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RedemptionDenied's Reviews > Abandon
Abandon
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RedemptionDenied's review
bookshelves: 2016, ebook, i-didn-t-see-that-coming, mystery, review-of-another-edition, suspense, thriller, what-the-hell-is-going-on
Jun 26, 2016
bookshelves: 2016, ebook, i-didn-t-see-that-coming, mystery, review-of-another-edition, suspense, thriller, what-the-hell-is-going-on
I'm an emotional wreck after reading this book; probably due to the Lana Hartman situation. What the hell was that all about? I really liked it up until that point - then it pissed me off.
Lawrence Kendall (History Professor), his daughter Abigail Foster (Journalist), two guides (Scott and Jerrod) and a husband and wife team of Paranormal Photographers (Emmett and June) head up to the ghost town of Abandon (originally called Hope by Bart Packer). Four members of the group are unaware they are there under false pretences.
What starts out to be an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of an entire town on Christmas Day 1893 - soon turns into a fight for survival. Even though there are phantasm hunters in the group; this is not a story about the supernatural, though Abandon is a haunted town with a dark past where history is about to repeat itself. So there are no ghosts or apparitions floating around sneaking up on people, but there are some new players in this decrepit town - which took the story in a direction I wasn't expecting.
This is basically a story about three things: Greed, madness and secrets - and what happens when certain secrets are no longer kept a secret. In 1893 a secret is shared, and that sets in motion a series of events, which have dire consequences. Fast forward one hundred sixteen years and another secret is shared - that too has consequences. Nobody can keep a secret, I guess.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the book. I liked the descriptions of the wilderness, changing weather conditions and the mining town. And I liked how it vacillated between the different time-lines every few chapters; how it all fitted together. What I didn't like was: how some of the sentences didn't make any sense, no matter how many times I read it or added/changed words. Not sure if it's me or the authors writing style? At times it felt like a crucible trying to make sense of it all - and I've been reading the revised and re edited edition, which I assume is superior to previous editions? Who knows?
Lawrence Kendall (History Professor), his daughter Abigail Foster (Journalist), two guides (Scott and Jerrod) and a husband and wife team of Paranormal Photographers (Emmett and June) head up to the ghost town of Abandon (originally called Hope by Bart Packer). Four members of the group are unaware they are there under false pretences.
What starts out to be an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of an entire town on Christmas Day 1893 - soon turns into a fight for survival. Even though there are phantasm hunters in the group; this is not a story about the supernatural, though Abandon is a haunted town with a dark past where history is about to repeat itself. So there are no ghosts or apparitions floating around sneaking up on people, but there are some new players in this decrepit town - which took the story in a direction I wasn't expecting.
This is basically a story about three things: Greed, madness and secrets - and what happens when certain secrets are no longer kept a secret. In 1893 a secret is shared, and that sets in motion a series of events, which have dire consequences. Fast forward one hundred sixteen years and another secret is shared - that too has consequences. Nobody can keep a secret, I guess.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the book. I liked the descriptions of the wilderness, changing weather conditions and the mining town. And I liked how it vacillated between the different time-lines every few chapters; how it all fitted together. What I didn't like was: how some of the sentences didn't make any sense, no matter how many times I read it or added/changed words. Not sure if it's me or the authors writing style? At times it felt like a crucible trying to make sense of it all - and I've been reading the revised and re edited edition, which I assume is superior to previous editions? Who knows?
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Reading Progress
June 26, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
June 26, 2016
– Shelved
July 27, 2016
–
Started Reading
July 28, 2016
–
81.77%
"Looks like history is about to repeat itself. One mystery is solved."
page
332
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
2016
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
ebook
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
i-didn-t-see-that-coming
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
mystery
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
review-of-another-edition
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
suspense
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
thriller
July 29, 2016
– Shelved as:
what-the-hell-is-going-on
July 29, 2016
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-42 of 42 (42 new)
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Frances
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Dec 01, 2017 12:36PM
Great review RedemptionDenied; does sound a bit eerie 😱 for moi though!! lol
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Thank you, Frances! :) Yeah, it was a bit eerie - and very sadistic, at times.
Thank you, Svetlana!
Great review, sounds goodl
Thank you, Luvtoread!
Thank you, Paula! :)
Thank you, Deanna!
Great review! I really liked Dark Matter. I’ll have to read this one.
Interesting review. You've caused me to put this on my want to read list!
Thank you, Tammy! I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you, Patricia!
The Lana situation was about her being the only person who knew what happened, but she was purposely rendered unable to communicate it to anyone. Horrifying, yet brilliant. Great review!
