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Jul 24, 2011

mark rated it:

Island is incredibly offensive, bizarrely interesting, and often a lot of frenetic, fast-paced fun. i probably should just give it 3 stars for being a pure bit of sleazy, escapist enjoyment, but...that's hard, i feel guilty. the novel is reprehensible and rather 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 perfectly More...

8 comments like (17 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Chelsea rated it:

It was okay. I liked the plot of the book, but I didn't actually like the way that it was written. I don't think that Richard Laymon is that good of an author. Well, judging by this book anyway. I probably would read another one of his books though. Anyway, I wasn't really expecting it be that good, because I was only reading it while I was waiting for The Hunger Games to arrive, but I finished it too early. I also think that with this book, there wasn't really a character that I liked. What usu More...

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Mar 10, 2011

Amanda rated it:

I see many reviewers describe this book as funny, and up until the last quarter of the book I was mildly amused by the rather puerile and voyeuristic imagery described by the main character Rupert Conway, a sex-obsessed college kid who's on spring break with his girlfriend's family. The book is written in the form of a journal Rupert is keeping to document the group's escapades on the island where they are marooned. Laymon nailed this character as far as voice, dialogue etc. The writing is sharp More...

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Oct 29, 2010

Traveller rated it:

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 b More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 30, 2011

Andre rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down for very long, it's a real page turner. This is my first Richard Laymon book and I'm anxious to read more from him (I've already bought The travelling vampire show and will read that next). Apart for a few little quirks this was a very nice thriller. I do get annoyed at small details in books though, like in this one when one character points out that "chimps have tails"..... well no actually, chimps do not have tails!
And a lot of More...

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May 11, 2011

Liz rated it:

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 book 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 More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2007

Malissa rated it:

This I read a long time ago.... so its a bit vague in my mind but as I remember it I couldn't put the book down and the more I raed the more intense the story became, I never dare become a jungle explorer after reading this GULP......

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 23, 2009

Lavonne rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Brian rated it:

Rupert Conway goes on a vacation with his girlfriend and her family which was great until the boat exploded and they become trapped on an Island. Then one by one the survivors start getting murdered. Rupert narrates the whole story as he writes everything in his journal in the hopes that when they get rescued he can sell it. Aside from his constant need to describe how all the women look and what they are wearing, which is part of Rupert’s character, it’s a good read. Strong ending as well. Reco More...

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Jan 07, 2011

Jak rated it:

I read this when I was about 17 or so and thought it was merely OK if somewhat implausible and. Now I’m older and wiser I can see it’s just garbage. It’s basically torture porn and not very good torture porn at that.

The plot if fairly simple, a rich family of female hotties (and their partners) are lured to a deserted Caribbean island and stranded when one of the hubbies accidently blows their boat and himself up. Except he was faking it and starts knocking off the other fellas all so More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2009

DJMikeG rated it:

This 500 page horror thriller was a 4 star book for the first 400 pages. Then it kind of falls apart. The brilliant thing about this book is that it is the journal of one of the characters. You're not sure what is true, what is he leaving out, you're meant to wonder just how trustworthy is the narrator? This is a cool little trick by Laymon, but it also gives the book many problems. First of all, it kind of kills the suspense, because you know if the character is writing the journal, that h More...

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Apr 05, 2009

Trudi rated it:

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 g More...

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Dec 06, 2010

Eric rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like

Feb 09, 2012

Robert rated it:

Over the top , wild sexual themes, yes it's a Richard Laymon novel.

Friends trapped on a island after a boast explodes. Sure enough they start to be picked off one by one,

there's a killer amongst them. Story told in the form of a journal written by the nerdy one of our merry group.

Rupert our nerdy storyteller informs us whats going on around him in his own sleazy style..... not bad but really over the top.....

Kindle version

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Aug 20, 2011

Julian rated it:

A total guilty pleasure, this book bustles along with enormous energy. As usual, you get Laymon's blend of sweet protagonists and horrifying situations, but here the descent into savagery is sustained to jaw-dropping effect. Funny and cool as well as scary, naughty and thrilling.

