Helpful Score: 1
Run is an apocalyptic thriller about one family's fight to survive when a large population in North America become murdering lunatics out to kill anyone not like them (think 30 Days Later, Hater, etc). The reason is not explained in great detail and it is not something that realistically might happen anymore than a zombie-outbreak, but it is the journey, what happens along the way, that gives Run its power and believability.
Run has high-energy action and danger, which is the first thing I want in these types of stories. After a few pages of set up, the story starts with a BANG and Run is exactly what the main characters must do from the start to save their lives.
But Run also has something else that takes the book beyond just a good SHTF story. At its core, Run is about the redemption of a single family--from being at the point of collapse to truly loving and being devoted to one another. I know this description may sound like a bore to people who, like me, are looking for a good adrenaline rush. But, trust me, this is no white-bread "after school special" type of story. This is a violent and graphic story with flawed, realistic characters. This family goes through absolute hell over the course of the book. Ironically, the ordeal they go through is what actually saves them as a family. (I actually read the book twice and it wasn't until the second time that I truly picked up on this.)
I feel like Run is one of the best novels I've read in the past decade, mostly because it blends so well the theme of family, love, and redemption with great apocalyptic horror. You might expect such a story to be too syrupy or cheesy, but this book does it so well that you don't realize it. By the end, I felt like I really understood the devotion that each person felt for the others in their family. The story stayed with me so that, afterwards, I found myself thinking about real horrors that have happened to people in history and how they were changed as a result and also about what love and family really means. So maybe I've even had some personal growth as a result of reading this book (but it was the ride that made it fun).
Not everyone will share my high opinion of this book, I'm sure. Some people may not like the graphic violence; others may get frustrated with the barrage of bad luck and close calls that the characters face over and over again. But, to me, these scenes weren't repetitive so much as letting the reader share the main characters' feelings of frustration. And some people may even feel Run isn't dark enough. Yet this is what I got out of the book and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys violent, EOTW thrillers that have some emotional depth.
Run has high-energy action and danger, which is the first thing I want in these types of stories. After a few pages of set up, the story starts with a BANG and Run is exactly what the main characters must do from the start to save their lives.
But Run also has something else that takes the book beyond just a good SHTF story. At its core, Run is about the redemption of a single family--from being at the point of collapse to truly loving and being devoted to one another. I know this description may sound like a bore to people who, like me, are looking for a good adrenaline rush. But, trust me, this is no white-bread "after school special" type of story. This is a violent and graphic story with flawed, realistic characters. This family goes through absolute hell over the course of the book. Ironically, the ordeal they go through is what actually saves them as a family. (I actually read the book twice and it wasn't until the second time that I truly picked up on this.)
I feel like Run is one of the best novels I've read in the past decade, mostly because it blends so well the theme of family, love, and redemption with great apocalyptic horror. You might expect such a story to be too syrupy or cheesy, but this book does it so well that you don't realize it. By the end, I felt like I really understood the devotion that each person felt for the others in their family. The story stayed with me so that, afterwards, I found myself thinking about real horrors that have happened to people in history and how they were changed as a result and also about what love and family really means. So maybe I've even had some personal growth as a result of reading this book (but it was the ride that made it fun).
Not everyone will share my high opinion of this book, I'm sure. Some people may not like the graphic violence; others may get frustrated with the barrage of bad luck and close calls that the characters face over and over again. But, to me, these scenes weren't repetitive so much as letting the reader share the main characters' feelings of frustration. And some people may even feel Run isn't dark enough. Yet this is what I got out of the book and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys violent, EOTW thrillers that have some emotional depth.
