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Island
When Rupert Conway set out on a cruise with seven other people, he planned to swim a little, get some sun and relax. He certainly didn't plan to get shipwrecked. But after the yacht blew up, that's what happened - he and his shipmates were stranded on a deserted island. Luckily for them, the island has plenty of fresh water and enough food to last until they get rescued. And luckily for Rupert, most of his fellow castaways are attractive women.
But that's where his luck ran out - because the castaways aren't alone on the island. In the dense jungle beyond the beach there's a maniac on the loose, a killer with a murderous heart, a clever mind and a a taste for blood. He doesn't like his new neightbors and he plans to slaughter them all...one by one.
But that's where his luck ran out - because the castaways aren't alone on the island. In the dense jungle beyond the beach there's a maniac on the loose, a killer with a murderous heart, a clever mind and a a taste for blood. He doesn't like his new neightbors and he plans to slaughter them all...one by one.
504 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
382 people are currently reading
6089 people want to read
About the author
Richard Laymon
216 books2,270 followersRichard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette University, Oregon and an MA from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels.
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 558 reviews
October 29, 2015
1.5 stars. ***MAJOR Spoilers ahead. I'd encourage you to read them though. You'll want this story spoiled. Trust me.***
I would say that Island had zero redeeming qualities, but I did like the last 2 pages, so I'll give an extra half star. The ending was a perfect cap on a pretty revolting book.
This book would have kicked major ass if Rupert had been normal for at least part of the story.
HOW DOES ONE BECOME STRANDED ON AN ISLAND WITH A MAD KILLER, ONLY TO BE RULED BY HIS PENIS COMPASS?
Penis compass. Yes, I said it. Actually, I wrote it, but that's neither here nor there.
Do you ever read other people's reviews and think "eh, it can't be THAT bad?" You know, maybe people are easily grossed out or something. Well guess what? It was THAT bad. I wouldn't have minded Rupert having random thoughts about sex here and there (if he didn't he wouldn't be a teenage boy), but the majority of time spent in Rupert's head was like being sucked into the t.v. while it was tuned to late night Cinemax.
Rupert (a.k.a. waste of skin), was too busy watching boobies bounce and sweat glisten to even pay attention to a lurking killer. He fumbled and tripped his way around the island, ignoring the danger, while noting every detail of the women's bodies. And their thongs. And their bug bites on their asses.
He wanted to be stranded instead of being rescued. His emotions were pushed away.
That's right. He wanted to stay stranded with a killer because in his mind, he might have a shot at the 3 single women who were stranded with him.
Hormones, bitches. They rule all.
Oh, but it gets worse. When Rupert discovers that the women have gone missing, he starts imagining who he'd want to find alive...you know, in case he only had one chick available to bang.
Rupert's thoughts : Do I pick the hot mom with the big tits and affectionate touches? Or the older daughter who's the hottest but hasn't flirted with me yet? The youngest daughter can die - she's a bitch.
Oh, BUT IT GETS EVEN WORSE. Rupert stumbles across a pair of 14-year-old twins (long story) and starts getting all bloated in the pants at the thought of them riding his junk. Never mind that he just watched one of the twins go through a brutal assault and rape.
I wished I hadn't watched. Also, though, I wished I could get to see it all again. I know, sick. The thing is, you don't get a chance to see something like that every day.
What's even weirder about this story is how Rupert had MULTIPLE chances to kill the person(s) terrorizing his group and he was too wishy-washy to do it. Did the video Hell No teach us anything???
Final notes :
1. Rupert wondered if the women would turn lesbian. Considering that (at the time of musing) the women's only options would be their sister or mother, that would fall into the realm of incestual leanings, not lesbianism.
2. I liked the end because it was the only VIABLE ending that lined up with Rupert being a sick little perv. This author may have been a pervy old man writing out the pervy, overblown fantasies of a teen boy, but he got one thing right - put those hookers in a cage and throw away the key. I mean, if the main character is going to be sick in the head, the story might as well fully commit.
Some people might ask - wouldn't Rupert's complete perviness be the perfect commitment to how he will turn out in the end? Isn't it foreshadowing? I would say no. The author could have thrown in the occasional boob glance or sexual thought just to show that he always had sex on the brain, while managing to avoid bombarding the reader with pages of needless description about boobs bouncing or sweat glistening. Rupert contributed NOTHING to the family's survival. Hell, I still don't know much about their survival.
The following passage sums up the book perfectly.
"What's the matter?" I asked. Big mistake.
"Your hard-on's the matter, you fucking degenerate."
"Connie!" Billie blurted.
"Well, look at him!"
"He doesn't need you pointing it out to everyone."
"It's already pointing out to everyone," Kimberly said, smiling.
3. Of all the women to end up screwing Rupert first, I found it kind of squicky that the bouncy, busty mom was all over it - and this was AFTER she encouraged Rupert to go hit on her naked daughter. But mom was ready to mount Rupert while she was still in a cage because she couldn't help herself. So sorry for the loss of your husband, Billie. Here's a pimply-faced 18 year old to ease that pain.
4. Not sure why I tacked on that last note but something about the way that happened made me feel dirty.
This book made me feel dirty. I read bizarre, dark, and taboo erotica, and this book still made me feel dirty.
November 10, 2015
Island is incredibly offensive, bizarrely interesting, and often a lot of frenetic, fast-paced fun. sleazy, escapist enjoyment; i felt guilty. the novel is reprehensible and often terribly written. but like i said: fun! horrible fun. a bunch of survivors of a suspicious explosion on a private yacht run around a tropical island, getting picked off or captured & abused by unknown assailants. fortunately, a relentlessly horny teenage boy is on hand to be our fearless hero, audience identification point, and cataloger of all things he deems attractive or unattractive in women.
is Laymon a banal and vapid writer or is this all deliberate - could there be intent behind it? who knows. sometimes i can't help but get the impression that everything he knows about human conversation, emotion, and motivation is what he learned from bad tv and 80s slasher movies. well in this novel that debit actually works well because of the hilariously banal and vapid protagonist. the cataloguing of various cute physical attributes of his fellow castaways gets so repetitious and out-of-place and obsessive that the novel almost becomes an absurdist farce. no matter how dangerous or grueling the situation may be, no matter how often everyone is running for their lives or trying to stake out their tormentors... our hero still pops a boner at the slightest hint of T&A and his inner monologue remains ludicrously obsessed with the most puerile, laughable details. i'm not sure i've read anything like this.
the protagonist awkwardly getting in touch with his dark side a couple times was a nifty touch, although it also meant having to get through some repulsive, drooling depictions of abuse (par for the course for Laymon readers, unfortunately). but "nifty" is definitely not the right word for the very ending, one where our boy-hero decides to bring his exploration of that dark side to the next level. genuinely disturbing is probably a more appropriate phrase.
witness this finale, in which our horny young idiot of a protagonist finally gets some of his sexual fantasies fulfilled: . golly gee, i guess it really IS a happy ending for our brave lad!
that ending is diabolically clever. Laymon, you really went there - that does take some stones. to make matters even more unnerving, the tone of the novel's first person narrative, one that is in a journal format, is both angsty Young Adult and gee whiz, what a crazy adventure i'm having! that tone remains consistent from the zippy opening to the upsetting final decision. the reader is positively not let off the hook and i was left with that lingering, sickening, dread-filled feeling in my stomach that so many horror authors aspire to create but fail to obtain. maybe Laymon isn't such a bad writer after all. having a hero who gradually, increasingly exhibits villainous attributes is nothing new - but it was genuinely startling to see it happen in Island. and i suppose it can also be said that crudity can sometimes get more visceral results than ambiguity and literariness.
