The Last Town

The Last Town by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Ethan Burke reveals the truth about Wayward Pines, the ensuing chaos is nothing compared to the hell unleashed when David Pilcher throws open the gates...

I got this from Netgalley.

The Wayward Pines trilogy draws to a close with The Last Town. How does it stack up?

Well, while the books all feature the same characters and share the same setting, they aren't really the same type of books. Pines is a paranoid tale of a man trying to unravel the truth. Wayward is a tale of a man struggling with that truth. And The Last Town is more survival horror than anything else.

The pace is pretty frantic with aberrations swarming the town. Throw in the monkey wrench that is Hassler and it's off to the races. Lots of people die and Wayward Pines is left with an uncertain future.

As with the previous book, much of my dislike of this book has to do with Pines setting the bar way too high. It's a pretty suspenseful tale but doesn't stack up to it's progenitor very well, mostly because, again, Pines set the bar too high.

The Last Town, while not my favorite of the series, wrapped up the tale of Wayward Pines in a very satisfactory way. Three out of five stars.

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Wayward

Wayward by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Ethan Burke, sheriff of Wayward Pines, runs across a body, he's tasked with investigating her murder. But what does the deceased have to do with Burke's ex-partner and former lover? And what will Theresa think about her husband and his old flame spending time together?

I got this from Netgalley.

After the jaw-dropping reveal at the end of Pines, I was pretty sure Wayward would suffer from the sophomore slump. It did not.

Instead of bucking the system, as in the first volume, Wayward sees Ethan trying to keep order in the manufactured reality of Wayward Pines. His investigation leads him to an underground movement of people bent on getting to the bottom of things. It also brings him closer to his wife, Theresa, and son, Ben.

This book had a paranoid tone like the first but the pace wasn't nearly as frantic. I really like how Blake Crouch doesn't maintain the status quo and isn't afraid to shake things up. I also liked that Ethan and Kate didn't get their genitals tangled. Pam and Pilcher both moved a bit higher on the douche bag scale.

I have to say that I didn't quite like this one as much as the first. Trusting Ethan made Pilcher look like an idiot. Mostly, though, I think the first book set the bar a little too high.

3.5 out of 5 stars. Luckily, I have the final volume on deck. Time to poach this pear.

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Pines

Pines by Blake Crouch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Secret Service agent Ethan Burke wakes up in the mountain town of Wayward Pines, his memory full of holes aside from that of a horrific car wreck that landed him in the hospital. But where are his belongings? Why can't he contact anyone outside of Wayward Pines over the phone? And why can't he seem to leave?

I got this from Netgalley.

I've been curious about this for quite a while. Since it showed up on Netgalley last week, complete with promises of being a television show soon, I jumped on it.

Pines is quite a wild ride, combining the pace of The Fugitive with the weirdness of Twin Peaks and The Prisoner. Ethan Burke wakes up in the idyllic paradise of Wayward Pines and things quickly go pear-shaped. Just what is Wayward Pines and why does everyone seem to want Ethan Burke dead? Read and find out.

Pines is a gripping page turner. Once the cat is out of the bag, Ethan Burke makes Dr. Richard Kimble look like a couch potato. By the end, he's tired, mangled, and running from pretty much everyone in The Pines.

The Big Reveal at the end was very well done. I had my doubts on the way there but Blake Crouch stuck the landing. I'm really curious how the sequels will play out.

Pines is a rip-roaring thriller, full of twists and turns. Four out of five stars.

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