A review by brents
The Island by Ben Coes

3.0

This is a really good story idea, and really mediocre execution of it. Honestly I think I'm done with Ben Coes. I really liked Power Down and Coup D'état a few years ago, but I wasn't impressed with any books after that. I decided to try this one based on the premise and even though it was ok it wasn't as enjoyable as other books in the genre. I've never thought the Dewy Andreas character was that great, but apparently Coes doesn't either as he's completely missing from the middle section of this book. You can't make a great character if you literally don't give him anything to do. Also, the pacing of this book is very strange. It felt like the setup for events to happen takes forever despite the fact that we know they are going to happen before the book even starts based on the premise. There are also tics that Coes has in his writing that drive me nuts. He repeatedly uses the phrase "pumped the trigger" which is not something I've ever heard anyone say. Despite all of that this was still an ok action thriller novel. It's just missing the intrigue, suspense, and good character moments of better books in the genre.