Four friends (Jeff, Amy, Stacy and Eric) take a summer vacation to Mexico, where they meet up with a group of foreigners (a German and several Greeks) to have the time of their lives. However, in a quest to find his missing brother, Matthias the German, intrigues the adventurous side of Jeff, who manages to convince his friends to join them in a foolhardy trip to Cozumel. They come upon a Mayan village, where its inhabitants at first seem unwilling to help them to the archeological site, but eventually are forced to 'sacrifice' the tourists to the mysterious 'hill/ruins' with a type of plant that seems to be alive. The question now remains - will the young people find a way to escape or will they give in to the madness and terror The Ruins create.

Those who like psychological thrillers, horror stories or adventure.

The gradual descent into helplessness and madness, in some cases, with the characters. We are able to see how each character deals with the situation and their various ways of surviving without the basic amenities.

Some sections of the story felt too long and drawn out and could have easily been written in a few lines.

Read another of the author's works.

Frustrated with the overall demise of the characters. A compliment to the author if that was his intention, for there was simply no way for the characters to find a way out.

Scott Smith

If you like to read stories that do not go with the conventional horror-cliche plotline, then 'The Ruins' is for you. Smith has a direct writing style that's almost in your face and yet subtle.

It felt a bit too long in some chapters/sections that the reader could have done without.

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Created May 13, 2008 at 12:11pm • Submit your own review...