is Laymon a banal and vapid writer or is this all deliberate - could there be intent behind it? who knows. sometimes i can't help but get the impression that everything he knows about human conversation, emotion, and motivation is what he learned from bad tv and 80s slasher movies. well in this novel that debit actually works well because of the hilariously banal and vapid protagonist. the cataloguing of various cute physical attributes of his fellow castaways gets so repetitious and out-of-place and obsessive that the novel almost becomes an absurdist farce. no matter how dangerous or grueling the situation may be, no matter how often everyone is running for their lives or trying to stake out their tormentors... our hero still pops a boner at the slightest hint of T&A and his inner monologue remains ludicrously obsessed with the most puerile, laughable details. i'm not sure i've read anything like this.
the protagonist awkwardly getting in touch with his dark side a couple times was a nifty touch, although it also meant having to get through some repulsive, drooling depictions of abuse (par for the course for Laymon readers, unfortunately). but "nifty" is definitely not the right word for the very ending, one where our boy-hero decides to bring his exploration of that dark side to the next level. genuinely disturbing is probably a more appropriate phrase.
witness this finale, in which our horny young idiot of a protagonist finally gets some of his sexual fantasies fulfilled: . golly gee, i guess it really IS a happy ending for our brave lad!
that ending is diabolically clever. Laymon, you really went there - that does take some stones. to make matters even more unnerving, the tone of the novel's first person narrative, one that is in a journal format, is both angsty Young Adult and gee whiz, what a crazy adventure i'm having! that tone remains consistent from the zippy opening to the upsetting final decision. the reader is positively not let off the hook and i was left with that lingering, sickening, dread-filled feeling in my stomach that so many horror authors aspire to create but fail to obtain. maybe Laymon isn't such a bad writer after all. having a hero who gradually, increasingly exhibits villainous attributes is nothing new - but it was genuinely startling to see it happen in Island. and i suppose it can also be said that crudity can sometimes get more visceral results than ambiguity and literariness.
June 16, 2016
Rating this book is difficult. In a lot of ways, it’s an amazing book: steady, suspenseful, fun, and completely 100% enthralling. I mean, it is 503 pages front-to-back and I finished it in less than a week. THAT’S how readable this book is. And the twist come along at a constant pace, the action is brutal and gory and the narrator has a definite “voice” that I enjoyed…but also, sometimes, didn’t enjoy. You see, the book is written as if it were the journal of an 18 year old boy castaway on an island with his girlfriend and her extended family, many of whom are hot chicks. And as an 18 year old boy, he notices these things. Boobs and butts and curves and all the lovely bits that make women a pleasure to look at. So that goes into the journal. Only problem is, it comes up A LOT. Like, he’s constantly ogling these women and thinking about sex, even as a killer on the island is picking off family members one by one. BUT HERE’S THE THING: as eye-roll inducing as that horny-teenager mentality is, it makes PERFECT SENSE for the character. So it’s hard to fault the book for that, even after the 20th mention of his girlfriend’s mom’s boobs barely fitting into her bikini top. All of this really does round out Rupert (the narrator) as a character though. And in the scenes where the violence ramps up or the twists start coming, these minor peccadilloes wane to what is just a great story. And the ending…and I refuse to give anything away…was completely satisfying for me, considering the story I had just read. I don’t know if this is the right book to start with if you’re going to start reading Laymon, but it was a damn fine book regardless and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
September 15, 2022
Titties and bikinis. Boobs and rumps. This book is overly perverted and lack the things that I like the most in a splatterpunk; Splatter, gore and bloodshed.
Richard Laymon still is one of the best in the genre for me but this one didn’t push my splatter buttons as did some of his books. It came off as too sexual without the familiar intensity and cruor that I am used to. To put it lightly, it didn’t scare me, I wanted more. More carnage, more screams, more blood. Less descriptions of women in bikinis, skin glistening under the sun and tanned buttocks.
And although the plot is kind of a bit far-fetched if you think about it, I really liked the idea, the setting, the stranded-in-an-island sort of thing is dreadful in itself but just wasn’t executed very well for me.
Also, no characters were likeable. I even find it offensive how the young kids were painted. Nah, that’s just overdoing it. Well, I’m still gonna read more Laymon books, after all, he’s just awesome!
Richard Laymon still is one of the best in the genre for me but this one didn’t push my splatter buttons as did some of his books. It came off as too sexual without the familiar intensity and cruor that I am used to. To put it lightly, it didn’t scare me, I wanted more. More carnage, more screams, more blood. Less descriptions of women in bikinis, skin glistening under the sun and tanned buttocks.
And although the plot is kind of a bit far-fetched if you think about it, I really liked the idea, the setting, the stranded-in-an-island sort of thing is dreadful in itself but just wasn’t executed very well for me.
Also, no characters were likeable. I even find it offensive how the young kids were painted. Nah, that’s just overdoing it. Well, I’m still gonna read more Laymon books, after all, he’s just awesome!
July 13, 2018
typical Laymon, trashy, sexistic, not plausible, but nevertheless you keep on reading...
May 11, 2017
"Lord of Flies" meets "Ten Little Indian" with a slasher Laymon-style! A funny, gory and sometimes disturbing read, a real page turner but the "shocking" ending was not much a surprise at all for me. A perfect summer reading for splatterpunk horror fans.
January 16, 2015
What would be worse than being forced to read a 14-year old girl's entire diary? Perhaps being forced to read a 14-year old boy's entire diary? Ah, I know! Being forced to read Rupert's entire diary!
This book is so slow-moving and vapid in places that one finds oneself skimming through pages without missing out on anything but the narrator's inner dialogue.
It seems to be a piece that tries to be both splatterpunk and BDSM, but succeeds at neither, it is so incredibly badly written, and lacks so much credibility that it's only entertainment seems to lie in having the reader marvel at how incredibly dumb the narrator is.
The only really entertaining bit is the part where Thelma chases Rupert toward the end of the book, and that is so entertaining because it is a kind of a slapstick comedy, like Laurel and Hardy.
I'm putting Island under 'comedy' because this rather sick misogynistic juvenile teenage boy's wet dream could surely not have endeavoured to be taken seriously.
This book is so slow-moving and vapid in places that one finds oneself skimming through pages without missing out on anything but the narrator's inner dialogue.
It seems to be a piece that tries to be both splatterpunk and BDSM, but succeeds at neither, it is so incredibly badly written, and lacks so much credibility that it's only entertainment seems to lie in having the reader marvel at how incredibly dumb the narrator is.
The only really entertaining bit is the part where Thelma chases Rupert toward the end of the book, and that is so entertaining because it is a kind of a slapstick comedy, like Laurel and Hardy.
I'm putting Island under 'comedy' because this rather sick misogynistic juvenile teenage boy's wet dream could surely not have endeavoured to be taken seriously.
September 23, 2025
I am not doing my traditional backstory so I am just going to toss thoughts out on this book.
Thoughts:
I am going to be in the minority on this book as it seems quite a few of my friends enjoyed the book. For me, Laymon can be up and down with his stories - I have read a couple or so of his works and loved them however this book just didn't make it with me - it was an okay read - the slasher stuff within the story was great but the story reads like a journal (or diary) of the main character Rupert and what happens to him and others on an island. But for 90% of the book we have what Laymon is known for in all of his books - a lot of female body parts being exposed in one way or another - this has become a main signature for Laymon - most of this books are about the female anatomy and tons of sex stuff.
This book just seemed to have a lot of repetition within the story as we are inside the head of Rupert and all his thoughts about everything that takes place or what he wants to take place and this book went on like that for over 500+ pages! I felt that the story just didn't move along at a fast enough pace for me - I understand that the book is written like a journal but for the same type of thing to be happening within the story and it goes on like that for most of the book I felt that it was dragging along and not picking up any pace. The slasher/gore stuff was great but everything else was just fodder and it will probably be another long while before I read another Laymon - I have a few of his books on my kindle but it is going to be a long time before I jump back into any of his work. He has always been a hit and miss author for me as it depends on what kind of mood I am in to want to be stepping into sex horror stuff for most of the book. Giving this book two "Disappointed and Disturbed" stars!
