RUN by Blake Crouch – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Run by Blake Crouch
Published by Ballantine Books on October 22 2024
Genres: Adult, Science fiction, Survival, Thriller
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A relentlessly paced survival story, Run is a violent thrill ride from start to finish.

Run was originally self published back in 2011, and I’m so glad the publisher decided to reissue it this year. If you’ve read more recent books by Blake Crouch, you’ll see how far he’s progressed as a writer since writing this book, but it’s also nice to see that even back then, he still had a talent for crafting an exciting story with an original idea. Run isn’t perfect, but I’m giving it four stars for the entertainment value alone, because this book is crazy, and it’s a hard one to put down once you start reading.

When the story opens, we meet Jack Colclough and his family, wife Dee and kids Naomi and Cole. They are frantically packing the car and grabbing as much food and water as they can. We don’t yet know what’s happened, but reports of mass killings all over the country are coming through the news waves. A stranger is announcing names and addresses of specific people over the radio, and when Jack’s name comes up, he knows it’s time for his family to get out. The world as they know it has changed, and now the family must go on the run in order to stay alive.

That’s as much of the plot as I’m going to mention—also, that’s pretty much the entire plot: Jack and his family are running for their lives, and they have to deal with things like their car running out of gas, a lack of food and water (looters have hit all the stores), injury, sleeping outside in the cold, and constantly being chased by gun wielding crazy people. To make things worse, they have to protect their two young children and get them to cooperate, otherwise they will die. This is a thrilling but extremely violent story, and to be honest I wasn’t prepared for the level of violence, including things like torture, use of chainsaws, and burning people alive.

The question you’re probably asking is why (and how!) have some people changed into killer psychopaths and others haven’t? There is a reason, but Crouch doesn’t spill the beans until about a quarter into his story. As far as explanations go, I thought it was a little thin and unbelievable, but this is science fiction so you have to suspend your disbelief and just go with it.

What Crouch does so well is create tension that never lets up. His characters are in constant danger, and although there are brief moments where they can relax, most of their journey is one of immense struggle, wondering if they are going to live to see another day. If the killers don’t get them, there’s always the threat of starvation. He also separates the family a few times, which makes the tension even worse, since the reader wonders if they’ll ever see each other again. 

The author throws in some domestic tension, which added a lot to the story and gave Jack and Dee some depth. I do love the “married couple’s relationship is on the rocks but then something terrible happens to bring them back together” trope, and Crouch does a nice job of that here. I also liked the way the characters are pushed to their limits, especially Dee, who never even held a gun before, but now she’s forced to defend her family and has to be willing to kill to do it.

As for negatives, there are quit a few plot holes. I mentioned before that the reason some people have turned into killers doesn’t make a lot of sense, and the way the whole thing is resolved at the end is even more confusing. Also, there is a way to tell who is a killer and who isn’t, but only those affected are able to see the difference. And I couldn’t understand why certain people are singled out, their names and addresses announced over the radio. I guess it was a way to show that Jack and his family were in danger, but it felt like a lazy way to explain it.

Despite some flaws, though, Run is worth reading, especially if you’re a Blake Crouch fan. It would make a fantastic movie, although I’m not sure I’d be able to stomach watching it myself. For a quick, tense read, I recommend picking this up.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.