Monster Island: A Zombie Novel by David Wellington Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Monster Island: A Zombie Novel
Book Review: Worth reading....
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm not a huge fan of zombie novels (the shuffling dead eating the living just grosses me out) but this was a bit different. A worldwide epidemic occurs that wipes out the majority of the population leaving hungry, mindless zombies. In New York City, Gary chooses to become one of the zombies before he is caught and eaten. He was a medical intern prior to the epidemic and so he kills himself via submering himself in ice but manages to keep his brain active by hooking himself up to a dialysis machine. Meanwhile, DeKalb and the teenaged Glorious Girl Army of the Free Women's Republic of Somaliland has sailed to NYC in search of AIDS medications for Mama Halima, the leader of the teenaged girls. Mama Halima is keeping DeKalb's daughter, Sarah, hostage until he returns with the medicines. Their plan is to go to the U.N. building and get the medicines but they were unprepared for the numerous zombies in NYC. They meet up with Gary and initially allow him to live- that is, until he eats their dying teenaged leader! He is shot in the head and therefore supposedly dead but Gary discovers he can suck the life force out of other zombies and regenerate when a mysterious Benefactor assists him. Gary meets up with his Benefactor, Mael, and together they begin plotting the demise of all survivors. DeKalb and Ayaan (one of the teenaged warriors) stumble upon a group of survivors in NYC and are caught in a power struggle between Gary and Mael. This book definitely kept my interest and the author avoided focusing too much on the sheer nastiness of zombies eating people and instead created a story that is definitely worth reading.Book Review: Really fun book!
Summary: 4 Stars
I am not a horror reader by any means but this was recommended to me by a friend of mine and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it I plowed through it really quickly and will definitely pick up the next volume. Book Review: Mr. Wellington is the real deal
Summary: 5 Stars
Folks, you have to check this book out.
Had enough of mass-market monsters? Tired of book store horror sections that are dominated by one or two authors (I think you know who I mean)?
Check out this or anything else Mr. Wellington has served up and you'll be in for a flesh-chewing treat.
He's a breath of fresh air for those of us with a love of all things monster.
Book Review: Picking up the torch lit by Romero
Summary: 5 Stars
Monster Island is, hands down one of the most original and compelling reads to come along in a very long time.
Wellington injects the genre ignited by Romero and championed by Fulci with a supercharged boost of creativity at every turn.
Vivid descriptions and well researched details meet in an unrivaled example of story telling.
So natural is the world that Wellington weaves that at times, Monster Island is less like reading a book and more being witness to a movie playing in your mind.
You'd be hard pressed to find another book out now that can grab a hold of you and show you with flesh shredding convincingness, the details of what a nightmare made real looks like.
If you did find such a book it's a safe bet that Dave Wellington wrote that one too. My final recommendation is to stop reading this and go buy Monster Island right now.
Book Review: Much more than a standard horror novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Monster Island succeeds where many other survival/horror novels go astray by combing three elements exceptionally well. Mr. Wellington creates a situation full of narrow escapes and memorable battles taking place in a setting that is both instantly familiar to all of us, and yet transformed to something not of this world. The author's own personal knowledge of many of the book's locales contributes to the reader's feeling of fitting into an environment that many have seen portrayed countless times in movies and literature, but until now never really felt like a resident. This is truly a great example of fine action/adventure writing.
Mr. Wellington then adds an entire additional dimension to the book by his inclusion of dark horror elements, elements that are effectively written and full of cerebral fear and mystery, and yet he never looses touch with the reality of this story. He deftly avoids the cliched approach of many horror writers that results in a book full of terror, but not full of plot. In Monster Island the horror always serves to make the reader squirm while still advancing the plot itself.
The main agents Mr. Wellington uses towards this purpose are his characters, truly the best part of the book. His main protagonist is intelligent and quick-thinking, and yet illustrates the inability of those raised in the safe American lifestyle to instantly comprehend the near-end of civilization. The character's fear and caution remind of us ourselves, who though having the best of intentions oftentimes are unable to rise above our basic human infirmities in order to achieve movie star style bravado. The story's heroine does have a superhero quality about herself, and she is certainly able to fight her way out of situations with the best of them, but her humanity is also shown through her childlike respect towards her AIDS suffering leader back in Somalia, as well as her lack of confidence in her ability to formulate a plan for the expedition in spite of all of her physical prowess.
The most effective character however, is Gary, the story's villain. Any good horror story deserves a good villain, and Gary delivers in spades, quickly becoming a favorite character when he easily out-evils the more traditional villain figure, a resurrected druid who wants to crush all life remaining after the undead plague. Gary decides he has better plans for humanity, and from that point proves that a Machiavellian combination of raw intelligence and a total lack of moral scruples make for a far more sinister enemy than one who simply wants to kill for the sake of killing.
Monster Islands characters, plot, and dark horror will have the reader turning quickly through it's all-too-few pages, and then leave them waiting for the remaining two entries into the trilogy with baited breath.