Island of the Dead by Brian Keene
Apex Book Company (October 2024)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (Instagram) (TikTok)
When zombies, barbarians, giant ants and a group of people also stuck on the island collide!
Brian Keene is well known for his zombie stories and there’s a good reason for it! While this is only my second read by this author, he has certainly found a new fan and I’ll be adding a lot more to my horror arsenal.
Island of the Dead is a fun romp with our leading barbarian, Einar. The story opens with him as a chained slave on a ship out in the open sea. An unexpected storm provides Einar the perfect opportunity to escape. Einar, along with a few others, end up on an island with little to no possibility of rescue. The only people that may be after them are those who want the back in their servitude. Or so they think. They quickly learn that the island isn’t as deserted as first appearances may have led them to believe.
Would you rather fight off zombies, giant ants and other giant critters, or a group of inbreeders wanting your seed? There’s really no good choice here. What is good is how Keene navigates this story as we go from one catastrophe to another. While the fighting scenes and bloody descriptions are rampant and fun throughout this read, the real shining parts are the social commentaries placed within. There’s trans representation, which is great to see. Some of my favorite moments were the interactions of Einar and Mathias. Absolutely love both of these characters.
I do have one question though. How do you know if a one-eyed girl winked back at you or was just blinking? Inquiring minds want to know!
Keene cleverly intersperses swords, giant creatures and violence with culture and a story that has you rooting for this small group of barbarians and others along the way that all have the same goal of escaping the terrors of this island. It’s vicious, humorous, loving, fast-paced and one you should add to your reading list. If you never thought a barbarian/zombie combination story would be your thing, I ask that you try this one and maybe, just maybe, it will change your mind.
