Horror Annotation:  The Ruins

By Scott Smith

Publication Date:  2006

Number of Pages:  319

Setting:  Cancun, Mexico

Time Period:  Contemporary (Present Day 2006)

Synopsis:

Two couples are celebrating their last summer of freedom following their college graduation.  Cancun, Mexico is the perfect setting for lazy beach days, drinking at night, and partying while hanging out with fellow tourists.  It is one of these new friends, Mathias, who suggests they take a trip to find his brother.  He followed a girl to an archeological sight nearby—a fun day trip!  Pablo, a Greek speaking, easygoing follow tourists joins in on the fun. 

As they venture to the site in the jungle, warnings are coming at them from every direction suggesting they turn back.  Yet they continue on believing it to be a part of the strange adventure.  

As they reach the archeological site, a man from the local Mayan village pleads with them to stop and turn back.  Amy, an amateur photographer wants to capture the interaction and steps into a patch of vines for a better view of the scene…that’s when everything changes.  Resigned to their fate, the villager now forces them up the hill at gunpoint, further into the vines.  The six friends slowly begin to realize the danger they are in.  They cannot leave, yet they will not live if they stay. The vines are not just vegetation, they are something much more sinister. 

Characteristics That Fit into Horror:

•        Foreboding tone pervades—After the characters reach “the ruins”, the situation is dire-as they wait to see what new horror the vines will produce.
•       Monster—the vines
•       Pace—fairly fast paced.  However, there are no chapter breaks.  This adds to the      prolonged sense of dread and never-ending situation for the characters.
•       Protagonists are deeply flawed—Each of the four Americans (the couples) alternate as narrators.  This allows you to see different perspectives on the same situation.  It also allows you to see how others feel and think about his or her actions.
•       Graphic violence—very descriptive concerning injuries and dismemberment.
•       Ending Unresolved

Read-Alikes:

•       Castaways by Brian Keene
•       The Beach by Alex Garland
•       Sparrow Rock by Nate Kenyon
•       Getaway by Lisa Brackmann
•       The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill

My Thoughts:

This is a very creepy book.  I don’t know that I’ll ever look at plants the same way again…This was not a book that had monsters or ghosts, but it is very unsettling and horrific events happen to the characters.  I liked that the narrative alternated between the four American’s.  It was interesting to see their reactions to each other.  However, I did not enjoy the lack of chapter breaks.  While it added to the pacing of the book—kept drawing out the horror with no stopping—it also made me feel like it was dragging the story in a negative way.  This is a book where you want to know the ending/fates of the characters, so in that sense you will keep reading.  But reading continuously without any breaks can be tedious at times. 

It is also important to be aware that there really isn’t a definitive ending.  Yes, you know the fates of the six people that visit the archeological site.  How the site came into being, how it functions, where the vines came from, etc. is not explained.  If you have a patron that has to have an ending, this is not the book for them.  Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.  On a side note, there is a movie version.  I am very curious to watch it and see if how much is altered.