Review: The Ruins by Scott Smith
Novel Will Keep Readers from Venturing into the Jungle Anytime Soon
Scott Smith's first novel, A Simple Plan, was a thriller with the undercurrent of a lesson that not only entertained readers, but offered a grim and somewhat disturbing look at the ways that money can indeed be the root of all evil. Smith's second novel, The Ruins, takes the premise "the root of all evil" to an entirely different level.
Story Line of The Ruins
What begins as an innocent trip to Cancun, Mexico for four friends quickly turns into an unexpected struggle for survival. The premise of the story centers around four young twenty-something's celebrating their last hurrah before venturing off into the real world.
On their Mexican holiday, they befriend a fellow German tourist who is about to set out on a journey to find his brother who went missing several days prior. Lured by the premise of encountering ancient Mayan ruins and a chance to discover Mexico off the beaten tourist trail, the four friends quickly go along on what turns out to be an adventure like none they could have ever imagined.
The Ruins' Chilling Premise
What makes this novel so horrifying is that its so-called antagonist is not at all what the reader would expect. As Stephen King said of the book, it will "[do] for vacations in Mexico what Jaws did for beach weekends on Long Island" and the horror master himself could not have summed up the book any better.
At the core of this book is the simple premise examining how the desire for survival supersedes everything else and how sometimes despite our best intentions, bad things still happen to good people. Smith is able to take our collective fears and transform them into something that will keep the reader feverously turning each page to get to the end.
An Ending that is True to Life
Without revealing the ultimate ending of the novel, it is fair to say that some readers will be depressed, surprised and unhappy. However, that seems to be Smith's resounding message in the novel, that "you can end up not living the life you'd meant to. Maybe one you deserve, but not one you intended" (pg. 23). It's not often that a horror novel ends in a way that is not clichéd, and this one definitely breaks the mold of conventionality.
The Ruins Movie Tie-In
The film of the same name was released in 2008 and for the most part remained true to the novel, however the book far surpasses the film simply because the horror can be implied by language is much more gripping than what can be visualized on film. Therefore, viewers are better off reading the book before viewing the film.
The Ruins is a book that readers will enjoy for its fast moving psychological thriller undertones and its overall horror novel plot line. Just be prepared for a non-traditional happy ending and this book will not disappoint.
Book Stats:
The Ruins by Scott Smith
Paperback, 384 pages
Published by Vintage, 2008
ISBN# 0307390276