Thoughts:
I am going to be in the minority on this book as it seems quite a few of my friends enjoyed the book. For me, Laymon can be up and down with his stories - I have read a couple or so of his works and loved them however this book just didn't make it with me - it was an okay read - the slasher stuff within the story was great but the story reads like a journal (or diary) of the main character Rupert and what happens to him and others on an island. But for 90% of the book we have what Laymon is known for in all of his books - a lot of female body parts being exposed in one way or another - this has become a main signature for Laymon - most of this books are about the female anatomy and tons of sex stuff.
This book just seemed to have a lot of repetition within the story as we are inside the head of Rupert and all his thoughts about everything that takes place or what he wants to take place and this book went on like that for over 500+ pages! I felt that the story just didn't move along at a fast enough pace for me - I understand that the book is written like a journal but for the same type of thing to be happening within the story and it goes on like that for most of the book I felt that it was dragging along and not picking up any pace. The slasher/gore stuff was great but everything else was just fodder and it will probably be another long while before I read another Laymon - I have a few of his books on my kindle but it is going to be a long time before I jump back into any of his work. He has always been a hit and miss author for me as it depends on what kind of mood I am in to want to be stepping into sex horror stuff for most of the book. Giving this book two "Disappointed and Disturbed" stars!
July 31, 2023
4.5 rounded down to 4 stars. Review to follow after it's been discussed in the Richard Laymon Book Club.
UPDATE 31st July 2023 with review.
I just joined a Richard Laymon Book club on Instagram and this was July's book. Island is fantastic! Its over 500 pages but it's a fast read as it's so engaging. The characters are great and has lots of twists in the plot.
The very basic premise is a family and their partners are on a yacht in the sea when it blows up killing one member on board. The rest make it to a deserted island and wait for rescue. That is until they all start getting killed one by one in various inventive and cruel ways. The story is told via a journal written by our main character Rupert. I loved Rupert he was hilarious at times and very quirky and horny.
Laymon lays it on thick with his questionable portrayal of how women look, what they wear and how they act. It's quite funny at times at how inappropriate the situations are when he goes off on tangents about Ruperts thoughts on how the women look and how its described. Rupert is one horny guy.
The story is very engaging, full of family squabbles, gory deaths, intrigue on who is doing the killings and adventures through the jungle and the struggle to survive. I hated the character Connie so much she is just super annoying and I was just praying for her death. The ending was great and did take me by surprise a bit. The last few chapters leading up to the conclusion are great full of action and gore.
Just read this book its hilarious, intense and just an overall great plot that moves fast. I've only read a few Laymons but this is by far my favourite. Next months read is The Lake so look forward to that.
UPDATE 31st July 2023 with review.
I just joined a Richard Laymon Book club on Instagram and this was July's book. Island is fantastic! Its over 500 pages but it's a fast read as it's so engaging. The characters are great and has lots of twists in the plot.
The very basic premise is a family and their partners are on a yacht in the sea when it blows up killing one member on board. The rest make it to a deserted island and wait for rescue. That is until they all start getting killed one by one in various inventive and cruel ways. The story is told via a journal written by our main character Rupert. I loved Rupert he was hilarious at times and very quirky and horny.
Laymon lays it on thick with his questionable portrayal of how women look, what they wear and how they act. It's quite funny at times at how inappropriate the situations are when he goes off on tangents about Ruperts thoughts on how the women look and how its described. Rupert is one horny guy.
The story is very engaging, full of family squabbles, gory deaths, intrigue on who is doing the killings and adventures through the jungle and the struggle to survive. I hated the character Connie so much she is just super annoying and I was just praying for her death. The ending was great and did take me by surprise a bit. The last few chapters leading up to the conclusion are great full of action and gore.
Just read this book its hilarious, intense and just an overall great plot that moves fast. I've only read a few Laymons but this is by far my favourite. Next months read is The Lake so look forward to that.
January 25, 2008
This is my favorite book by Richard Laymon.
August 5, 2025
The story is told from 18 year old Rupert through his journal. Pacing was steady with some twists, humour and overall it was fun to read. Setting takes place on a remote island where Rupert, his girlfriend and extended family all end up stranded after their yacht had blown up. A killer is on the loose and one by one the family start to turn up dead. Rupert (and his perverted mind), is the one left to try and save the family.
I thought the story was great with the adventures on the island, brutal deaths, family drama and the need for survival. I liked the humour in this as well as the characters, whether they annoyed me(Connie) or pervy( Rupert) who seemed to think about boobs and rumps in every thought. It was fun and the ending I wouldn’t have expected anything else:)
I thought the story was great with the adventures on the island, brutal deaths, family drama and the need for survival. I liked the humour in this as well as the characters, whether they annoyed me(Connie) or pervy( Rupert) who seemed to think about boobs and rumps in every thought. It was fun and the ending I wouldn’t have expected anything else:)
September 11, 2017
Dear God. Does this kind of stuff really get published?
Where do I start?
I suppose it's my own fault. I was feeling aggrieved. I'd just read about the new move to have novels published with "trigger warnings". Then partner and I went to watch The Maze Runner--seriously, were these actually males of the species? Had they had enforced castrations?
Everything in my life seemed to be constricted and feminised and it was pissing me off! So, in an act of bravado I looked for some macho, non-feminised novels. Richard Laymon popped up as a good bet for some genuine, in your face, slasher horror.
So, as I said earlier. It's all my own fault.
The entire book is narrated by a 17-year-old high school boy called Rupert. I think I preferred the girl-boys of Maze Runner to be honest, tending their tomatoes and making little fat-bellied carvings. Rupert is the most unpleasant creation I've ever had the misfortune to join on a journey. He spends the entire book leering at the girls in their bikinis, even when they are being brutalised, raped, beheaded, whipped, skinned... It's not even done humorously as you might chuckle at in a Beavis and Butthead way, but it's seriously creepy and disturbing, and it's so repetitive, over and over and over again, here we go, girls stand up... let's have a long description of the damn bikini strap again.
So, there's that. Shudder.
Then we have the horror of the story. So called.
Slasher stuff very badly done if you ask me. People running around with knives and axes and spears all missing shots, tripping, (losing bikini tops), falling over, making mistakes, (losing bikini bottoms) except for the bad guys who manage to savagely kill them or rape them one at a time.
I haven't finished this book. I decided I didn't care who lived or died or whose bikini top slipped again--and to be fair to me, I wouldn't have cared if it was a guy's shorts slipping either. I'd have told him to tie them more securely, get some better damn weapons and do something more useful.
Seriously guys, if you ever dream of writing a novel and having it published, this book must be inspiration for you. If this gets published, anything can. Read it and weep.
Where do I start?
I suppose it's my own fault. I was feeling aggrieved. I'd just read about the new move to have novels published with "trigger warnings". Then partner and I went to watch The Maze Runner--seriously, were these actually males of the species? Had they had enforced castrations?
Everything in my life seemed to be constricted and feminised and it was pissing me off! So, in an act of bravado I looked for some macho, non-feminised novels. Richard Laymon popped up as a good bet for some genuine, in your face, slasher horror.
So, as I said earlier. It's all my own fault.
The entire book is narrated by a 17-year-old high school boy called Rupert. I think I preferred the girl-boys of Maze Runner to be honest, tending their tomatoes and making little fat-bellied carvings. Rupert is the most unpleasant creation I've ever had the misfortune to join on a journey. He spends the entire book leering at the girls in their bikinis, even when they are being brutalised, raped, beheaded, whipped, skinned... It's not even done humorously as you might chuckle at in a Beavis and Butthead way, but it's seriously creepy and disturbing, and it's so repetitive, over and over and over again, here we go, girls stand up... let's have a long description of the damn bikini strap again.
So, there's that. Shudder.
