Nightstrike's Reviews: Pines

I apologize for the shorter-than-usual review, but I'm in the process of prototyping ratchet joints for Project Combination, and it's taking quite a while, so my mind's elsewhere as I figure out possible issues.

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Pines, by Blake Crouch, is . . . how do I say this . . . curious. While some books fall into categories because of how they treat characters, this is one of those that is too difficult to categorize. When looking at the summary below, you'd probably think of Pines as a sci-fi/thriller novel. However, when one delves into the actual events, it's closer to a psychological thriller, as the main character questions if he's gone insane. Once again, here you go:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Warning: Spoiler-Heavy Ahead!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ethan Burke, a federal agent, goes to Wayward Pines to track down two missing operatives, but wakes up at the side of a river, with no recollection of what happened. Dazed, confused, and seriously wounded, he seeks both help and shelter. What he finds, is one angry sheriff and a hospital seemingly out to get him, and plenty of things that don't add up. As he slowly regains his memory, he realizes that maybe there's more to the town than meets the eye.

(no, that's not an excuse for a Transformers reference. How low do you think I would go?!)

When he finds one agent dead and the other older than him, he suspects that something is amiss, especially given the aggression caused by his curiosity. I won't spoil anymore, but I will say this:

He's never getting home.

Pines is one of those books that chronicles a story throughout the whole series, rather than coming up with a single plot-line for the first book, and trying to build off that for future books. So simply reading Pines leaves you with one hell of a cliffhanger, so I will recommend that you read the whole series.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5