The Ruins

By: Scott Smith

Narrated by: Patrick Wilson

Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Eerie, terrifying, and unputdownable, The Ruins is Scott Smith's first novel since his acclaimed debut A Simple Plan earned rave reviews and stormed best seller lists.

The Ruins follows two American couples enjoying a pleasant, lazy beach holiday together in Mexico. On an impulse, they go off with newfound friends in search of one of their group, the young German who, in pursuit of a girl, has headed for the remote Mayan ruins, site of a fabled archeological dig.

This is what happens from the moment the searchers, moving into the wild interior, begin to suspect that there is an insidious, horrific "other" among them.

©2006 Scott Smith. All rights reserved (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"A stunning horror thriller." (Publishers Weekly
"The book of the summer....Smith intends to scare the bejabbers out of you, and succeeds." (Stephen King)
"If you love ABC's Lost and the novels of King and Thomas Harris, you'll love this book." (USA Today)

A mixed bag of genuine horror & stupidity.

The Ruins is a mixed bag for me..I thought it was scary as it was dumb. Lots of shocking & exciting moments, and the relentless terror is coherent front to back, but both the characters & plot are pretty bad. The narrator's voice is pleasant enough but it's very monotone, even when detailing more suspenseful things...and all the characters' dialogue sounds the same. The whole time. Wee.
BUT I'd be lying if I said the book didn't succeed in doing what it was set out to do: to scare me. If you're here only for the horror, you'll have a fun time.

Great read!

I loved this book. It kept me hooked the whole time waiting to see the fate of the characters.

Fun read

This is fun to read - just when you think things can't get any worse, there comes another topper. The doomed, hapless gringos inexorably stumble to their perdition. A surprise at every turn.

Escape room meets nature

I wish the plot moved beyond the dwellings we’re forced into. Also the characters were pretty trope-cliche.

Great naration

Nice narration although some places the story was dragged with too. Sometimes characters were annoying but I think that was the writer’s intentions. Overall good experience . Will look to read more from the writer.

Great listen!

Like other reviews I read dialogue in the beginning was not my favorite but by chapter 6 I was enjoying the story more and more as it went on. Really glad I finished this one!

Loved it

I was not expecting this book to be what it was. I felt like I was there! Deff recommend!!!

Creepy book for for those who enjoy gore

Good book. Slightly above average rating. I had hoped the author would have pushed more into the actual ruins and there had been something there. An understanding of the vines of some sort. Voice actor did a wonderful job in portraying the characters thoughts and feeling

Dull Characters Combined with a Dull Story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Listening to this book was a large waste of time, in my opinion. I was intrigued by the description and was wanting to know exactly what horrors these characters would face, but about two hours in, I already knew that I couldn't care less about any of the characters in this novel. I continued to listen simply out of the hope that maybe they would grow more likeable, but when we find out what the horror is, I'm so disappointed by the reveal and the lack of interesting character development that I very nearly stopped listening altogether. I feel like I could have lived with and even enjoyed the slightly disappointing horror element if the characters themselves had simply been likeable.

The female characters, to me, seem to be stereotypical dumb/over emotional women. They are essentially useless, whiny, and shrill. The men aren't much better. One of the male characters doesn't speak English like the others. We don't ever get the chance to care about him because we never get to experience his point of view. One is a typical 'I'm the leader because I know everything' type. At first, I had hope that I would at least like this character, but he just got annoying really fast. Another male character is the typical dumb jock or frat boy stereotype who makes rash, stupid decisions, and I found myself just wanting the dude to die so I wouldn't have to hear anything else about him. The final male character is one who says little and who we know practically nothing about.

What could Scott Smith have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Made me care about the characters' plight in any way. If I'm more focused on how annoying this character is, or how one dimensional that character is, I'm not going to give any amount care towards their situation or what happens to them.

What about Patrick Wilson’s performance did you like?

Patrick Wilson was good overall. He was a little quiet in places, so it was hard for me to hear, but overall, he gave a steady performance.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It is a movie, and no, I would not go see it. The trailer makes the movie look even worse than the book.

Any additional comments?

I got this audiobook because of all the good reviews it has all over the internet. I was seriously disappointed by what turned out to be a dull, boring story about dull, boring people. I think I'm in the minority with my opinion, however.

Couldn't put it down!

I like to listen to books while driving to and from work which is only an hour each way. This book was so engrossing I couldn't stop listening! Excellent writing, highly recomended. Definitely scared the bejebbers out of me!