread. Super simple language and a very original evil villain leads to an incredibly tense, disturbing story. Love!

tori 👻

first read in 2018: 2 stars

second read in 2022: 4 stars

Amulya Garimella

just a never-ending despair fest. i do think that it was pretty well-written and good at evoking that feeling of regret, but man this was just awful things one after the other

A stretched out scary premise, four white people trapped with limited supplies in a flowery hillside near Mayan ruins that they do not understand, with plant life that feed off of their emotions and bodies.

Patty Pforte

Slips into a bit of very adolescent, dramatic nonsense a couple of times—but otherwise this is taut. Even as gruesome as it gets—and fair warning, a few passages were a little difficult to get through—this was tough to put down. Wraps its tendrils around you and pulls you deeper and deeper into ruin. 

Michael Klepacki

Luke

The beginning is kind of slow but it does pick up quickly. I recommend this book if you like survival stories. I enjoyed the read and once I got into it, it was difficult to put down. The ending was a shock. I’ll be thinking about it for a while. 

Sasha Mann

I absolutely LOVED this book!
There were so many intense moments in this.  Every move or scene was tense to read about.I felt the full range of emotions when reading from disgust to horror to sadness. It was wonderfully written and so descriptive!
This novel by Scott Smith is suspenseful to the final pages. Even to the final sentence. I felt bad for each character that lost. The final moments are not those of a happy ending and I was left staring open mouthed at how the book ended. It has a sense of "here we go again"/ history repeating itself and I absolutely loved it.

Fellowes Cynthia

I read this years ago. I remember enjoying it, but it got bad reviews, or maybe it was the film version that got bad reviews. Yes, I think so.

Stephanie Cox

This one didn't really do it for me. I found the characters a little flat and one-dimensional. I plowed forward because I was hoping for some deliciously weird flora action, which there certainly was, but in the end it was about the folly and monstrousness of humanity and I just didn't care about these bits of humanity that much.


(The true monster is me)

Craving an adventure to wake them from their lethargic Mexican holiday before they return home, four friends set off in search of one of their own who has travelled to the interior to investigate an archaeological dig in the Mayan ruins.After a long journey into the jungle, the group come across a partly camouflaged trail and a captivating hillside covered with red flowers. Lured by these, the group move closer until they happen across a gun-toting Mayan horseman who orders them away. In the midst of the confrontation, one of the group steps inadvertently backwards into the flowering vine. And at that moment their world changes for ever...

The Nature of Pages

It seemed to stretch on and on until the last 200 pages. But dang, those are some good last 200 pages.

Four friends and two strangers head out to look for a brother of one of the party. While searching an archeological ruin, they become the hunted instead of the hunters. With only snacks and three bottles of tequila they wait to be rescued from the horror that won’t let them go.
Loved this book and can’t wait to read this author’s other book A SIMPLE PLAN. The only thing I disliked about the book is the lack of chapters. It’s a 319 page chapter!

Ruth Parker 

I cannot get this book out of my head. I keep thinking about parts of it and shuddering. This book was amazing. 
I’m not going to lie, the lack of chapters or even parts of the story was off putting at first, but it is so reflective of the way the characters find themselves in this seemingly never ending situation, no break from the reality of the horrors they are facing. The constant starvation, the exhaustion and the total fear. Amazing.

Jordan Robinson

Chelsey

5/5 ⭐️ - this book is about a group of friends who end up stranded at the ruins, where they are kept captive and not allowed to leave. it’s a story of survival and suspense. id say overall, the ruins packs it’s punch in its incredibly realistic cast - they seem like they could step off the page and into real life. the book kept me terrified and riveted and never felt like it dragged despite the fact it was around 500 pages. even in broad daylight, it kept me in suspense and jumpy. this is a great book with a mix of all the good stuff: body horror, psychological terror, and gripping dynamics between each character. don’t miss it, especially if you enjoy character study type stories!

The Ruins

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