The Ruins

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
The adjective on the cover of Scott Smith's wildly anticipated sophomore release (after 1993's A Simple Plan) says it all: "Unputdownable." The Ruins, an amalgam of psychological thriller and literary horror à la Stephen King, follows a group of four young American tourists vacationing in Cancún and chronicles the horrors they uncover when they help another tourist search for his wayward brother among isolated Mayan ruins.

Best friends and recent college graduates Amy and Stacy and their boyfriends, Jeff and Eric, are thoroughly enjoying their summer vacation in Mexico. In a few weeks the quartet will begin new chapters of their lives -- but until then, the group is partying with fellow travelers from all corners of the globe. One tourist, a German named Mathias, tells the four about his brother, who disappeared with a seductive female archaeologist working at a dig near Cobá, one of the oldest Mayan settlements on the Yucatán Peninsula. The four Americans agree to accompany Mathias in his search but the journey quickly turns into a waking nightmare…

Like works by H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and the aforementioned King, every page -- every sentence! -- of The Ruins is shadowed by a sublime sense of foreboding, an unsettling awareness that, at any moment, some completely unanticipated monstrosity is going to suddenly emerge and wreak bloody havoc on the characters. What were the lost archaeologists looking for? And what did they find? What ancient life form lurks in the labyrinths beneath the ruins? Discerning fans of literary horror will categorically venerate this disturbing tale of wanderlust gone wrong. Paul Goat Allen

Library Journal

Here's a real summer vacation gone wrong. Four twentysomething Americans in Cancun impulsively decide to accompany a chance-met fellow tourist on a side trip to the jungle. They hope to find their new acquaintance's missing brother and visit an archaeological ruin, but right from the beginning, when the locals seem spooked by their hand-drawn map, it's apparent that something is seriously amiss. VERDICT The tension escalates to a terrifying pitch as Smith (A Simple Plan) explores the way people can change when placed in terrifying situations.

Douglas E. Winter

… there's a more timeless fable at work here, one that prompts thoughts of Heart of Darkness . Courageous in its pessimism and its embrace of horror, Smith's powerful tale, like Conrad's masterpiece, cautions against such reassuring conceits as civilization, conscience, morality, superiority -- and yes, good and evil. Hidden somewhere in the vines of The Ruins , like those of the Congo, beats the heart of an impenetrable darkness.
— The Washington Post

Gary Kamiya

The Ruins is superior horror literature, but it does not entirely overcome the pile-driving limitations of the genre; it might have been more effective as a short story. But its relentless bleakness — it is almost clinically bloody — played out at novel length is also what sets it apart from other books of this kind. It leaves you with the sense that the skeleton beneath your skin is closer to the surface than you think.
— The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

Four American tourists vacationing in Cancun make friends with a German traveler and join the hunt for his brother, who has mysteriously vanished after following a new flame to an archeological site. But inadequate planning, horrendous conditions and unforeseen dangers quickly turn this jungle adventure into a fight for survival. The novel itself is creepy, compelling and simple in scope, but the audiobook adaptation doesn't quite succeed in relating the feeling of dread the text imparts. Wilson reads in an assured (if somewhat flat) voice in the tenor range, but his tone often seems too light to properly convey the novel's dark and foreboding mood. He also doesn't do much to differentiate between the characters; although Smith has characters who feel very real and distinct, listeners could have used more help from the narrator to distinguish one point-of-view from the next. A book like this one which presents the story from several different POVs would have benefited from a team of talented narrators to help bring the narrative to life. Regrettably, Wilson goes it alone, delivering a sufficient but mediocre performance. Simultaneous release with the Knopf hardcover (Reviews, May 15). (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Two American couples just out of college head to Mexico for a sun- and tequila-filled vacation. They befriend some like-minded Greek tourists and a German man whose brother has followed an archaeologist to the site of her dig. The Americans and one of the Greeks decide to go into the jungle to help Matthias find his brother. Blissfully ignorant, they head off with minimal rations, but lots of tequila. Despite all warning signs, they continue to a desolate Mayan village whose residents seem intent on keeping them away. Once American Amy steps off the path into a patch of vines, things suddenly change. As in A Simple Plan (Knopf, 1993), Smith creates a gripping story in which each character's uncertainties and human frailties are as horrific as the actual horror around them. Though the story is told in the third person, each American spends time as a protagonist, giving readers an understanding of his or her fears and motivations. This also allows readers to second-guess the characters. The book has no chapter breaks, which echoes the long and dreadful adventure. Even though only a few days pass, it feels much longer, as the plot moves minute-by-minute through each day. The ending is highly satisfactory and perfectly tragic. Though there are some brief scenes of gore, most of the suspense is psychological, but no less frightening. Fans of everything from Jurassic Park to Lost to Stephen King will love this book.-Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MD Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Nature turns evil in this novel of horror and suspense involving reckless young Americans and a couple of fellow travelers trapped in the wilds of remote Mexico. This is the first novel from Smith since his 1993 debut, A Simple Plan, which had greater popular impact in its 1998 movie adaptation, which earned him an Oscar nomination for best screenplay. This material might also prove riveting on the big screen, but as a novel, lacks narrative momentum, taking too long to reach its resolution. Two young couples on the verge of big changes (med school, career, geography) enjoy a last fling in Mexico before assuming the responsibilities of adulthood. The two young women are best friends, though one is as cautious as the other is careless. Their two male partners are connected mainly through the women. As happens on vacation, they develop quick friendships, in this case with a taciturn German who speaks English and a trio of fun-loving Greeks who don't. The German's brother disappears with a beautiful woman to join an archaeological dig into Mayan ruins, miles removed from urban civilization. As an adventure, the four Americans and one of the Greeks join the German in search of his brother. Once they arrive, though, they fear it will be impossible for them to leave, partly because of the armed Mayans surrounding the site, partly because of the bodies in detailed states of decomposition that litter the area, but mainly because of some mysterious vines with amazing powers that expand as the novel progresses. While these tourists are isolated in the wilderness for many, many (many) pages, the novel shifts from a horror story of graphic gore to a more interesting psychological thriller. Ifcharacter is destiny, the major suspense lies with which one of them, if any, will survive. A compelling set-up and provocative premise, but what should be a page-turner succumbs to a plodding pace. First printing of 100,000