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Book Review of Pines (Wayward Pines, Bk 1)

Pines (Wayward Pines, Bk 1)
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Helpful Score: 2


PINES was the March 2015 pick in my neighborhood book club.

I give the premise of this story a B+ and the execution a C+. Without spoiling anything, the premise simply falls apart under the gentlest scrutiny once you (and Ethan Burke) finally find out what's going on in Wayward Pines! At the end of the day, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

But the "McGuffin" was there, and it kept me turning the pages to find out exactly what was going on. Though I must say I didn't buy Ethan Burke as a Secret Service agent. His thinking and decision-making made him seem much more small town cop caliber than high-ranking government agent.

Although this was a quick read, there were a few watch-tapping pages where I found myself urging the narrative to get where it was going already!

Overall, I recommend PINES if you enjoy sci-fi thrillers. It starts off like a typical thriller in the first half, but very much becomes a science fiction story by the end. I give it a generous B-. It was interesting but I never got into it enough to want to continue the series. Maybe I'll check out the TV show to see how it compares.