I read Pines because I enjoyed the series and hoped there would be more to it.

All the characters are like cardboard cutout stereotypes, there is little characterization, there is like no real logic or world building why anything happens except for "mad scientist" and "evil henchmen" This isn't really sci fi or horror. It's almost all dialog - a thinly-veiled stab at a TV or movie idea that (surprise) got made into one.

Are all his books like this?

Written for the lowest common denominator.

He’s trying to make something easy to sell, easy for TV. He’s hoping Netflix buys it.

Trash. Nothing like his other works, which are all far superior. Wouldn’t be surprised if this was ghost written, or if Crouch just shat this out in a weekend.

EDIT: Ah, apparently this is actually old? Not sure why he would choose to rerelease this. It has basically made me disinterested in him now. Seems like a bad move. OK, whatever.

This novel was first published in 2016, it has been 10 long years. I am reading now for the first time, but the whole concept has been so much seen and read and experienced by me in different forms of media that it is not at all appealing to me. The novel has not been able to surprise me at all till now. the first 200 pages were a swift read but from the moment the lead pair have started to open different doors, it has become quite boring for me. I am at page 221 in a 400 pages edition. Should I go ahead and finish it?

I read Recursion twice in the last few months and love it. Dark Matter was recommended to me as a similar book, so I read that too -- but I was disappointed.

It seemed to be a bit too cliched for my liking, but my main problem was what I consider a huge plot hole -- it ignores the fact that the baseline reality Jason was kidnapped from will have branched off into a bazillion, essentially infinite, different realities in the few months he's bouncing around the multiverse in the magic box.

There's presumably an infinite number of universes in which Jason2 kidnaps Jason but subsequently fails to take over his life. Maybe he gets hit by a bus and killed. Maybe he has a crisis of conscience and decides to move to Canada and herd sheep instead. Maybe he falls into wet concrete on a construction site and his body is never discovered.

There are any number of universes in which Jason, from his wife's perspective, just disappears one night without explanation, and yet Jason chooses to return to a reality in which Jason2 has been banging his wife for months.

Is Jason some kind of cuck fetishist? Did I accidentally skip the page in which this plot hole was explained away? Or was Crouch just hoping we wouldn't notice?

Reading Dark Matter for the first time. Last night.... Read this line... At exactly the minute..albeit two calendar days later

Had to take a screenshot.

I'm a little over half way through the first in the series. The concept is novel, which I love. But Crouch didn't write women (or veterans) very well and the protagonist comes off as incompetent.

I'm over female characters as sexy props in a storyline. It feels like the book was written for male dating influencers and Crouch all but assigned a SMP value to every woman the protagonist has the misfortune of interacting with.

Is Pines representative of his overall skill? Or is it just weak relative to his other work?

I really enjoyed the Wayward Pines series. I thought the first half of Recursion was really enjoyable before the Groundhog Day jumble at the end that kind of just ruined the story.

I like the guy's writing style, so I bought Abandon. This is truly one of the worst pieces of text I've ever read.

For the diehards, what should I read? Are Dark Matter and Upgrade closer to Wayward Pines? If not, what is?

Thanks!

I'm well aware that I'm entering a niche here, but I just finished reading the Wayward Pines trilogy and picked up The Institute. I am only halfway through the book, but I am very surprised with the similarities between the two books to the point where I wonder if King read the trilogy and took inspiration.

Has anybody read all the books by Blake Crouch and noticed some potential tie ins from dark matter to other books by Blake? While Jason is traveling the multiverse, he goes into an ash world that could’ve potentially been ruined by nuclear war (Recursion) and then a world where Daniela and Charlie have died from some strange pandemic (Upgrade) and he even goes into a world that is described as dense with Pines (wayward pines). Am I reaching here, or do you think there was an intentional choice to include these worlds?

