The Ruins

The book was billed as the "page turner of the summer" so far be it from me to decline. I bought The Ruins because it was compared to some of Stephen King's best fiction and I used to like to read his books. All suspense and tasteful gore.

The story follows a group of six young post grads vacationing in Mexico who unfortunately get lured into a side trip to a Mayan village. The powers of happenstance trap them there and, well, killer plants are heavily involved. I hesitate to say that last bit because it makes the story sound cheesy and I suppose it could have been but author Scott Smith never strays into "Little Shop of Horrors" territory.

It's a long book and the best part of it is that by page 83 everything is out on the table and you realize that the characters are all fucked! I mean, that's awesome knowing that you have like 300 more pages to wallow in their misery and fucked-ness. You just don't want to put the book down because you want to see what disgusting minefield they will walk in next. And there are no chapters, just one long tome. I often found myself turning pages until 3am after a long shift at the hospital. It's classic man vs. nature and the unknown and you can't help placing yourself in their situation wondering whether you would be the leader, the doer, the whiner, the one to just give up, or whether you would want to be the first or the last to die. My only disappointment is that for whatever reason, I was hoping for a twist at the end that never came. It's mindless, fast reading for someone who likes a bit of horror fiction this Halloween season.