Thank you, Carla! I think it would've been better to take her out of the equation, permanently, as opposed to leaving her in the condition/state she was left in. It would've been a more humane way to make sure she didn't communicate what she knows with anyone. I think. It still would've annoyed me, though.
RedemptionDenied wrote: "Thank you, Carla! I think it would've been better to take her out of the equation, permanently, as opposed to leaving her in the condition/state she was left in. It would've been a more humane way ...":-) And, any author other than Blake Crouch probably would have done exactly that; that wouldn't be nearly evil enough for him.....
Cool!! Moving this up the list!
@Mackey. I hope you enjoy it, and look forward to reading your review! :)
@Alexandria. I really enjoyed it; except for the part where it goes OTT sadistic, concerning one character. It was OTT sadistic, even by my standards - or is it non-standards? Not sure. Are you considering, reading it, sometime?
I enjoyed the book too, but poor Lana - went through what she did and then that happened to her. Really? It was a really good read, it keeps the reader wanting to find out what's going to happen. A page turner for sure.
@Tamra. I was hoping her story-line would have a happier ending. I guess the author was having a bit of fun. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I still haven't forgiven him - for the way in which he ended the Wayward Pine series: the last nine words of the epilogue. Unbelievable.
Great review! I love Blake Crouch! This has been sitting on my to-read list. Perhaps it's time to give this one a read!
Thank you, Debra! :) I've enjoyed the books I've read by the author, so far - but I occasionally have problems with the authors' prose. I still need to continue with the Desert Places trilogy - sometime, as I've only read the first book in the series. I hope you enjoy this one, as much as I did - when you get around to reading it - and look forward to reading your review!
id not enjoy this will not read him agin
@Sally. I'm unable to discern your first comment, so don't know what you meant. As for the second one: this novel has garnered a multitude of mixed ratings. It seems some reviewers, were expecting the story to be about one thing (after they read the synopsis) - only to find it lacking in that aspect. Like I said, I enjoyed it for the most part, but had issues with some of the sentence structure (or I read it wrong) - and the Lana Hartman situation, didn't work for me. Not sure what you didn't like about the book, but hope you enjoy your next one!
Hmmm, this one has me intrigued. Might check this one out.
@Likes To Read. I hope you enjoy it - should you decide to try-it-out sometime! I'll probably do a reread, someday.
Thank you, Susanne! :)
Wonderful review RD, I'm going to have to read this one. 💟
Thank you, Marilyn! :) I hope you enjoy it - when you get the chance to read it, and look forward to reading your thoughts!
I just needed her to open the cave up at the end and give them all a decent burial. So so sad.
@Tracy. Ditto! Agreed - it's very sad.
Nice review. Agree this story felt like a punch in the gut. I actually had to set it down for a while after reading Lana’s fate. Absolutely horrific. (Crouch sprinkles in horror in the Wayward Pines trilogy too.) But I think that was the point—Crouch is gifted in writing characters you feel you know deeply, and come to care about. Lana was one of the few genuinely good characters in this story. And that’s why her fate was so devastating, IMHO.
One of my professors told me that art needs to evoke an emotional response in the audience. Abandoned sure did for me.
Thank you, Leon! Yeah, Lana was one of the good characters who should've had a better/happier ending. I guess she should've kept quiet, as to what happened. There were better-suited candidates for the author to go sadistic on - though they probably wouldn't have evoked the same emotional response, as Hartman did. Year's later, I'm still brooding over the epilogue of book 3 of the Wayward Pines trilogy (quadrilogy - I hope). Looking forward to a reread, someday. Thanks for commenting!
Me too! I came to the internet to make sure I’m not alone. I feel so uncomfortable and will probably have nightmares about Lana for days. ðŸ˜
@Sonja. Ditto. Yeah, it was very brutal - the Lana Hartman situation. Definitely could've been less cruel. Didn't serve any purpose really. At least, I don't think it did. Probably won't be doing a re-read. Don't remember much of the story now... except what happened to Lana.
I like Blake crouch’s writing style a lot and picked this up along with Recursion at the library today. Thanks for the in depth review! My immediate thoughts after reading the book’s description was something along the lines of- okay so it’s a mix of historical fiction mystery/ modern day timeline with possible scifi/supernatural elements? Pretty confusing book description basically so I had noooo clue what to expect, but I’ll find out when I read!
Jen wrote: "I like Blake crouch’s writing style a lot and picked this up along with Recursion at the library today. Thanks for the in depth review! My immediate thoughts after reading the book’s description wa..."Thank you, Jen! Hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading it! Still not sure about the author's prose and still upset at how the Wayward Pines trilogy ended. Might sue due to the fact it didn't end in a satisfying way, lol.