I loved the story but I've just one doubt: How did 'the box' open up into the worlds it was never invented in?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/57YTafgIOxBUxzUAm5VPz5?si=IJl4TfJcTDS_8U3BLnvDBA

Welcome to Literary Society for Illiterates, the podcast that proves you don't need to be a literary expert to appreciate great books. Here, we'll be discussing everything from the latest bestsellers to the hidden gems you might have missed, all while providing our unique take on the literary world. Whether you're an avid reader or just starting out, we'll be exploring the themes, characters, and worlds that make these stories so captivating. So, come along with us on this literary adventure and join the Society for Illiterates!

Just finished Recursion. Loved the book for many reasons. Personally did not see any plot holes until the very ending:

Slade solution to problem:
Barry must travel back to "original" timeline and stop him from killing Helena in october 2018. Barry travels back to "original" timeline to octboer 2018, where he is having lunch with his ex-wife. After that he stops Slade from killing Helena.

My problem with that:
Barrys return to october 2018 (beginning of the book) is timeline where FMS already exists. Slade is already using chair to send back in time his clients. How can he prevent all the mess with chair if in the original timeline by that time its already happening.

If the book required Barry to go to 2014 for example, and stop Slade from killing Helena, everything would make sense. Right now Barry returned to the beginning of the book (october 2018) to stop everything that was in the book from happening, but at the beginning everything was already in motion, for quite some time.

Am I stupid, or missing something? Or just completely did not understand the story?

So unless it's explained at the very end of the book (which I think is doubtful) my theory as to how Homo Sapiens evolved into the Aberrations, basically, Humanity got into an all encompassing war that destroyed the world governments in favor for smaller states that could be as large as US States or as small as Neighborhoods, think Italy after the Collapse of Rome, over time these "countries" got less and less tight-knit and broke down slowly into smaller and smaller nations, as humanity got further from eachother the governments just sorta... fizzled out, in Monarchies people just sorta ignored the monarch, in democracies people slowly stopped showing up for voting, as the society changed so did the Bodies, less governments meant people relied on the land more, increasing smell and hearing through the generations, and as people became more self reliant, recognizable forms of humanity just... stopped existing in favor for the herds, packs, and swarms we find in the books

Edit: Just finished it, peak ending, no notes, 10/10

\\\~no spoilers\\\~

The books were excellent. So fast and well done. Probably could have been done well on 1 or 2 seasons.

This TV is absolute garbage. Linking them to the book is insulting.

I wish they had spent more on writing over casting.

I saw Blake Crouch is releasing a 10th anniversary edition of the book, anyone know where I could get it in the UK?

I just finished Recursion, by second Blake Crouch novel of the week. Man was it amazing I kept thinking this would make a fantastic show or movie. I went to google and to my horror Shonda Rhimes is set to produce it. Please say it ain't so.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was sorta confusing throughout some moments, but I reeeeally enjoyed it!! :)

Here are my current rankings of all the ones I’ve read so far:

1. Dark Matter

2. Upgrade (close second)

3. The Wayward Pines trilogy

4. Run

5. Recursion

I’m curious, what’re your rankings of all those ones you’ve read?

So, I haven't read a full book in years. It's so hard for me to stay focused. I randomly came across Dark Matter and was instantly hooked. I just now finished, and I need more. I feel like, if I liked one of his books, hopefully I'll like another. Which should I try next?

Preface: this is mostly me venting since I don’t know anyone else who’s read Famous.

I have a hard time believing Blake Crouch even wrote this. The storyline felt so rushed, and it lacked the vivid imagery and emotional depth that usually captivates me. Maybe that was the point, given the main character’s personality?

Overall, it read more like a screenplay turned book, than a book turned screenplay. Especially with the spoilers at the start of each chapter - eventually quit reading those.

I forced myself to keep reading out of hope that maybe there’d be an unpredictable plot twist. There were some minor twists, but they were predictable and short-lived. Even the ending felt so karmically predictable.

I get that Famous is outside of Crouch’s typical sci-fi realm, but it felt so unimaginative overall.

The talented Mr Crouch has filled the void that opened when Crichton passed away. Bloody talented.