"Pines: Wayward Pines" by Blake Crouch

Is Blake my favorite author? This question kept popping up in my head while reading the first book of the Wayward Pines trilogy. "Pines" is Twin Peaks meets Alan Wake meets early Stephen King meets Silent Hill meets Walking Dead meets I Am Legend — all in the Crouch's style! And even though it was a bit less "sci-fi-ish," I still read the whole thing in one go and returned for more. The postscript about how Twin Peaks inspired Wayward Pines hit close to home because this was precisely what I thought throughout the book.

Like in Peter Watts's "Blindsight," the story develops organically with the ideas that come to the reader's mind. The mystery of Wayward Pines keeps suspense until the end, when what Blake presents overrules every theory I had about what's happening. At first, I thought it was aliens, then time travel, then some weird supernatural time-loop, then government shenanigans. However, I believe the author gave us the most logical explanation about what's up. The setting works so well that I want to see more of it to figure out (damn, it's difficult to discuss this without spoilers) where this could lead.

With Alan Wake 2 coming up soon, I can't wait to dip into these "ideal" American dream small towns. And "Wayward Pines" is a TV show too! I will consume this setting so much that I'll probably have an uneasy stomach feeling soon, like I have with the Foundation series. Sometimes, it's justified to get too much of a good thing.

Did you like any of Crouch's novels or their TV adaptations? Or maybe you liked Twin Peaks and Alan Wake? Go read "Wayward Pines," and they won't disappoint. In the meantime, I'm searching for the Twin Peaks tours as I write this review. See you!