Island

Rating:
Summary: Gilligan's Island This Is Not
Review: To be honest I was originally put off by Island. The way in which it was written seemed like an easy way out - its no great feat for any writer to narrate as an 18 year-old sex-obsessed kid. And the story itself seemed juvenile at best, reminding me more of a low-budget slasher film, complete with jiggly, scantily clad scream-queens. Like something you'd watch in junior high school at a slumber party. But as I kept reading, I realized what a fun, well-done novel Island was.

Rupert (our intrepid narrator) has got a problem - he's marooned on an island with four beautiful women. The only hitch is that their husband's are there as well. Until they start disappearing, that is. Before too long he finds himself in the enviable position of sharing a deserted island, alone, with four women. And it would be great except for the fact that they're being hunted.

Island is a fun, quirky suspense novel but it has a dark side as well. Drenched in sex, Island delves into the darker side of perversion from time to time. Readers can expect to run across a few graphic and uncomfortable scenes. All this, though, is combined to form an entertaining, engrossing novel. Bottom line: it's a lot of fun. Don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Richard Laymon Has A Way With Words
Review: This book was a big page turner with me. I had to force myself to put the book down and go back to work. I was a little skeptical at the start, but I truly enjoyed this book. The ending was great. It made me laugh. I wish Richard Laymon had not past away, so he could keep writing. So far I've read 2 of his books and they have been excellent. If you like Horror/Thriller with some erotic stuff you will enjpoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!! SICK, COOL AND OVER THE TOP!!!
Review: I am a BIG fan of Richard Laymon. I have read a few pretty bad books from him, but I keep reading. I started this one, and could not put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. I read until my eyes hurt! I LOVE THIS BOOK! The ending will totally SHOCK you! It is sick and full of sex and strange over the top stuff. The Richard I fell is love with is BACK with this book. I know he is dead, but now they are releasing a bunch of his older books and newer books that were not yet published. Apparently he wrote several, so I hope the others one are as good as this. LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Fun Read
Review: What a fun book! Sure there is a lot of adolescent sexuality invovled here, but that's one of the things that makes Dick Laymon such a fantastic writer - his ability to firmly put the reader into the hormonal rages of male adolescence (the Traveling Vampire Show was another that did this well). There's quite a bit of suspense here - not over the top scares, but more along the lines of a good solid thriller. "Island" has an intriguing premise, well-drawn characters, a great pace, and a wonderful climax and twist at the end. Bring this anywhere and you'll be glad you picked it up. As always, with Richard laymon, you can't pick a bad book.

Rating:
Summary: Richard Laymon--Island
Review: ...Laymon's latest is an epic Robinson Cruesoe/Gilligan tale with teaspoon of "Mr. Murder". Rupert Conway is a nerdy, perverted freshman in college who is invited by his girlfriend to join her family in celebrating her parents' anniversary on a cruise. When the cruise ship blows up and the family is stranded on some unknown island, a killer begins to slaughter the innocent inhabitants one by one. Rupert portrays these horrific events in the form of his diary, which is nothing more than his collective thoughts about how he wants to either get into the pants of every/any female on the island, find the killer and stop him for good, or just desert everyone and try to leave the island alone. Laymon certainly has a unique touch to his writing style, creating yet another novel that will certainly haunt, scare, disturb, and certainly aggravate many readers. He paints vivid pictures with his raunchy word choice and graphic violence, which may not be for everyone. If you think you can stomach Laymon, you can probably stomach anyone, and his "Island" is up to the challenge.

Rating:
Summary: Horrorified Hemingway? Gilligan's Island Gone Bad!
Review: Who can give this book one star? Obviously someone who doesn't understand that horror books, or any other book, should contain great characters, a sense of humor, unique perspective, and twists galore.
Laymon has had some amazing books out there that are straight out horror, but this one is a slow builder, although entertaining all the way. It's a mystery/suspense novel moreso than horror, but so what? All that matters is that it's worth reading.
Not many writers could write and layer characters like Laymon did, especially with such deceptively simple prose. Yet in this manner, he allows the story to grow, layer upon layer until this "simple" novel is deep & entralling.
Hopefully, more readers will give this & all his novels a chance.

