It was pretty weird. Talking crabs and sexy giantesses are among the best supporting characters and I still don't know why they had to be crabs and giantesses. Kind of felt like Magary was just making up weird, random stuff as he was going along. "Hmm... let's throw in a talking crab cuz why not."

I honestly didn't expect it to turn out this good or this deep. Bravo! My faith in humanity is restored. My faith that wildly imaginative literature continues to be written, and written fearlessly, and all the while a great Tale is told as well.

This is a story about 4 friends who decide to take a hiking/camping trip on the Blafjell Mountain in Norway. Bookshelves is one feature of OnlineBookClub.org; Bookshelves is found under the forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/ subfolder at OnlineBookClub.org. Bookshelves is only one of many features at OnlineBookClub.org. OnlineBookClub.org has many other features too. I was a bit disappointed that the areas where various plants and such are found is never mentioned or pointed out. While the illustrations hint that it covers a wide range (forests to mountain tops), it'd help young readers/listeners to know exactly what they might keep an eye out for in their own areas when they go hiking. On another note, the glossary does mention that several plants are edible...which is simply dangerous, since the illustrations are not exact and kids really might go out and think they see one of the mentioned plants and try 'cooking' it or eating it themselves. Mine would if not warned. Ben, our lead, goes out for a hike and ends up on this surreal fantastical journey. I'd been expecting a cohesive tale with a tidy ending, but the book is much more random than that. At times, I found myself wondering if Magary wasn't just letting his mind randomly associate to plot the book. At first it's a murder, but then the giant appears on the stage, and by the time the pseudo-vampire arrives I was bowled over by how silly the whole thing becomes. They lace up their hiking boots for the adventure of a lifetime in the Norwegian wilderness: a place of towering mountains, glass-like lakes, log cabins and forests stolen from a fairytale. It's the perfect place to lose yourself - until a broken body is found at the bottom of a ravine.

The Hike is one of those books for which I had high expectations, but ended up falling short. Since I didn't despise the book, I'm going to keep it relatively brief. If you want the headline review: it wasn't for me, but for you, it just might be the cat's meow. Eight novels in and Lucy Clarke just keeps getting better. The Hike is easily my favourite Lucy Clarke novel to date. I love a good isolated thriller mystery novel and The Hike is a fabulous example of a destination thriller. Fans of Lucy Clarke and newcomers will lap this one up in no time at all.The mountain setting was vividly described; the isolation, the treachery of the mountainside paths, the obstacles, the forests, the snapping twigs, all add depth and tension to this fast moving and surprising story. From the author of The Night the Lights Went Out and The Postmortal, a fantasy saga unlike any you’ve read before, weaving elements of folk tales and video games into a riveting, unforgettable adventure of what a man will endure to return to his family The illustrations and post-modern elements throughout this story definitely add to the story’s engagement and excitement. It was interesting to see the graphic novel-like speech bubbles combined with the layering of the illustrations like a notebook. Throughout the story there are notes and comments layers over the action like an observation journal. There are also mes-en-abymes sprinkled throughout the illustrations of the character’s own observation notebooks! Which is kinda left me wondering, how does one rate a book. Let's face it, we all do it mostly subjective, though I like to think that I am quite objective, I can be honest and admit, in the end it's all about how much I really enjoyed reading a book. I want to thank the publisher "Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam Sons" and Net galley for the opportunity to read this terrific book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I heard a few rumblings about The Hike from people I trust so I ignored the blurb that made it sound like not really my thing. (A man who'll do anything to return to his family? Snooze.) No offense to the marketing team of this book but you should avoid reading the summary. Completely. Here is what you need to know about this book: you never know what will happen next.

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When I finished I felt like my mind got twisted somehow odd but fun... and yet I gave it three stars. I don’t usually go for books like this, so in case you’re wondering why I decided to give The Hike a try despite the publisher description clearly indicating that this will be a totally insane and off-the-wall experience, it was because of two words that jumped out at me: video games. Try as I might, I can never resist any novel with a video gaming, and I was also really curious to see how Drew Magary would weave together elements from video game and folk tale as the blurb suggests. Indeed, what we have here is completely unprecedented. Admittedly, the story does play out in a style somewhat reminiscent of those classic text-based adventure computer games, but I have to say unless you’re going into this using Catherine as a baseline for trippiness, this one is going to be WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD. Every year, Liz Wallace and her three best friends travel the globe to recharge and reconnect. This year, it was her chance to choose where to go. Battling problems in her marriage plus burn out at work, Liz decides it’s time to take the trip she’s been dreaming of ever since she was a child: hiking the Norwegian trails.