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Nov 17, 2011

Hazel rated it:

This is book is a little like chips....you know they aren't doing you no good but you still keep devouring their salty deliciousness. It's entertaining on a level, but seems to head towards the slightly dirty and sleazy side of things which is a little off putting.

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Jul 08, 2010

Angela rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Apr 26, 2009

Barbara rated it:

Rupert Conway was invited on a vacation with his girlfriends family. What should have been a great adventure turned into a torturous nightmare. The yacht was blown to pieces and the family was stranded on a deserted island. One of the family members was insane and lured the family on this trip and started indiscriminately murdering the men. What started as 8 castaways quickly became four.

The first half of the book was ok though it was dragged down with unnecessary rablings (fille More...

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Apr 11, 2011

John rated it:

Best Richard Laymon book I have read to date. This is a BRUTAL book, so be prepared before you start reading. I swear I heard the record scratch sound in my head when the twist was revealed, chilling!

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Jan 25, 2012

Kat rated it:

Like all other Richard Laymon novels this one contained the constant nude killer and thoughts of sex and stuff like that. I can see why a lot of people don't like his books because of this. It really doesn't bother me too much, because I like all other aspects of his novels. This book wasn't AS bad as other ones BUT the fact that in this book Laymon includes 14yr old girls who are nude and molested & beaten and thought about in sexual ways really disturbs me. Other then that I thought it was one More...

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Apr 25, 2010

Kristi rated it:

so typical. but the plot is a little "tighter" is that hte word. more possible and very predictable at the super end, but it felt more like a novel then some silly highschool boy's dribblings.

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Jul 14, 2011

Erin rated it:

I give up. I just wanted a good scary book. After seeing this one recommended a few times I gave it a shot. Boo. The only thing scary about it was Rupert's non stop talk about tits. So dumb.

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Aug 24, 2010

Sonya rated it:

I really didn't like this book. It was way to long and I wasn't a big fan of the way it was written. I am a big fan of Laymon so I'm glad I had read alot of his others first

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Feb 28, 2010

Dawn rated it:

A bit hard to follow as it is written in journal format...however,I still found it hard to put down...I needed to know the outcome and again was surprised by the way inwhich Richard Laymon finished this novel.

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Dec 01, 2009

Emma rated it:

I didn't enjoy this as much as others seem to have. The ending was good but the rest of it dragged a bit for me, and not a single character was actually likeable.

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May 09, 2010

chucklesthescot rated it:

An extended family are on a boat, preparing to have some fun when it blows up and the survivors are stranded on an island. Cue a murderer stalking them one by one as they try to find a way to get help, scary discoveries as they explore the island and a journal telling a story.
Bits of the story were good and other bits just really bugged me. The usual mix of sex and violence livened it up a bit but I just didn't enjoy this story and I wanted to put a gun in Thelma's mouth and pull the tri More...

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Jan 28, 2011

Andy rated it:

This is the first Richard Laymon book I ever read and I think it's his best. It's a great place to start for anybody interested in seeing what Laymon is all about. It's a wild story about a group of people ship-wrecked on an island with a murderer running loose. As is often the case with a Richard Laymon book, the protagonist is a sex-obsessed male who finds himself surrounded by equally willing females but in a harrowing and twisted situation. It's a roller coaster ride with a great finish, but More...

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May 05, 2011

Ann rated it:

Not what I expected. Just a long, rambling, erotic fantasy of a teenaged boy. I ended up hating his character and thinking the whole book was a stupid waste of my time.

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Jun 18, 2010

Roger rated it:

This novel about some rich people stranded on a desert island kept me reading, as one by one they are killed. I couldn't stop reading.

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Nov 09, 2011

Lennongirl rated it:

All characters in this book are very unlikeable. Plus, it's terribly written. However, the bad writing _could_ be intended. After all, this book is the written account of a horny 17 year old loser who just isn't a good writer and focuses rather on female bodies than character traits. So the whole trashy aspect of this novel could be intended, especially since - well, the really cool twisted ending makes it all work in a way. And until the reader gets there, the story itself is so weird and happe More...

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