Then we have the horror of the story. So called.
Slasher stuff very badly done if you ask me. People running around with knives and axes and spears all missing shots, tripping, (losing bikini tops), falling over, making mistakes, (losing bikini bottoms) except for the bad guys who manage to savagely kill them or rape them one at a time.
I haven't finished this book. I decided I didn't care who lived or died or whose bikini top slipped again--and to be fair to me, I wouldn't have cared if it was a guy's shorts slipping either. I'd have told him to tie them more securely, get some better damn weapons and do something more useful.
Seriously guys, if you ever dream of writing a novel and having it published, this book must be inspiration for you. If this gets published, anything can. Read it and weep.
August 1, 2024
Wow! That ending is what elevated this book from a 3 star read to a 4 star read for me!
It was hard to sympathize with Rupert because he was such a pervert. The talk of breasts bouncing everywhere all the time was obnoxious. It was disturbing to read about his thoughts in regard to the twins but I honestly am not surprised because this story is by Laymon of course. Leave it to Laymon to have a character in his story that dies because he slips on pee LOL
I enjoyed Koontz introduction to Laymon. I found it to be bittersweet.
Overall this was a good summer read for me. Be warned if you’ve never read this author I would look up trigger warnings as his work is not liked by all.
It was hard to sympathize with Rupert because he was such a pervert. The talk of breasts bouncing everywhere all the time was obnoxious. It was disturbing to read about his thoughts in regard to the twins but I honestly am not surprised because this story is by Laymon of course. Leave it to Laymon to have a character in his story that dies because he slips on pee LOL
I enjoyed Koontz introduction to Laymon. I found it to be bittersweet.
Overall this was a good summer read for me. Be warned if you’ve never read this author I would look up trigger warnings as his work is not liked by all.
August 24, 2025
ISLAND [1995] By Richard Laymon
My Review 4.0 Stars
“If you’ve missed Laymon. You’ve missed a treat.” ----- Stephen King
It was so gratifying to see that the legendary Richard Laymon’s popular novel “Island” was the Group Read for the HGW Horror Book Club this month. It was originally published copyright 1995 by Headline Features. I saw the year “1991” bandied about but the accurate publication date was 1995 (after “Quake” and before “Body Rides’”). Leisure Publishing reissued Laymon’s entertaining Thriller in 2002 with stunning new cover artwork by Steve Crisp and a “cherry on top” with a foreword by one of my favorite authors Dean Koontz.
I believe it was the Leisure Book reprint 2002 that I and most of the club members read based on that Foreword and the page count. That is excluding the possibility that my good friend Alan had a paperback copy of “Island” with some dog-eared pages lying around. It is sobering to absorb the knowledge that the entertaining novel I just finished was penned three decades ago and it has been a quarter of a century since the fans of the beloved author said goodbye to this icon of 1980’s horror industry. Laymon, along with Ketchum, are recognized as pioneers who with other likeminded writers pushed the boundaries of the mainstream horror genre paving the way for the Splatterpunk revolution.
Let’s talk about “Island”, written by 48-year-old Dick Laymon, likely still stewing over his bungled introduction to US readers. The description of the novel on Amazon is just a snippet. Eight people go on a cruise in the Bahamas with a mental image of swimming, sunbathing, and relaxation preoccupying their thoughts. Becoming “shipwrecked” on a beautiful but desolate piece of landscape surrounded by sunlight and cerulean blue skies was clearly not on anyone’s agenda. Or was it? Seven of the group are safe on land when the calm beauty of their surroundings is shocked by the sound of an explosion and the yacht’s complete destruction. Varying colors and shapes of detritus from the boat are ejected and invade the calm beauty of the sky before crashing unceremoniously into the waves of the ocean. The member of their group who had been securing the yacht before coming to shore could not have survived the blast. And then there were seven… and it is a given that “…there’s a maniac on the loose.”
I thought Laymon’s writing technique of employing an unreliable first-person narrator who is painstakingly chronicling the escalating events in his journal was ingenious. Laymon deploys some familiar elements in this novel his fans will recognize. The narrator Rupert Conway is a raunchy teenager and his accounts in the journal seem candid and forthcoming but are steamy and infused with his libidinous preoccupation with the scantily clad women in their group.
Laymon uses several familiar elements in this novel his fans will recognize. Perhaps he is recognized best for his consummate ability to construct realistic characters who are typically ordinary folks who one day or night step from his or her commonplace existence into a plethora of danger and terrifying situations. The author creates his characters with sufficient depth that when we start relating to their backstories and their weaknesses, losses, and wants, we know as readers we are “done”. Laymon has pulled us in, and we just have to see what happens next. Naturally this is true with the scrawny nerd Rupert. I felt myself relating to him and when that connect is made you are in for the duration.
His writing style could only be described as unapologetic, propulsive, and relentless. The reader feels a sense of mentally leaning forward and increasing tension. Laymon is not a wordsmith dazzling you with his vocabulary. His narrative is lean and mean with the express purpose of breeding a sense of extreme urgency which propels the reader forward with facile assuredness.
Laymon is known for his graphic depiction of violence but is also known for his tendency to feature ladies who are beautiful, well-endowed, and scantily clad or naked whenever possible. Sexually explicit scenes are a given. I read a note by someone on reddit and had to laugh. The reader opined that his characters were “comically horny”. And they are.
On a final note, based upon my own experiences reading Laymon don’t get too fond of any of the characters. Laymon was tapping into taboos, unflinchingly opening Pandora’s Box and describing every monstrous evil that escaped. Laymon was a master at depicting the duality of man’s nature and cracking a character’s moral compass on a rock to see what made it run.
The narrator Rupert is a raunchy teenager and his detailed account in the journal seems candid and forthcoming. This is deceptive and it is only gradually that the reader begins to smell a remorseless lecherous pervert pushing the pen. The ending is actually satisfying in its own perverse Laymon style. I did guess the ending but loved it all the same. In my opinion this was a good Laymon novel. My only criticism is that the action in the last quarter seemed to lag. Otherwise, I would have rated it five stars.
FAN FAVORITE FROM THE PROLIFIC WORKS OF RICHARD LAYMON STILL ENTERTAINS AND THRILLS TODAY
My Review 4.0 Stars
“If you’ve missed Laymon. You’ve missed a treat.” ----- Stephen King
It was so gratifying to see that the legendary Richard Laymon’s popular novel “Island” was the Group Read for the HGW Horror Book Club this month. It was originally published copyright 1995 by Headline Features. I saw the year “1991” bandied about but the accurate publication date was 1995 (after “Quake” and before “Body Rides’”). Leisure Publishing reissued Laymon’s entertaining Thriller in 2002 with stunning new cover artwork by Steve Crisp and a “cherry on top” with a foreword by one of my favorite authors Dean Koontz.
I believe it was the Leisure Book reprint 2002 that I and most of the club members read based on that Foreword and the page count. That is excluding the possibility that my good friend Alan had a paperback copy of “Island” with some dog-eared pages lying around. It is sobering to absorb the knowledge that the entertaining novel I just finished was penned three decades ago and it has been a quarter of a century since the fans of the beloved author said goodbye to this icon of 1980’s horror industry. Laymon, along with Ketchum, are recognized as pioneers who with other likeminded writers pushed the boundaries of the mainstream horror genre paving the way for the Splatterpunk revolution.
Let’s talk about “Island”, written by 48-year-old Dick Laymon, likely still stewing over his bungled introduction to US readers. The description of the novel on Amazon is just a snippet. Eight people go on a cruise in the Bahamas with a mental image of swimming, sunbathing, and relaxation preoccupying their thoughts. Becoming “shipwrecked” on a beautiful but desolate piece of landscape surrounded by sunlight and cerulean blue skies was clearly not on anyone’s agenda. Or was it? Seven of the group are safe on land when the calm beauty of their surroundings is shocked by the sound of an explosion and the yacht’s complete destruction. Varying colors and shapes of detritus from the boat are ejected and invade the calm beauty of the sky before crashing unceremoniously into the waves of the ocean. The member of their group who had been securing the yacht before coming to shore could not have survived the blast. And then there were seven… and it is a given that “…there’s a maniac on the loose.”
