The Island by T.M. Wright

The Island Reviews

• 
  Craig

  This is a stand-alone novel, not connected to other books Wright wrote with the word "island" in the title. It tells two stories in parallel, one in the past and one current (which was back in the 1980s, remember.) They eventually merge, but there were still some details left unresolved and there's an air of unsure ambiguity about the whole. Some of the more supernatural elements feel tacked on, as if they were required to get the word "horror" printed on the spine. It's a nicely written book that I enjoyed, with some clever twists and very evocative descriptions, but not one of Wright's best. It does have one of those cool 3-D foil covers with a bright-eyed zombie hidden in the trees...
• 
  Graham P

  What one desires, and expects to happen in a book can be illusory at best, and what actually happens in the pages can be like a puzzle without gain – words, motivations, characters all lost on the reader. Suspense becomes secondary. Nuance loses its aim and the ambiguities turn the text towards a head-scratching detour where the narrative encounters a brick wall.
  
  T.M. Wright’s ‘The Island’ is one of these books. Everything element is present – a gold mine of horror trademarks. We have a house in the lake, one in which broke free from its hold on a small island shore, and is now a haunted relic submerged below the dark waters. We have characters from the big city trying to lose themselves in nature, with hopes to find some inner peace; yet in the end, only encounter something alien, something cold and distant, something hungry. We have the widow waking at midnight, and who finds herself chipping away at the ice with a pick-axe, as if to free something from its seclusion. We have a new mother holding her child and wondering why it always so cold to the touch.
  
  T.M. Wright does well conjuring up some great images.
  
  ‘The ice around the hole heaved upward; first the woman’s shoulders, then a long, naked arm appeared above the surface of the ice. Her mouth opened still wider, the way the mouth of a snake opens wide to accept its prey.’ Great stuff, but the way in which characters and talk to one another leaves something to be desired.
  
  Unique to the genre, Wright has created a novel about indirectness, a failure to communicate. Maybe Wright is intentionally showing his characters talk in obtuse angles – marbles in the mouth. Maybe it is the cold permeating from the lake that makes everything vague, indistinct – marbles in the mind. There is something buried under this book, something that makes it completely unique from other horror books at the time. But while it tries to rewrite the ghost story in a dream-like, unclear state, the result in the end is a bit sloppy.
  
  Do I recommend the book? Yes. Do I hold it high in the horror canon? Not necessarily. I’ll remember some of the vivid images Wright has painted here, as well as the promise I felt reading the first few chapters. But by the end, there are no clear lines, and while what can’t be explained – the supernatural unknown to the minds of the living – the tension falls wayside and the book becomes a muddled array of promising horrors.
• 
  Bradley

  Believe it or not, this is one of the most steadfast and traditional zombie books that I've ever read, complete with the point of view of the zombies themselves. It's not bad, although that might sound like it is. :)
  
  I had a great time reading this in a few hours and it whittles away at the time if you're looking to waste it. Great mindless fun, and quite a bit more fun to watch in your mind than one of the horrible horrors from the 80's.
  
• 
  Wayne

  The author summed this up himself when he described one of his characters as going blind. He saw everything like he was looking through vaseline. That's what I felt like this book made me feel. I still am having a little trouble what exactly this thing was on about. It's two different stories. one past, on present that intersects. I sort of liked the present story. The past wasn't that enjoyable.
  
  It starts off nicely enough. But too soon it starts to drift. The main character who owns the lodge by The Island has way with words. He massacres sentences. I guess it's suppose to be different, funny but it just starts to annoy. Come to think of it, all the characters were irritating. Half way through, I was scratching my head wondering what the hell was going on.
  
  I liked some of the authors other books. He has an odd, yet interesting way to set a mood. He just couldn't pull it off on this one. Although I did not really enjoy this, it will stay with me for awhile. Not in a good way, nor bad. That's just like the book. Eyes covered in vaseline.
• 
  Stephen

  Wasn’t one of my favorites by this author. Back and forth from past to present. It came across as rather dreary. No depth in character. Atmospheric, yes. I trudged through. If I start reading a book and it doesn’t appeal to me, I have to finish either way. Like a dangling participle. It was ok
• 
  Ken Saunders

  "There were things in the game room which were deaf. There were spiders in several of the high corners and they could not hear, they could merely sense vibration. The same was true of the flies that happened into the webs that the spiders built. It was true, as well, of the entity which waited with consummate patience at the glass and dark wood doors; it was waiting for the doors to be opened."
  
