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A review by lethaldose
Island by Richard Laymon
5.0
This is probably the most flawed book I have ever given 5 stars to, but 5 stars reflects my enjoyment of the book as a whole, not the likability of the characters, the quality of the writing, or the ending.
Without giving anything away I will say this, my single biggest complaint with every Richard Laymon book is that I hate the endings, every one of them, this is my fourth Laymon book and I have hated every ending so far, maybe he has some books with good endings but this isn't one of them. The end is terrible, but if you are reading a book merely for the ending than you are doing it wrong.
Here is the question you will constantly be asking yourself in this book, "What is wrong with these people?" With the exception of Kimberly every other character in this book is unlikable. Now my theory on this, and one that makes this a better book, is that all the characters other Kimberly are bad because Rupert, our narrator, is an untrustworthy narrator and all his opinions of the characters bleed into his telling of the story. Connie is a shrewish bitch, Billie is friendly but overly sexual, Andrew is a hard ass who belittles and then there is Kimberly. She is presented as perfect, stunningly beautiful, friendly and concerned with others, tough, with good leadership skills. Rupert even admits in his writings that he is in awe of her and that he lusts after her. The truth is all the characters in this book are presented through the eyes of a horny teenager, and once you realize that the book becomes better, maybe because it gives it a more real feeling.
Ok let's talk about the biggest complaint I have noticed with this book, Rupert is constantly talking and thinking about sex. No matter how inappropriate it is, he is constantly fixated on his female companions and their anatomy. He takes every opportunity to comment on there appearance, and to get a look and touch of their bodies, even at one point fighting for his life he comments on the one characters boobs falling out of their top. There comes a point at about the 2/3 mark you think the story is going to turn and we will move beyond this, but that doesn't happen. This book, the narrator, and the supporting cast are either thinking about sex, or being sexualized. After a while it gets tiresome, so know going in this is what the book is about, and in truth at first it makes you shake your head and think how juvenile it all feels, but the truth is the plot of the book is served by all of this.
The truth is the book was a lot of fun to read, you felt like you were there with these characters, and even if you didn't like them you could imagine what it would be like to be trapped with them, you feel the isolation, the terror, and the paranoia. This book does what it is supposed to do and for that I gave it 5 stars. It was what I was expecting when I picked it up, only more intense. If you are a fan of Richard Laymon this book is worth it, even if you have never read one of his books before this is probably a good place to start. All his books seem to be unnaturally preoccupied with sex, this one is maybe a bit more so.
Without giving anything away I will say this, my single biggest complaint with every Richard Laymon book is that I hate the endings, every one of them, this is my fourth Laymon book and I have hated every ending so far, maybe he has some books with good endings but this isn't one of them. The end is terrible, but if you are reading a book merely for the ending than you are doing it wrong.
Here is the question you will constantly be asking yourself in this book, "What is wrong with these people?" With the exception of Kimberly every other character in this book is unlikable. Now my theory on this, and one that makes this a better book, is that all the characters other Kimberly are bad because Rupert, our narrator, is an untrustworthy narrator and all his opinions of the characters bleed into his telling of the story. Connie is a shrewish bitch, Billie is friendly but overly sexual, Andrew is a hard ass who belittles and then there is Kimberly. She is presented as perfect, stunningly beautiful, friendly and concerned with others, tough, with good leadership skills. Rupert even admits in his writings that he is in awe of her and that he lusts after her. The truth is all the characters in this book are presented through the eyes of a horny teenager, and once you realize that the book becomes better, maybe because it gives it a more real feeling.
Ok let's talk about the biggest complaint I have noticed with this book, Rupert is constantly talking and thinking about sex. No matter how inappropriate it is, he is constantly fixated on his female companions and their anatomy. He takes every opportunity to comment on there appearance, and to get a look and touch of their bodies, even at one point fighting for his life he comments on the one characters boobs falling out of their top. There comes a point at about the 2/3 mark you think the story is going to turn and we will move beyond this, but that doesn't happen. This book, the narrator, and the supporting cast are either thinking about sex, or being sexualized. After a while it gets tiresome, so know going in this is what the book is about, and in truth at first it makes you shake your head and think how juvenile it all feels, but the truth is the plot of the book is served by all of this.
The truth is the book was a lot of fun to read, you felt like you were there with these characters, and even if you didn't like them you could imagine what it would be like to be trapped with them, you feel the isolation, the terror, and the paranoia. This book does what it is supposed to do and for that I gave it 5 stars. It was what I was expecting when I picked it up, only more intense. If you are a fan of Richard Laymon this book is worth it, even if you have never read one of his books before this is probably a good place to start. All his books seem to be unnaturally preoccupied with sex, this one is maybe a bit more so.