I thought Laymon’s writing technique of employing an unreliable first-person narrator who is painstakingly chronicling the escalating events in his journal was ingenious. Laymon deploys some familiar elements in this novel his fans will recognize. The narrator Rupert Conway is a raunchy teenager and his accounts in the journal seem candid and forthcoming but are steamy and infused with his libidinous preoccupation with the scantily clad women in their group.
Laymon uses several familiar elements in this novel his fans will recognize. Perhaps he is recognized best for his consummate ability to construct realistic characters who are typically ordinary folks who one day or night step from his or her commonplace existence into a plethora of danger and terrifying situations. The author creates his characters with sufficient depth that when we start relating to their backstories and their weaknesses, losses, and wants, we know as readers we are “done”. Laymon has pulled us in, and we just have to see what happens next. Naturally this is true with the scrawny nerd Rupert. I felt myself relating to him and when that connect is made you are in for the duration.
His writing style could only be described as unapologetic, propulsive, and relentless. The reader feels a sense of mentally leaning forward and increasing tension. Laymon is not a wordsmith dazzling you with his vocabulary. His narrative is lean and mean with the express purpose of breeding a sense of extreme urgency which propels the reader forward with facile assuredness.
Laymon is known for his graphic depiction of violence but is also known for his tendency to feature ladies who are beautiful, well-endowed, and scantily clad or naked whenever possible. Sexually explicit scenes are a given. I read a note by someone on reddit and had to laugh. The reader opined that his characters were “comically horny”. And they are.
On a final note, based upon my own experiences reading Laymon don’t get too fond of any of the characters. Laymon was tapping into taboos, unflinchingly opening Pandora’s Box and describing every monstrous evil that escaped. Laymon was a master at depicting the duality of man’s nature and cracking a character’s moral compass on a rock to see what made it run.
The narrator Rupert is a raunchy teenager and his detailed account in the journal seems candid and forthcoming. This is deceptive and it is only gradually that the reader begins to smell a remorseless lecherous pervert pushing the pen. The ending is actually satisfying in its own perverse Laymon style. I did guess the ending but loved it all the same. In my opinion this was a good Laymon novel. My only criticism is that the action in the last quarter seemed to lag. Otherwise, I would have rated it five stars.
FAN FAVORITE FROM THE PROLIFIC WORKS OF RICHARD LAYMON STILL ENTERTAINS AND THRILLS TODAY
April 5, 2009
Laymon is my guilty pleasure, and I may as well confess to this now. He had already passed away by the time I discovered his books. For most of his writing career, Laymon was considerably more well-known in Europe (particularly the UK) than in North America. This all changed when an American publishing company -- Leisure Books -- began to re-release many of Laymon's novels in mass market paperback. Good news for horror fans -- because his books are now inexpensive and easy to find, a whole new generation of readers (myself included) discovered Laymon's "unique" storytelling style.
Laymon's writing is not for the faint of heart. His books are rip-roaring reads punctuated by graphic violence and sexual content. The best of escapist fiction, Laymon is not trying to save the world with his writing, nor offer any great moral insights. What he does do, and very well, is give readers a page-turning tale that will scare the bejesus out of them (most of the time). So if you're looking for a fine dining experience, keep away from Laymon; but if you long to indulge in a greasy cheeseburger with fries, then Laymon is your man. And who doesn't crave a greasy cheeseburger every now and again? That doesn't make us bad kids :-)
Laymon's writing is not for the faint of heart. His books are rip-roaring reads punctuated by graphic violence and sexual content. The best of escapist fiction, Laymon is not trying to save the world with his writing, nor offer any great moral insights. What he does do, and very well, is give readers a page-turning tale that will scare the bejesus out of them (most of the time). So if you're looking for a fine dining experience, keep away from Laymon; but if you long to indulge in a greasy cheeseburger with fries, then Laymon is your man. And who doesn't crave a greasy cheeseburger every now and again? That doesn't make us bad kids :-)
September 8, 2023
I guess you could say this was kind of a less mad science-y, far more raunchy take on The Island of Dr. Moreau and its whole house of pain deal. Sort of. In a way. In any case, it was definitely a fun, suspenseful page-turner. Loved how unexpectedly funny it was too, that kid was a pretty hilarious narrator!
November 14, 2019
This is a sleazy, romp of a novel about a family that are cast away on a supposedly uninhabited Island only to find that they are being picked off one by one. What sets this apart from over novels with similar premises is that it is told via the diary entry’s of a young, horny boyfriend of one of the daughters in the family. Sorry, did I say horny? I meant perverted. Yes, the main character is a perverted, never missing an opportunity to give readers detailed descriptions of the female members of the family. At first we are lead to believe this characters focus to such things is because he is a virgin and suffers from sexual repression. However, as the novel continues on and the reader becomes distracted by the killer that is attempting to wipe out all the male members of the castaway group subtle changes appear in the main characters behaviour that are tells for something for sinister at work in his mind. This might make this novel uncomfortable for many due to its sleaziness. Yet, I could not help having a blast reading it, not for these reasons, but because of the story itself. It is simply a joy to read, pure entertainment in an eye-rolling, laugh out loud way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2012
I'm embarrassed to admit that Island is not my first Laymon read. (I have also read Quake)
I found Quake to be so-so and being a reasonable person, I thought I'd try one more of Laymons books before writing him off as a dirty, perverted old man. But alas, it turns out he is indeed a dirty, perverted old man.
I could't help but feel that I was reading the works of Laymons wet dreams and THAT, I found, was the scariest thing about this book. The storys 'hero' is an unlikeable peadophile which really sets the tone for how this story plays out. The plot is basic (almost childish) and the characters unrealistic and unlikeable. I can completely understand why one would turn to murder stuck with a family like this.
All in all I found this to be a complete waste of my time. The book, however, was great fuel for our campfire a few weeks ago so I suppose it's all swings and roundabouts.
I found Quake to be so-so and being a reasonable person, I thought I'd try one more of Laymons books before writing him off as a dirty, perverted old man. But alas, it turns out he is indeed a dirty, perverted old man.
I could't help but feel that I was reading the works of Laymons wet dreams and THAT, I found, was the scariest thing about this book. The storys 'hero' is an unlikeable peadophile which really sets the tone for how this story plays out. The plot is basic (almost childish) and the characters unrealistic and unlikeable. I can completely understand why one would turn to murder stuck with a family like this.
All in all I found this to be a complete waste of my time. The book, however, was great fuel for our campfire a few weeks ago so I suppose it's all swings and roundabouts.
September 19, 2020
I really enjoyed this book, but I am a big Richard Laymon fan as well. The plot was great and I loved the way it was written from one person's point of view. That being said, the point of view was from a teenage boy, so over and over there was very detailed descriptions of each woman in the story and his fantasies surrounding his description. Usually this doesn't bother me but it seemed like it was every scene change. Just mentioning it in case that would be a problem for you.
I was still enthralled with the story and despite being over 500 pages, I got through it in a few days! So hard to put down!
I was still enthralled with the story and despite being over 500 pages, I got through it in a few days! So hard to put down!
June 11, 2025
LOL at all the bad reviews. This book was absolutely nuts and I loved every depraved minute of it. Full of action from the start and never lets up. At times it was erotic and horrific. The gore factor was pretty top notch too. This is my second Laymon and my favorite thus far. I'm excited to read more of his work after having enjoyed this one so much!
