Writing style
Atmospheric · Direct · Spare
Apple BooksThe Ruins
Horror
- Print length
- 528 pagesVintage, 2007
Description
Two young couples begin The Ruins on a relaxed vacation in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, spending sunny days drinking and meeting new people. When an acquaintance’s brother disappears, the group ventures into the jungle to search for him. Their day trip leads to ancient ruins near a Mayan village, where supernatural events transform the excursion into a nightmare. Scott Smith’s survival-horror novel turns an ordinary holiday into a dangerous encounter with the unknown, following travelers who leave the familiar comforts of their vacation and find themselves facing terror at an ancient site.
Reading profile
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Pace
Fast
Tone
Bleak · Frightening · Tense · Unsettling
Structure
Linear
Focus
Atmosphere · Character · Plot
Emotional intensity
5 / 5
Reading complexity
1–5 · higher means more demanding- Writing
- 2 / 5
- Ideas
- 2 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
Themes
Book details
For the print edition listed above.
- Publisher
- Vintage
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780307278289
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