“Pines” by Blake Crouch – No Exits from Paradise

This past summer a ten-episode show graced our televisions, called Wayward Pines. It earned a whole lot of critical acclaim, being the most-watched show in its running time, and sent a lot of people investigating on its source.

Lo and behold, it was all based on a trilogy of books, called the Wayward Pines Series , written by Blake Crouch, with the first book which kicks off the strange adventure being appropriately-titled Pines.

So what's all the noise about? It starts off innocently enough as secret service agent Ethan Burke is dispatched to Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a mission to locate and recover two other federal agents who have gone missing a month earlier. However, on his way to the town Burke gets into a car accident and wakes up in a hospital, with nothing but the clothes on his back.

While the medical staff seems nice, Burke can't shake off the feeling that something is terribly wrong. Making his way out of the hospital, he discovers that he is, indeed, in Wayward Pines, and can resume his investigation.

However, the more discoveries he makes about the town, the more he has pressing questions that need to be answered... like why his phone calls never go through to the outside, the presence of cameras, and the giant electrified fence. Little by little, he will be brought to make both grandiose and horrific discoveries about humanity, and the little piece of paradise he found himself.

Story-wise, this book is going to hook you right in with the omnipresent sense of danger and utter mystery. Seemingly inexplicable occurrences will keep your brain jogging, and what little of the veil becomes removed will only keep you wanting for more.

The reader can never be quite certain of what is going on, whether the author is telling us the truth or just trying to lead us on. It's a real pleasure to discover this town alongside agent Burke, all the little unsettling secrets it holds slowly seeping through the pores, with answers only giving rise to more and more questions.

Of course, that doesn't mean this first book in the trilogy doesn't have its fair share of flaws. To begin with, Burke himself feels a bit cliched, being a typical war veteran-turned federal agent with a lot of mistakes to make up for.

In addition, there is a fair amount of exposure vs story time, with there being some long-winded and unnecessary descriptions as well as flashbacks. If you are the kind of person who likes to apply real-world rules to their science-fiction, you may find that the premises here are somewhat far-fetched.

Finally, the writing is rather simple and doesn't stand out in any way, other feeling a tad clumsy at times. In my opinion, though these are certainly flaws that deserve being considered, they are not enough to detract from the value of the story itself.

All in all, if you aren't exactly picky when it comes to believability and are just looking to enjoy a book for the plot it brings, then I think you'll certainly find Pines to be a worthwhile read; the mysteries are powerful and will retain your attention, perhaps even enough to get you to check out the rest of the series.

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Blake Crouch Personal site Blake Crouch is an American author who graduated in 2000 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in English and Creative Writing. He published his first two novels, Desert Places and Locked Doors, in 2004 and 2005, but he is best-known for his Wayward Pines Trilogy.