Island follows Rupert. Rupert has set out on a cruise with 7 other people. These people were looking forward to a nice getaway but end up stranded on an island after their yacht blows up. The island has fresh water and food to satiate their needs until rescue hopefully comes along. Among the other people are 3 attractive women but there is a huge problem here that hasn't been solved yet. How and why did the yacht blow up? Was this a freak accident or was it planned? dun dun dun...
Island follows Rupert. Rupert has set out on a cruise with 7 other people. These people were looking forward to a nice getaway but end up stranded on an island after their yacht blows up. The island has fresh water and food to satiate their needs until rescue hopefully comes along. Among the other people are 3 attractive women but there is a huge problem here that hasn't been solved yet. How and why did the yacht blow up? Was this a freak accident or was it planned? dun dun dun...
June 12, 2021
Obligatory confession: Island was my first Richard Laymon novel. While I went into it with some degree of wariness given Laymon's reputation as a horror novelist -- one with an intense and self-indulgent predilection for writing about breasts and rumps ad nauseam over the course of (debatably) unnecessarily long novels -- and I did find some of these criticism justified, I also couldn't help but find Island playing out as a bit of meta-commentary from the author, in addition to mostly just being damn good, and darkly bleak, fun.
In some circles, Laymon is derided for being heavily focused on T&A. And yes, Island does have a remarkable amount of objectification of its women's characters. But, given that we view these women through the eyes of horny, sexually frustrated, 19-year-old Rupert, it also seems somewhat fitting. The scenario of this story is practically straight out of a porn-addicted teenager's fantasy (or any number of spicier erotica books) - virginal Rupert finds himself stranded on a tropical island with a handful of gorgeous women - but features enough murders, sadism, and torture to push it firmly into horror territory. Laymon remembers, perhaps too well for some readers, what it's like to be a lonely, excitable, wishful, hormonally drunk, teenage male. Rupert's fixations on female anatomy, which we are treated to literally every single chapter of this 500-page tome, are gratuitous and did grow tiresome. In hindsight, though, I can't honestly say his observations were wholly unjustified given the plot's intent.
Certainly, a bit of editorial pruning would have been appreciated, though. Despite the bikini and thong-clad beach bods Rupert is constantly and unabashedly oogling, Island itself does have quite a lot of fat in need of trimming. Somewhere within these 500 pages are an absolutely, positively killer psycho novella or a moderately-sized novel. Strip away at least half of the repetitious commentary surrounding tiny triangles of fabric barely covering these women's bodies and ditch a completely pointless dream sequence and you've already got a much tighter, less bloated, novel.
At times, Laymon's novel is damn-near a study in contradictions and conflicts. Unnecessarily long, but still an incredibly well-paced page-turner. Gratuitous, but not necessarily pointlessly so given the themes of sexuality, sadism, and power struggles at play here. Rupert himself is lecherous and a wholly unsympathetic narrator, one that recounts to us the dangers encountered on this island via a series of journal entries, but contrasted against an older and far more sinister, bloodthirsty psychotic.
Ultimately, Island is a compelling read and Laymon subverted expectations fairly regularly, to the point that an important reveal is made fairly early on and left me scratching my head over how the succeeding several hundred pages could possibly play out and what else he had up his sleeve for us. And then, a short time later, he twisted the narrative again with the sort of plot beat normally reserved for a book's climax. These types of subversions left me hooked, but also bewildered and scattered. Laymon clearly knew how to craft a damn good horror thriller! Using this book as an entry point into his works, I found sufficient reason to believe, too, that this is an author more than willing to explore the darkest corners of the human condition, even if it does occasionally lapse into some over-the-top flights of fancy and wallows in excess. Further, Island's conclusion left me more than willing to check out other titles from this author's significant body of work.
In some circles, Laymon is derided for being heavily focused on T&A. And yes, Island does have a remarkable amount of objectification of its women's characters. But, given that we view these women through the eyes of horny, sexually frustrated, 19-year-old Rupert, it also seems somewhat fitting. The scenario of this story is practically straight out of a porn-addicted teenager's fantasy (or any number of spicier erotica books) - virginal Rupert finds himself stranded on a tropical island with a handful of gorgeous women - but features enough murders, sadism, and torture to push it firmly into horror territory. Laymon remembers, perhaps too well for some readers, what it's like to be a lonely, excitable, wishful, hormonally drunk, teenage male. Rupert's fixations on female anatomy, which we are treated to literally every single chapter of this 500-page tome, are gratuitous and did grow tiresome. In hindsight, though, I can't honestly say his observations were wholly unjustified given the plot's intent.
Certainly, a bit of editorial pruning would have been appreciated, though. Despite the bikini and thong-clad beach bods Rupert is constantly and unabashedly oogling, Island itself does have quite a lot of fat in need of trimming. Somewhere within these 500 pages are an absolutely, positively killer psycho novella or a moderately-sized novel. Strip away at least half of the repetitious commentary surrounding tiny triangles of fabric barely covering these women's bodies and ditch a completely pointless dream sequence and you've already got a much tighter, less bloated, novel.
At times, Laymon's novel is damn-near a study in contradictions and conflicts. Unnecessarily long, but still an incredibly well-paced page-turner. Gratuitous, but not necessarily pointlessly so given the themes of sexuality, sadism, and power struggles at play here. Rupert himself is lecherous and a wholly unsympathetic narrator, one that recounts to us the dangers encountered on this island via a series of journal entries, but contrasted against an older and far more sinister, bloodthirsty psychotic.
Ultimately, Island is a compelling read and Laymon subverted expectations fairly regularly, to the point that an important reveal is made fairly early on and left me scratching my head over how the succeeding several hundred pages could possibly play out and what else he had up his sleeve for us. And then, a short time later, he twisted the narrative again with the sort of plot beat normally reserved for a book's climax. These types of subversions left me hooked, but also bewildered and scattered. Laymon clearly knew how to craft a damn good horror thriller! Using this book as an entry point into his works, I found sufficient reason to believe, too, that this is an author more than willing to explore the darkest corners of the human condition, even if it does occasionally lapse into some over-the-top flights of fancy and wallows in excess. Further, Island's conclusion left me more than willing to check out other titles from this author's significant body of work.
February 19, 2013
I'm ashamed to admit I've read one other by this author. If I had realized it was the same author, I never would have picked this up. After reading two so-called horror stories, which end up with scantily-clothed women in locked cages controlled by adolescent, loser boys, I can say that Richard Laymon is a sick puppy in my opinion. I left this book in Florida, didn't even want to pack it to bring it back.
And is writing a list of numbered options each time the character needs to make a choice really a good choice of writing style?
1. Yes
2. No
3. Whatever
Don't waste your time. My excuse: I was at the beach and I was too sandy to go to the bookstore.
And is writing a list of numbered options each time the character needs to make a choice really a good choice of writing style?
1. Yes
2. No
3. Whatever
Don't waste your time. My excuse: I was at the beach and I was too sandy to go to the bookstore.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2020
Richard Laymon tells a very bizarre story here, and I am still not sure what I think about it. The entire novel is told from the POV of a pervy 18 year old nerd (Rupert) on spring break. Rupert's girl friend's parents are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a yacht tour in the Bahamas; the party includes the three daughters of the couple and their husbands. One day they all take a dingy to a beach on a small island for lunch and in the bay, the yacht blows up, killing (or so they first think) Wesley, the husband of one of the daughters. Stranded, they collect what than can from the wreck and hope for a rescue, lighting a huge bonfire on the beach.
The first night they decide to post a watch (just in case), but the husband on the second watch vanishes, only to be found later dead and hanging from a tree. There seems to be some nut job wandering around on the island! Somewhat paniced, the remaining people start to plan how to deal with the situation...
To continue with the plotting will involve spoilers, so I will stop here. I think whether or not you will like this book really depends on how you manage the narrator Rupert. The story is basically told from his notes/journal, and he constantly lusts after the women in the party, describing their bodies almost every page, along with his urges shall we say. It you can run with this, the actual story is fun; on the other hand, if you quickly tire of sexist claptrap and endless descriptions of breasts and buns, this book will be a real slog if you finish it at all. I know Laymon often employs pervy narrators in his novels, but this is really over the top. 2.5 stars rounding up.
