My high hopes for this book were dashed about a third of the way through. While the Smith's writing style is excellent he wastes his talent with a story that is oddly predictable, if not a bit disgusting. The book adds nothing to the conversation about the human condition in the way King or Bradbury do. I finished the book thinking "please, no...please, no" not out of horror for the fates that befall the characters, but because it slowly dawned on me that I'd wasted my afternoon. Stay far away from The Ruins.