The Ruins
Published on 1. August 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
528 pages
978-0-552-15270-9 (ISBN)
Description
'Superior horror literature' New York Times
'A compelling set-up and provocative premise' Kirkus
'There's no let-up, not so much as a chapter-break where you can catch your breath' Stephen King
__________________
Craving an adventure to wake them from their lethargic Mexican holiday before they return home, four friends set off in search of one of their own who has travelled to the interior to investigate an archaeological dig in the Mayan ruins.
After a long journey into the jungle, the group come across a partly camouflaged trail and a captivating hillside covered with red flowers. Lured by these, the group move closer until they happen across a gun-toting Mayan horseman who orders them away. In the midst of the confrontation, one of the group steps inadvertently backwards into the flowering vine. And at that moment their world changes for ever...
'A compelling set-up and provocative premise' Kirkus
'There's no let-up, not so much as a chapter-break where you can catch your breath' Stephen King
__________________
Craving an adventure to wake them from their lethargic Mexican holiday before they return home, four friends set off in search of one of their own who has travelled to the interior to investigate an archaeological dig in the Mayan ruins.
After a long journey into the jungle, the group come across a partly camouflaged trail and a captivating hillside covered with red flowers. Lured by these, the group move closer until they happen across a gun-toting Mayan horseman who orders them away. In the midst of the confrontation, one of the group steps inadvertently backwards into the flowering vine. And at that moment their world changes for ever...
Reviews / Votes
Smith intends to scare the bejabbers out of you, and succeeds .... Does for Mexican vacations what Jaws did for New England beaches in 1975. * Stephen King * The suspense novel of the year. This is compulsive reading. Scott Smith sets out to frighten and he succeeds brilliantly with this harrowing psychological chiller. * Sunday Telegraph * It's been more than a decade since Smith's impressive debut, A Simple Plan. The wait has been worth it, with this tense, dense oppressive thriller taking the reader into new dimensions of fear ... Every time you think the book has hit a high in terror, it somehow gets more unbearable. * Guardian * A tour de force of terror, a novel that seduces, shocks and dares you to keep reading. There's a timeless fable at work here, one that prompts thoughts of Heart of Darkness * Washington Post * Bloodcurdlingly horrific ... It's the contract between the familiar and the unspeakable that makes this book so harrowing. * New York Times * Please, please let this be the most disturbing novel of the year .....Smith writes with psychological acuity and real beauty, yet he doesn't pull any punches. * Time * Aficionados of the horror-suspense genre can start breathing again, but only for a minute. Author Scott Smith has returned with a new shocker ....The action is swift and the suspense is positively unflinching ...Smith's nail-biting tension is a pleasure all its own. * New York Post * A classic horror story, told with mounting detail. Smith spins it out relentlessly, piling chill on chill on chill ....what happens, and needless to say it's not good, is something readers will read page after flapping page to discover. * Daily News *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-A)
Dimensions
Height: 179 mm
Width: 106 mm
Thickness: 42 mm
Weight
261 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-552-15270-9 (9780552152709)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Scott Smith was educated at Dartmouth College and Columbia University. He is the author of the bestselling novel, A Simple Plan. He lives in New York.