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Saturday, April 18, 2015


5 Stars for Wayward Pines 

The Wayward Pines Trilogy Book 1
Blake Crouch

Summary:

Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan further from the world he thought he knew, from the man he thought he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.

Read Books 2 and 3 in the Trilogy, WAYWARD and THE LAST TOWN,

The international runaway bestseller is now a Major Television Event from executive producer M. Night Shyamalan, starring Matt Dillon and premiering on FOX May 14th.

Review:

Pines is a mystery E.M. Forster would appreciate. It begins with Ethan Burke’s existence in a strange town where he questions his sanity, because no one seems to know him. It ends by not just addressing Ethan, but civilization as we think we know it. The strangeness dragging the reader from beginning to end is much like the Twin Peaks series, and Pines will become a series beginning May fourteenth. After reading the first book in the Wayward Pines series; the TV series will not be disappointing.

First, Ethan Burke, the main character,  is well-drawn often pulling from his bloody tortured past making him stronger to fight against those trying to make him feel insane. He’s also a man who loves his wife and son, but is terribly flawed in being there for them. This plays an ace at the end when he makes his choice about Wayward Pines. The second plus to this book is the ability of the author to the one key question I had: What is Wayward Pines? Where is Wayward Pines? Is it really a town, or a place in Ethan Burke’s mind? If it is a town, are the people living in it human or something else?

The question about Wayward Pines was answered, but that answer followed more questions like the brutality and violence shown from the townspeople, especially when they were chosen for the better good. For me this was a good question to lead into the second book leading me back to thinking Wayward Pines is an evil place where only bad things grow. Obviously, Ethan Burke was not getting the entire truth at the end of book one.

As far as the questions surrounding the agents missing and the lack of concern about this didn’t bother me, because I think the secret service could have been overwhelmed with the greater human race, and I’ll stop there, else I’ll give too much of the plot away. My other theory is that the agents missing were assumed dead.

If you’re inclined to a psychological mystery to psych you out - Pines is your book. Don’t miss it!

Pines can be found at Amazon.com.

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