  Wright's books almost all feature confused ghosts like that one haunting the game room like a spider, but this one has boatloads more. THE ISLAND suggests that memory is a trap, that it weighs us down with comfort and rots us as it warms us up. The story concerns an (incidentally) African American family trying to make a new home on the remote Adirondack island, in sections called "History", and a nearby summer resort launching its debut ski season 10 winters later. The best parts are the middle sections where the two halves begin to mirror each other and intertwine.
  
  The book becomes bogged down with too many characters (all bickering constantly) and too many tangents to be conventionally satisfying, but Wright's unique style consistently delivers enough twists and chills to make it a rewarding read. There aren't enough scenes as shocking as the fantastic scare that opens the book, but just try putting this one down when the mailman enters the house on the island ...
• 
  Patrick

  T.M. Wright was a genius. He also gets the most unfair shake on Goodreads. His style is very unique / unorthodox, so I get that he's not for everyone. A 2.97 is absolutely ridiculous though. DEFINITELY ignore that and give this a shot!! Insanely creepy, surreal and unique. Almost felt like David Lynch meets George Romero in the Adirondacks with some good acid 🤣. I absolutely loved this on all levels!
• 
  Chrystal

  I am not even sure how to describe this book. It was interesting but lacked character development and unfortunately towards the end when you would think a book would tie up loose ends and come to a climax, it just didn't. It just ended. Strange.
• 
  Matt Littrell

  This book has a haunting atmosphere. I read it in one sitting, thinking the whole time I didn't really know what was going on. It was kind of like every character was doped up or something, everything they said was from a sleep haze. I don't know. That sums this book up. I don't know what I read.
• 
  Debra

  Stephen King recommended author: "T.M. Wright is a rare and blazing talent!"
  
• 
  Neil Davies

  I didn't think this was among T M Wright's best, although to be fair that's a very high standard to be matched against. The pattern was familiar, with the slow build and the creepy ending, but I didn't connect with characters in the way I have in his best books. Judged by T M Wright's standards - average. Judged by any other writer's standards - very good.
• 
  Sarah

  Wow. This was a truly great atmospheric horror novel, a novel of "quiet horror' completely different from what you'd expect from what is actually a zombie book. It does a great job building up a creepy atmosphere. One of these scenes in it ranks as one of the scariest scenes I've ever read in a horror novel. It slowly builds the tension in a way that keeps you glued to the page.
  
  I thought it was one of the best horror novels I'd ever read....right up until the ending. The ending was unsatisfying. It didn't really resolve anything, or explain anything, and the people acted unrealistically. I can't say more or I'd give away spoilers. A great book ruined by a bad ending.
  
  I really didn't know how to rate this. I liked the first 9/10ths of the book so much I didn't feel like I could give it a low rating. but the ending just stunk.
• 
  Dean

  One of TM Wright's finest, and he has many of those. A well-crafted ghost story full of icy chills and subtle creepiness. The characters are real and engaging. So are the ghosts. Once The Island has you in its unyielding grasp, it will not let go. It will only pull you in. A must-read classic from the master of quiet horror.
• 
  Anthony

  I think this is my first TM Wright book. Not sure what to think about this one. Started off interesting, a little creepy, but I found some of the characters annoying. Tends to drag towards the middle and I was not satisfied with the ending.
  A few strange scenes, with a overall feeling of a cold bleakness thru the whole book, but unfortunately not a keeper.
• 
  Nelio Gomes

  An interesting main character and some creepy goings on don't hold up over the duration of the whole book. About two-thirds of the way through it became apparent the direction the story was taking, but by then it was too late to just give up...
• 
  Jennie Prior

  Started well, kind of. dull in the middle. Ended up a bit rubbish.