The first night they decide to post a watch (just in case), but the husband on the second watch vanishes, only to be found later dead and hanging from a tree. There seems to be some nut job wandering around on the island! Somewhat paniced, the remaining people start to plan how to deal with the situation...
To continue with the plotting will involve spoilers, so I will stop here. I think whether or not you will like this book really depends on how you manage the narrator Rupert. The story is basically told from his notes/journal, and he constantly lusts after the women in the party, describing their bodies almost every page, along with his urges shall we say. It you can run with this, the actual story is fun; on the other hand, if you quickly tire of sexist claptrap and endless descriptions of breasts and buns, this book will be a real slog if you finish it at all. I know Laymon often employs pervy narrators in his novels, but this is really over the top. 2.5 stars rounding up.
April 22, 2014
ISLAND was a bit hit and miss for me, so I'll review it in the same mixed fashion as it left me feeling.
On the plus side, I enjoyed the scenario and the setting, but on the negative felt that the story took way too long to get rolling.
On the plus side, I enjoyed reading a Laymon novel written in first person, primarily because that meant he stuck with the main plot instead of juggling two or three other (usually less interesting) secondary story lines as he does in several of his other works; on the negative side however, the viewpoint of the narrator was fairly simplistic and extremely redundant, especially in recounting his lust and admiration for each female character.
On the plus side, the premise of the book and the unfolding of the story kept me intrigued until the end, but on the negative it felt fairly restrained by Laymon standards. Even the shocking events at the end didn't quite have the usual Laymon flair to them, and were recounted in a fairly flat manner.
To summarize:
POSITIVE: Decently fun Laymon novel.
NEGATIVE: A little disappointing because it felt like it had a lot of untapped potential.
On the plus side, I enjoyed the scenario and the setting, but on the negative felt that the story took way too long to get rolling.
On the plus side, I enjoyed reading a Laymon novel written in first person, primarily because that meant he stuck with the main plot instead of juggling two or three other (usually less interesting) secondary story lines as he does in several of his other works; on the negative side however, the viewpoint of the narrator was fairly simplistic and extremely redundant, especially in recounting his lust and admiration for each female character.
On the plus side, the premise of the book and the unfolding of the story kept me intrigued until the end, but on the negative it felt fairly restrained by Laymon standards. Even the shocking events at the end didn't quite have the usual Laymon flair to them, and were recounted in a fairly flat manner.
To summarize:
POSITIVE: Decently fun Laymon novel.
NEGATIVE: A little disappointing because it felt like it had a lot of untapped potential.
October 10, 2017
Ich wusste ja, dass Laymon ziemlich speziell sein soll, aber man weiß nach so einer Aussage dann eben doch nie, was man da jetzt zu erwarten hat.
Ich hatte aber definitiv nicht erwartet, dass ein Junge mit einer Familie und einem Mörder auf einer einsamen Insel strandet und ihn nichts so sehr interessiert wie die Frauen in ihren Bikinis. Ja er ist ein Teenager, aber wie sexbesessen kann man denn bitte sein? "OMG wir werden angegriffen! - uh, warte, ihre rechte Brust ist aus ihrem Bikini gerutscht!!!" Bitte was?
Aber auch die anderen Charaktere waren ziemlich ... interessant.
An einigen Stellen musste ich wirklich lachen und mein Kopfkino... oh mann.
Überraschenderweise hat das Buch es trotzdem geschafft durchgehend spannend zu sein.
Der Schreibstil war auch recht simple und so lies es sich einfach super lesen.
Auch das Ende war richtig passend.
Ich werde sicher noch einmal etwas von Laymon lesen, aber jetzt brauch ich wohl erst wieder etwas normaleres...
Ich hatte aber definitiv nicht erwartet, dass ein Junge mit einer Familie und einem Mörder auf einer einsamen Insel strandet und ihn nichts so sehr interessiert wie die Frauen in ihren Bikinis. Ja er ist ein Teenager, aber wie sexbesessen kann man denn bitte sein? "OMG wir werden angegriffen! - uh, warte, ihre rechte Brust ist aus ihrem Bikini gerutscht!!!" Bitte was?
Aber auch die anderen Charaktere waren ziemlich ... interessant.
An einigen Stellen musste ich wirklich lachen und mein Kopfkino... oh mann.
Überraschenderweise hat das Buch es trotzdem geschafft durchgehend spannend zu sein.
Der Schreibstil war auch recht simple und so lies es sich einfach super lesen.
Auch das Ende war richtig passend.
Ich werde sicher noch einmal etwas von Laymon lesen, aber jetzt brauch ich wohl erst wieder etwas normaleres...
March 31, 2012
This book doesn't deserve a full explanation. I'll just say that it's not my favorite. I give it 2.75 stars, and I'm tempted to round down, but, I'm trying to be generous.
Let this be a warning to writers with skill. If you are going to walk the boundary between good and evil behavior. Make sure you ground your story in some principle or value that is "Good" or you'll lose the thread to the dark side. Especially if you have some skill.
The technical aspects of the writing are okay. The subject mater and content start okay, then, it starts going South and stays far below the equator.
I don't mind racy story lines.
I don't mind sex.
I don't mind a little DiD, or even a little BD with the SM.
I don't mind rape in a book, if it's written correctly and treated with proper respect payed to the victim and perpetrator (it wasn't here).
I don't mind violence in books if it's required for survival or saving the world or in some way part of the struggle kick evils butt and grow into stronger people. The violence here turned out to be completely gratuitous. Hell, nearly every book I read has some violence in it and I'm find with most reads.
The bottom line is, that I want a read that ends well, gives hope, shows how mankind (the characters) grow and or give in to their ugly selfish desires and perish. I like good to conquer over evil.
Basically I'm not fond of books like Dexter where the Hero is only a glorified villain, but I understand them. THis is a book written to entertain and amuse, and, I think it needed a better moral compass as a story
I have faith the writer has skill has has written, and will write other books that I can enjoy. This isn't one of them.
This book could have managed 3 stars, except the ending sucked.
Or, to quote the late, but wonderful Father Martin, "Start out with a screwy premise and you'll end up with a nutty conclusion."
I'm generously giving this three stars but it's 2.5-2.75 ish. I'm sure someone will enjoy this, and they are welcome too. I enjoyed the begining, then, as the rude and obnoxious characters started wearing me down, the plot turned sour and got worse-beyond bitter.
Warnings (always warnings, and this one needs them!)
1) Sexual Violence and Abuse towards women and children in this book. I do not believe it was handled well. It'a wolf in sheep's clothing. Written with all the skill of a good writer, but in the end, the writer pissed on the plot as if fooling us to believe there might be some humanity left on that devil's island then yanking the rug out from under us, and leaving everything damaged, bad, wounded and unredeemable.
2) Violence-- I've read other books with as much machete and gun violence and called it okay to make it hard to justify griping about the violence here. The lesson here for me, that I hope to pass on to you, is, that the end doesn't justify the means. If nobody grows, learns or saves something worthwhile, then just about any amount of violence seems gratuitous against a tapestry that does not allow for growth of spirit and development of humanity in the characters.
3) Sour twisted ending passed off as "good" or "just."
4) No likable characters. Ordinarily villains like these would be welcome, if the heroes and Heroines were up to the task of becoming human. In this book, good luck finding any character to like. The Villains bad behavior, instead of providing contrast to the good, that I expected to show itself any page but failed to materialize from the heroes' hearts and minds, and the growth of the characters toward healthy human beings means that it's hard for me to even like the villains as villains. And these were bad people...that usually works for villains.
