(Book Review) Island

Time to read: 1 min read

Book Cover Book Cover

Oh, man. Oh, shit.

Review

I read this book because Richard Laymon has often been compared to Stephen King, one of my favourite authors. It appears that all of the most messed up stories are written by schoolteachers.

The story is told through a series of journal entries made by Rupert, the perverted protagonist who get stranded on an island in the Bahamas with his fiancée and her family. The story starts out very promising, the characters are very nicely developed and the premise is very interesting. There's a mysterious killer on the island and the cast struggles to survive. The story then quickly descends to what I can only describe as smut, filled with graphic depictions of rape and gore.

I think I prefer the psychological terror inflicted by King's works over the pure shock inflicted by Laymon's.

Conclusion

It's not a poorly written novel, per se; it's just not my cup of tea.

Overall rating: 6.4

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