“Run (The Hunted #1)” by Patti Larsen
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Thriller
Source: Kindle Freebie
Summary from Goodreads:
Kidnapped
Alone, Reid gasps in one deep breath, another. It hurts his ribs, his lungs. He manages to roll over on his right side and regrets it. His shoulder screams in protest. Still, he is finally able to wriggle his numb hands loose from what holds him and claws at the cloth around his eyes.
Darkness. But not complete. The moon is up. Trees loom over him, the smell of spruce and fresh air so sharp it almost hurts. He jerks at the plastic ties around his ankles while. his vision swims through a veil of pain-laden tears. He manages somehow to force his screaming hands to work the ties loose and he is free.
Sixteen-year-old Reid thinks life is back to normal. His sister Lucy pulls herself together and cuts him free from a year of foster care. She promises to take care of him, that her new boss and her new life are what they both needed to start again. Until Reid is taken in the middle of the night, dumped in a wild stretch of forest far from home with no idea why he is there. Lost and afraid, he learns to run from the hunters who prowl the darkness, their only pleasure chasing down kids like him. And killing them.
Review
When browsing through Kindle freebies, I came across this book. I read the summary and downloaded the book without a second thought.
The book is full of non-stop action. In some cases, that’s a good thing but I found it to be a bit problematic for this book. It’s literally all “Run. Run. Run. Run. Run.” It moves the story along and keeps the reader hooked but there’s nothing to “sink you teeth into.” There’s no meat to the story. Nothing is solved, nothing is explained. That stuff pisses me off as a reader. It really feels like the story is just the opening chapter to the series. I didn’t like that. You need to have something rewarding in the book to get me invested in continuing with the story.
Because the story is moving full speed, the character development falls really short. I don’t like anyone. No one feels real. They kind of feel like stock characters in a generic action movie. I don’t care enough about anyone to want to continue with the series.
The bottom line? It’s fine if you want something action-y but other than that the book was fairly average.
Thanks for the review Alison because I was tossing up whether to get it on Kindle too being a freebie and all. But now I don’t think I’ll bother.
You’re welcome Michelle!
It’s always disappointing when a promising premise falls short, isn’t it? I agree, action is good, but even action novels needs more to them.
It was disappointing! Even more so because reviewers were comparing it to The Hunger Games and it was NOTHING remotely like it.
I had a look at the sample. I think this is one of those polarizing books — the style is distinctive, being third person and present tense, which is unusual. I don’t think I could read it, simply because of that style choice, and I like first person present tense (whereas some people hate it.)
This seems like a great book for the “reluctant reader” demographic.
That’s a good point Dalya. I guess the book really wasn’t for me.
Oh, I didn’t mean to be defending it. I only read a page or two.
I know most people loved “the knife of never letting go” but the second half was entirely the guy running, unrealistically injured but still carrying on. It’s hard for a book to maintain the adrenaline-pumping pace of, say, an action movie.