King Arthur Movie Tristan

title: The Ruins
author: Scott Smith

pages: 319

published: 2006

genre: horror

first line: They met Mathias on a day trip to Cozumel.
rated: 5 out of 5

Four American friends on vacation in Cancún, Mexico—Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacy—meet a German tourist, Mathias, who persuades them to join his hunt for his younger brother, Henrich, last seen headed off with a new girlfriend toward some ruins. The four soon regret their impulsive decision after they find themselves lost in the jungle and freaked out by signs that they're headed for danger. Smith builds suspense through the slow accretion of telling details, until a deadly menace starts taking its toll, leaving the survivors increasingly at each other's throats.

I picked up a copy of The Ruins at a library book sale for 25cents. I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy this book.




Four young American tourist couples, Eric and Stacy, Jeff and Amy are vacationing in Cancun Mexico for three weeks. While in Mexico they meet a German named Mathias and three Greek guys. The German speaks some English but the Greeks do not, so communication is not easy with this group. But they do spend most of the time drinking and lying on the beach and manage to get along pretty well. Mathias has told the group that his brother has gone off with a young girl and some archaeologists into the jungle to join an archaeological dig. Mathias has nothing but a hand drawn map on a napkin with directions to the location. So he convinces the Americans and one Greek to set off with him for the day to search for his brother who was supposed to come back but hasn't returned.




The group figures they should go see the ruins and spend the day doing something besides lounging on the beach so they leave on the bus and end up hiring a taxi to take them to the jungle. They eventually wind up going into the jungle and stumbling upon a clearing, beyond which is an ancient looking temple covered in vines and red flowers. There they see a tent and sign of the archaeologists team, but no people. The also find a deep rectangular hole in the ground. I won't go any further so as not to give any of the plot away, but after this part, I was good and hooked.




You know as soon as they head off in search of Mathias brother, that this is a very bad idea. These kids have a false sense of security, they don't even realize the danger they are in until it is too late.



This book had me sucked in. I read it in two days. So well written, creepy, scary and suspenseful. I could not put this book down. What a pleasant surprise.



It's kind of a mix between the tv show LOST and the movie The Beach.

I liked the characters, the plot was great and the book takes off and just keeps going. I felt bad for these kids, and the situation they get themselves into. The story goes from bad to worse. Some parts just made me cringe. Other parts made me feel clausterphobic.

The darkness seemed to press in on them, to constrict somehow with each step they took, as if the wall and ceiling of the shaft were shifting inward. The vine, oddly, in such a lightless place, appeared to be growing in great profusion here, covering every available surface. They were wading through it, knee deep, and it was hanging toward them from above, too, brushing against Amy's face....

I found the way the characters were reacting to be realistic. Eventually they begin to fight with other as the panic and hopelessness set in.




I like that there are no chapter breaks, its like one long creepy story with no breaks in between. If you're in the mood for something scary and fast paced, pick up a copy of The Ruins, it doesn't dissapoint. I recommend this to any horror fan.



I didn't know author, Scott Smith wrote 'A Simple Plan', that is a really good movie as well. I need to read that book too. This is definitely one author I want to read more of.

The Ruins is going to be America's literary shock-show this summer, doing for vacations in Mexico what Jaws did for beach weekends on Long Island.-Stephen King

The Ruins has been made into a movie: http://www.ruinsmovie.com/

I will be renting this one as soon as I can.









about the author:

Scott B. Smith was born in Summit, New Jersey in 1965 and now lives in New York City. After studying at Dartmouth College and Columbia University in New York, he took up writing full time. He wrote the screenplay for his book A Simple Plan starring Billy Bob Thornton. This film was nominated for numerous awards, including two Academy Awards, one for Best Adapted Screenplay. The screenplay won numerous awards, such as a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and a National Board of Review Award. Billy Bob Thornton also won numerous awards for best supporting actor for this film.