Not for children, not for YA, I can't imagine what a healthy female reader would see in this book if they read it to the end, possible to please a reader who likes misogynistic literature and male chauvinist themes that allow the objectification of women to be seen as desirable.
Ah-hell, I'm lowering it to a 2. Laymon has writing skills, but like Babe Ruth, who's still in the top ten of all time home run hitters in baseball, this book is full of more strikes and failed attempts to connect than anything.
To them who like Laymon, I see his skill in the technical aspects of his writing, even in his descriptions and, yes, in his flawed characters. It's almost like he wanted to draw me in then punish me for being foolish enough to believe this book could end well. The tone of this book, at the end, is far to pessimistic about the nature of humanity for me to feel anything but disgust.
I hope Laymon has some books where he uses his Jedi-powers of rough drafts, punctuation and twisted wicked plots, for good, instead of misogynistic evil in the name of adolescent rites passage from boy to man.
Not recommended. The end does not justify the means, or even liking the rest of the book.
Let this be a warning to writers with skill. If you are going to walk the boundary between good and evil behavior. Make sure you ground your story in some principle or value that is "Good" or you'll lose the thread to the dark side. Especially if you have some skill.
The technical aspects of the writing are okay. The subject mater and content start okay, then, it starts going South and stays far below the equator.
I don't mind racy story lines.
I don't mind sex.
I don't mind a little DiD, or even a little BD with the SM.
I don't mind rape in a book, if it's written correctly and treated with proper respect payed to the victim and perpetrator (it wasn't here).
I don't mind violence in books if it's required for survival or saving the world or in some way part of the struggle kick evils butt and grow into stronger people. The violence here turned out to be completely gratuitous. Hell, nearly every book I read has some violence in it and I'm find with most reads.
The bottom line is, that I want a read that ends well, gives hope, shows how mankind (the characters) grow and or give in to their ugly selfish desires and perish. I like good to conquer over evil.
Basically I'm not fond of books like Dexter where the Hero is only a glorified villain, but I understand them. THis is a book written to entertain and amuse, and, I think it needed a better moral compass as a story
I have faith the writer has skill has has written, and will write other books that I can enjoy. This isn't one of them.
This book could have managed 3 stars, except the ending sucked.
Or, to quote the late, but wonderful Father Martin, "Start out with a screwy premise and you'll end up with a nutty conclusion."
I'm generously giving this three stars but it's 2.5-2.75 ish. I'm sure someone will enjoy this, and they are welcome too. I enjoyed the begining, then, as the rude and obnoxious characters started wearing me down, the plot turned sour and got worse-beyond bitter.
Warnings (always warnings, and this one needs them!)
1) Sexual Violence and Abuse towards women and children in this book. I do not believe it was handled well. It'a wolf in sheep's clothing. Written with all the skill of a good writer, but in the end, the writer pissed on the plot as if fooling us to believe there might be some humanity left on that devil's island then yanking the rug out from under us, and leaving everything damaged, bad, wounded and unredeemable.
2) Violence-- I've read other books with as much machete and gun violence and called it okay to make it hard to justify griping about the violence here. The lesson here for me, that I hope to pass on to you, is, that the end doesn't justify the means. If nobody grows, learns or saves something worthwhile, then just about any amount of violence seems gratuitous against a tapestry that does not allow for growth of spirit and development of humanity in the characters.
3) Sour twisted ending passed off as "good" or "just."
4) No likable characters. Ordinarily villains like these would be welcome, if the heroes and Heroines were up to the task of becoming human. In this book, good luck finding any character to like. The Villains bad behavior, instead of providing contrast to the good, that I expected to show itself any page but failed to materialize from the heroes' hearts and minds, and the growth of the characters toward healthy human beings means that it's hard for me to even like the villains as villains. And these were bad people...that usually works for villains.
Not for children, not for YA, I can't imagine what a healthy female reader would see in this book if they read it to the end, possible to please a reader who likes misogynistic literature and male chauvinist themes that allow the objectification of women to be seen as desirable.
Ah-hell, I'm lowering it to a 2. Laymon has writing skills, but like Babe Ruth, who's still in the top ten of all time home run hitters in baseball, this book is full of more strikes and failed attempts to connect than anything.
To them who like Laymon, I see his skill in the technical aspects of his writing, even in his descriptions and, yes, in his flawed characters. It's almost like he wanted to draw me in then punish me for being foolish enough to believe this book could end well. The tone of this book, at the end, is far to pessimistic about the nature of humanity for me to feel anything but disgust.
I hope Laymon has some books where he uses his Jedi-powers of rough drafts, punctuation and twisted wicked plots, for good, instead of misogynistic evil in the name of adolescent rites passage from boy to man.
Not recommended. The end does not justify the means, or even liking the rest of the book.
March 20, 2021
Trust me when I saying calling this book GARBAGE is actually me being generous. This was the most disgusting and unecessary book I’ve ever read. This was not a horror or a thriller but instead a sick & twisted perverted fantasy with the stupidest characters ever. It read like a snuff film and I worry no amount of showering will make me feel clean. There is no mystery and you learn early on who the killer is, his motives matter little. The book is told via the perverted musings of a 18 year piece of shit Rupert. No matter the situation Rupert made everything sexual and completely inappropriate. Not to mention the book overall deals with some horrible issues like murder, rape, incest oh and the rape of minors to boot, and dear old Rupert gets his rocks off watching all this. 🤮🤬 🤮🤬🤮🤬 Everyone in the book was idiotic, disgusting and I could have cared less if they all died. Honestly don’t read this. Don’t look at it, walk the fuck away because you will have major regret and question al, your life choices. I don’t know how or why I held up hope for this book. By the time I made it to almost 70% I assumed it couldn’t possibly get any worse and I’d just finish it out and move on. Well it did get worse, a lot worse and the only decent part was that it did end and I can now call to make a therapy appointment. This book is literally the grossest thing ever and had zero point. It’d be best served in a burning heap or better yet flung out into space-out of our atmosphere entirely.
February 5, 2013
So, this one was a slight departure from Laymon's typical novels. At least the sevral I have had the fortune of reading. There are enough of his trademark elements to validate his style, though. This is one of the darkest I have read by Laymon, and one of my favorites. The idea to have the tale told through journal entries of a horny teen fit this story perfectly. There are many gruesome scenes, and if you are easily offended or unable to handle scenes that are very disturbing, skip it. It's not for you. I am, unapologetically someone who is unable to be repulsed by much when it comes to fiction. This story has a nice balance of horror, mystery and quite a bit of strange, dark humor. I have to admit, I predicted the ending pretty early on, but the delivery was dead-on, and I thoroughly enjoyed. I burned through this 500+ page book in just a couple of days.
I will summarize by quoting our protagonist from one of his lines in his journal. "It was like a car accident... only better."
I will summarize by quoting our protagonist from one of his lines in his journal. "It was like a car accident... only better."
December 30, 2021
A group of people end up stranded on an island as they disappear one by one. Told through the eyes of a teenage-ish boy, mystery suspense thriller by they fabulous Layman! say, I like the narrator/main character of the story up to the last sentence in the book.
This is my 5th book by Layman, I enjoy his writing. This was different then I thought it was going to be. All the other books I've read by him were supernatural in nature and I assumed this one would be as well. So I was surprised as I got further into the story.
This book really pulled me in and I really wanted to know what was going on. Great mystery/thriller!
This is my 5th book by Layman, I enjoy his writing. This was different then I thought it was going to be. All the other books I've read by him were supernatural in nature and I assumed this one would be as well. So I was surprised as I got further into the story.
This book really pulled me in and I really wanted to know what was going on. Great mystery/thriller!
October 21, 2018
Solid 4 stars from me. I understand why certain people are turned off by the horny teenager vibe in this book, but that is basically how horny teenagers think so I didn't let it bother me. Island is the second Laymon book I've read and I am very interested in continuing to read his books.
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