Carl (cartal) reviewed on 6/21/2010

After reading Scott Smith's first novel, A Simple Plan (1993), I was enthused about the promise of this novelist. My enthusiasm was heightened when I sought out the short story published earlier in the New Yorker upon which A Simple Plan is based. Ready to become an avid Scott Smith fan, I was eager for Smith's next novel, The Ruins (2006). What a disappointment. The plot is weak and not very credible and hardly supports the operatic length of this novel that should have been a short story. The title is apt because the poor character development alone is ruinous. Smith's writing is engaging enough but this story falls short of his first novel by leaps. Hopefully the author will focus more sharply on his next novel. Then I may once again believe in this talented writer's potential promise. Save your money. If you're looking for a good horror story read instead Dan Simmons's A Winter Haunting or Michael Laimo's Deep in the Darkness.

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