Rating:
Summary: A real page turner
Review: Richard Laymon writes consistently good horror novels, and this is no exception. 'Island' is a real page turner, involving the reader in a gripping tale that never relents until the very end, which in itself has an amusing twist that I wont spoil by giving away, only to say that it is true to its protagonist's behaviour. The faults with this book are the faults with all of Laymon's books. He relishes vivid descriptions of the gory details, the sadistic acts, and the sexual perversions to such an extent that I began to wish he had followed the old adage, "Less is more," and allowed our imaginations to fill in the gaps. However, this shouldn't distract from Laymon's skill as both a humorous and as an exciting storyteller. The moral bankruptcy of the main character is both shocking and funny.

Rating:
Summary: An Adolescent's Wet Dream
Review: First off, this book is NOT scary. Nor is it suspenseful. What starts off as a promising premise,an anniversary outing goes wrong when the rented boat unexpectedly explodes, stranding them on this deserted island. No sooner does a day pass when the husband of one of the women is found dead, which leaves 4 women and 2 men. The following day, the second man is dispatched. What could have been a suspenseful story of survival against a psychotic individual turns into an adolescent's wet dream. Not a chapter goes by where the writer--the "author" of the account, as the story is told first person--doesn't talk about the women's breasts, their butts, their bikinis. Granted, there are moments of blood and guts, but those seem to be thrown in as an afterthought. I bought this book looking for a good scare, what I got was an embarassment to the horror genre. If you want a good scare--and a good read--pass this book by and, if necessary, reread some old Stephen King.

Rating:
Summary: ISLAND
Review: SURVIOR LAYMON STYLE. BUT YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET VOTED OFF THIS ISLAND. FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE AND A VERY STRANGE BOOK EVEN FOR LAYMON. GREAT STUFF.

Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable! This is why I like to read!
Review: I think most of Richard Laymon's novels would appeal to fans of Dean Koontz or Bentley Little. Island probably has an even greater potential audience. For anyone who appreciates Stephen King's short story "Survivor Type" or the novel The Beach by Alex Garland, Island should be just as enjoyable.

Laymon's great at first-person narration. In Island, the narrator is not only part of the story, but the whole concept of the story being written in a series of notebooks as the tale unfolds--similar to King's "Survivor Type"--is extremely well done.

I don't want to summarize much of the story for obvious reasons, but I will say that it's action packed and full of surprises. Laymon has a deceptively simple writing style. If you're looking for complicated, purple prose, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for writing that flows, though, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better. Not only does the story move right along with rarely a dull moment, but Laymon throws in some nice touches for fans of literature. For example, the narrator is named Rupert; he's named after the British WWI poet Rubert Brooke. I found myself wondering if that particular detail was thrown in due to Laymon's popularity in the UK. Also, some of the dialogue sounds vaguely "British", if that makes any sense. Regardless, it's all fascinating.

One thing that makes Island so intensely readable is the honesty of the narrator. He's not afraid to describe what's going through his mind--no matter how perverted or obscene it is. I myself found this very enjoyable (and honest), a welcome change of pace from what I usually read.

Best of all, the ending of Island is not only satisfying, but appropriately shocking. I've enjoyed all of Laymon's novels that I've read, and Island is certainly no exception. The one thing that sets it apart from his other books like The Traveling Vampire Show and Bite, however, is that I believe it has the potential to appeal to a much larger audience than most of his other novels. If you've never read a Laymon novel, Island would be a great place to start.

Prior to reading Island, I read A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons. I am a pretty big Simmons fan, and while Simmons does have a better reputation among critics than Laymon will ever have, Island was a far more enjoyable read. Should I feel guilty about that? I really don't think so. I think with time Laymon's reputation as a very talented writer, rather than as a hack who writes trash, will solidify itself. At least if there's any justice in this world!