'Shrooms. Lots and lots of 'shrooms. That's the only explanation... ( )

I'm half-way through this and am giving up on it. It just seems to be a bunch of stuff that happens for no particular reason. ( )

I don't think I've ever felt more compelled to leave a review for a book. I read The Hike in three sittings over a couple of days because I was engaged, surprised, curious, frustrated, or a mix of those things at any given point.

The descent Ben experiences is gut-rending and near unbearable. The introduction of Crab was one of the best parts of the story because it brought humor to a dark beginning and then served to set up the climax of the entire story (which caught me completely off guard, which was nice). Seeing Ben struggle with the desire to get home and the desire to give up was exhausting for me as a reader and I think it helped me connect more to the plight.

It's a weird, weird story with lots of twists. Admittedly, the second third felt long and, for me, didn't contribute a whole lot to the arc of the story other than add a ton of time to Ben's trip, which was disappointing. But the time-loop reveal helped boost my interest and kept me reading closely.

Other people have mentioned the ending, and I have to agree, it's perfect. I had doubts about how Magary would wrap it up and it was done perfectly. I'm sure I'll be revisiting this book sometime in the future to read more closely and see what else I can pick up on a second time through. ( )

Like a Jack Reacher novel set in a Murakami world ( )

Have you ever read a book where after reading it, you wanted to kick yourself for not reading it sooner? That was The Hike by Drew Magary for me. This has been sitting on my shelf staring at me since it came out in August of 2016. I am so upset at myself for not reading it sooner, but boy was it a trip!

I will begin by stating this is a weird book involving talking crabs, giants, dog faced people, and one rule- stay on the path. If you go off the path you die instantly. Stay on the path and find the producer. It is a warped Wizard of Oz, but more of a journey of self discovery while fighting fleshless humans.

The wonderful thing is it begins so quickly- Ben has a family and is on his way to a conference in Pennsylvania. He decides to take a small hike behind the hotel and thus begins the book. You are on the hike within two pages.

Ben will walk on the path, guided halfway by a talking crab, will face a giant who wants to eat him, and will have to fight a big monster man at the end. The strange thing is, as he is walking, he has flashbacks to earlier moments in his life. For example, on the path he faces down a dog who bites his face where he receives a scar. Did that happen on the path or did it happen during his childhood where he imagined something else happened? The book is filled with moments like this as Ben begins to lose his grasp on his life the further along he walks. There is an ending that is a bit of a twist ending, but it was quite nice with lots of foreshadowing for it.

I did not want to put this book down. It isn't a deep book, but it is a book that knows itself in that it knows it is a strange trippy adventure, so it stays a strange trippy adventure. It doesn't pretend to be anything else. It is good sci fi.

I will state there is one moment in the book where a reveal happens that eliminated a sense of danger for Ben, at least for me. It is the same problem I have with prequel movies. If it is a prequel filled with danger, we know the ending, so the danger disappears. Something happens in the book that does the same thing. A reveal happens, but we know the ending, so the dangerous parts are no longer a threat.

I loved the endings both the big reveal and the small twist ending. They fit so well with the story and didn't seem out of place at all.

I loved this book and will probably re-read it in the future. It is one that you can go back to, not to find a deeper meaning, but just to have a bit of fun. Great summer read too.

I gave this one 4.5 stars. ( )