REVIEW: Monster Island by David Wellington

It’s one month after a global disaster. The most developed nations of the world have fallen to the shambling zombie masses. Only a few pockets of humanity survive? In New York City, the dead walk the streets, driven by an insatiable hunger for all things living. From the other side of the planet, a small but heavily armed group of schoolgirls-turned-soldiers comes in search of desperately needed medicine, with a former UN weapons inspector as their local guide. They think they are prepared for anything. n Monster Island they will find that there is something even worse than undeath.

Monster Island is a horror novel written by David Wellington. The Monster Island trilogy was an online phenomenon. Monster Island trilogy was available for free on David Wellington’s website. (http://www.davidwellington.net/) The story runs from two different POVs. (Point of views) One of them is a first person POV of Dekalb. Dekalb is a UN weapons inspector and he tries to protect his daughter from the chaos around them. They are safe within the refugee camp protected by Somalian girl soldiers. Dekalb is approached by one of these girls and he converses with her. The leader of the well armed girl soldiers has AIDS, and they would like to treat her, but they can’t find the drugs necessary to do so. Dekalb knows where there are the drugs, but they are in New York City. So the story starts with
Dekalb acting as a local guide for the girls in New York City.

The second character in the story is of a third person POV of Gary. Gary awakes from a hospital bathroom in a tub of ice with a dialysis machine hook up to him. Soon we find out that Gary is one of the Undead, but we also learn that Gary is special. Gary had used the dialysis machine to keep his brain oxygenated, so when he died from the infection, (From the undead) his brain would remain intact. Although he is still undead, he can think like a normal human beingAs the story progresses, we read about Dekalb encountering Gary in his search for the Pharmaceuticals. The rest of the story takes some serious twists and turns which makes it a tantalizing read. The book is fast paced and it is very difficult to put down.

I have seen a fair share of controversial reviews about this book, and there is a reason why. The idea of a thinking zombie does not bode well with some zombie enthusiasts, and further into the story you learn that Gary can do a lot more than just think. I would rather not discuss this because I wouldn?t want to spoil this book in any way. I can understand why this doesn?t sit well with some zombie reviewers. Zombies have always been slow, dumb and numerous. The idea that One of the zombies could at least think seems to veer away from what a zombie should be, But! In saying that; we see a very unique zombie book. I would consider this book: The most unique zombie novel there is. There is nothing quite like it. There is a ton of things that make this a great read.

The writing itself is fantastic. His writing presents itself well and the descriptions are well composed. The descriptions can be quite grotesque. In good way! I found myself thinking ‘Wow, that’s sickening!’ His descriptions are constructed in such a manner that they leave an imprint in your thoughts. The best way to describe Wellington’s descriptions, you find the images burned into your head. His descriptive abilities are strong and he can create some vivid scenes.

I would like to also point out the style of his writing. The tone of the story, reflects well within his word choice. The tone of the story is very dismal, but he also conveys some dark humor through Gary’s character. Gary’s character can be so sinister at times, it’s almost laughable. The gore in the story is of an appropriate level. He doesn’t ramble on about unnecessary gore, his descriptive writing skills are so punctual that he doesn’t need to ramble on.

I know very many readers may see this story as a bit out there. The can get a lttle unreal, but it doesn’t matter. I personally: am not a huge fan of a thinking zombie, but this book was so well constructed that it didn’t matter. The story is so unpredictable and that makes it that much more an enjoyable read. David Wellington is perhaps one of
the most creative horror writers out there. His creativity extends beyond the field of creativity which most writers roam in.

I have a lot of respect for David Wellington as an artist. He is a man that truly loves the act of writing. He published some of his stories on his website so that everybody may read them. I have a lot of respect for an author who lets people read his story for free, this shows that he cares more about the story itself, than he does about making money off it. A lot of authors forget themselves as artists once they started getting paid for their work. David Wellington is a great artist, and I have a lot of respect for him as an aspiring author myself.

This is a note for other aspiring zombie novelist out there. READ THIS BOOK! Even if your not a big fan of a thinking zombie read this book. I am not a huge fan of a thinking zombie myself but this book is fantastically woven. Nearly every component that makes a great zombie novel is in this book. Not a single part of this book resembled anything of a cliché zombie story. If you?re an aspiring author take particular notice to the tone and style of this story. It will teach you a lot about writing a good horror novel.

Overall, this book is great. Despite the fact that this book can get a little unreal, it is still a great story that is excellently presented. I have a lot of respect for David Wellington as an artist, I implore you to buy a copy of this book. I suppose you can always just visit his webpage and read the story there, but I would rather you purchase the book to help out the artist, David Wellington. You will not regret reading this great piece of horror!

Available on Amazon.