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The Island
Two men and a boy, on the boat they charter to game-fishermen, are lazing away the hottest hours of a Caribbean day when they notice a cameo which appears to be adrift. They manoeuvre it alongside their boat, one of the men reaches to pull back the tarpaulin which conceals whatever it contains—and the reader receives a jolting shock which reminds him of those famous first pages of Jaws.
Thus starts one of the many mysterious marine incidents which, over the years, have been explained this way or that, and which in one small area of the Caribbean have given rise to a terrified silence. New York journalist Blair Maynard is intrigued by the variety of the explanations, but it is not until he reaches the place where silence reigns, and can see the silhouette of the island at its centre, that he begins to suspect that he is on to something truly extraordinary.
He lands on that island—the strangest island in all the West Indies, indeed in the modern world; and the adventures he undergoes on it would seem incredible were they not tied in with possibility by a brilliant use of historical fact. The events Maynard is investigating become increasingly fascinating with every perilous discovery he makes. Peter Benchley is justly celebrated for his ability to keep any reader on the edge of his chair from first to last, and this time he exercises his precious gift on a story which is both the strangest and the best he has yet conceived.
Thus starts one of the many mysterious marine incidents which, over the years, have been explained this way or that, and which in one small area of the Caribbean have given rise to a terrified silence. New York journalist Blair Maynard is intrigued by the variety of the explanations, but it is not until he reaches the place where silence reigns, and can see the silhouette of the island at its centre, that he begins to suspect that he is on to something truly extraordinary.
He lands on that island—the strangest island in all the West Indies, indeed in the modern world; and the adventures he undergoes on it would seem incredible were they not tied in with possibility by a brilliant use of historical fact. The events Maynard is investigating become increasingly fascinating with every perilous discovery he makes. Peter Benchley is justly celebrated for his ability to keep any reader on the edge of his chair from first to last, and this time he exercises his precious gift on a story which is both the strangest and the best he has yet conceived.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
Peter Benchley
65 books1,215 followersPeter Bradford Benchley was an American author best known for writing the novel Jaws and co-writing the screenplay for its highly successful film adaptation. The success of the book led to many publishers commissioning books about mutant rats, rabid dogs and the like threatening communities. The subsequent film directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by Benchley is generally acknowledged as the first summer blockbuster. Benchley also wrote The Deep and The Island which were also adapted into films.
Benchley was from a literary family. He was the son of author Nathaniel Benchley and grandson of Algonquin Round Table founder Robert Benchley. His younger brother, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor. Peter Benchley was an alumnus of Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.
After graduating from college, he worked for The Washington Post, then as an editor at Newsweek and a speechwriter in the White House. He developed the idea of a man-eating shark terrorising a community after reading of a fisherman Frank Mundus catching a 4,550 pound great white shark off the coast of Long Island in 1964. He also drew some material from the tragic Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916.
His reasonably successful second novel, The Deep, is about a honeymooning couple discovering two sunken treasures on the Bermuda reefs—17th century Spanish gold and a fortune in World War Two-era morphine—who are subsequently targeted by a drug syndicate. This 1976 novel is based on Benchley's chance meeting in Bermuda with diver Teddy Tucker while writing a story for National Geographic. Benchley co-wrote the screenplay for the 1977 film release, along with Tracy Keenan Wynn and an uncredited Tom Mankiewicz. Directed by Peter Yates and starring Robert Shaw, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset, The Deep was the second-highest grossing release of 1977 after Star Wars, although its box office tally fell well short of Jaws.
The Island, published in 1979, was a story of descendants of 17th century pirates who terrorize pleasure craft in the Caribbean, leading to the Bermuda Triangle mystery. Benchley again wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation. But the movie version of The Island, starring Michael Caine and David Warner, failed at the box office when released in 1980.
During the 1980s, Benchley wrote three novels that did not sell as well as his previous works. However, Girl of the Sea of Cortez, a beguiling John Steinbeck-type fable about man's complicated relationship with the sea, was far and away his best reviewed book and has attracted a considerable cult following since its publication. Sea of Cortez signposted Benchley's growing interest in ecological issues and anticipated his future role as an impassioned and intelligent defender of the importance of redressing the current imbalance between human activities and the marine environment. Q Clearance published in 1986 was written from his experience as a staffer in the Johnson White House. Rummies (aka Lush), which appeared in 1989, is a semi-autobiographical work, loosely inspired by the Benchley family's history of alcohol abuse. While the first half of the novel is a relatively straightforward (and harrowing) account of a suburbanite's descent into alcoholic hell, the second part—which takes place at a New Mexico substance abuse clinic—veers off into wildly improbable thriller-type territory.
He returned to nautical themes in 1991's Beast written about a giant squid threatening Bermuda. Beast was brought to the small screen as a made-for-TV movie in 1996, under the slightly altered title The Beast. His next novel, White Shark, was published in 1994. The story of a Nazi-created genetically engineered shark/human hybrid failed to achieve popular or critical success.
Benchley was from a literary family. He was the son of author Nathaniel Benchley and grandson of Algonquin Round Table founder Robert Benchley. His younger brother, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor. Peter Benchley was an alumnus of Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.
After graduating from college, he worked for The Washington Post, then as an editor at Newsweek and a speechwriter in the White House. He developed the idea of a man-eating shark terrorising a community after reading of a fisherman Frank Mundus catching a 4,550 pound great white shark off the coast of Long Island in 1964. He also drew some material from the tragic Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916.
His reasonably successful second novel, The Deep, is about a honeymooning couple discovering two sunken treasures on the Bermuda reefs—17th century Spanish gold and a fortune in World War Two-era morphine—who are subsequently targeted by a drug syndicate. This 1976 novel is based on Benchley's chance meeting in Bermuda with diver Teddy Tucker while writing a story for National Geographic. Benchley co-wrote the screenplay for the 1977 film release, along with Tracy Keenan Wynn and an uncredited Tom Mankiewicz. Directed by Peter Yates and starring Robert Shaw, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset, The Deep was the second-highest grossing release of 1977 after Star Wars, although its box office tally fell well short of Jaws.
The Island, published in 1979, was a story of descendants of 17th century pirates who terrorize pleasure craft in the Caribbean, leading to the Bermuda Triangle mystery. Benchley again wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation. But the movie version of The Island, starring Michael Caine and David Warner, failed at the box office when released in 1980.
During the 1980s, Benchley wrote three novels that did not sell as well as his previous works. However, Girl of the Sea of Cortez, a beguiling John Steinbeck-type fable about man's complicated relationship with the sea, was far and away his best reviewed book and has attracted a considerable cult following since its publication. Sea of Cortez signposted Benchley's growing interest in ecological issues and anticipated his future role as an impassioned and intelligent defender of the importance of redressing the current imbalance between human activities and the marine environment. Q Clearance published in 1986 was written from his experience as a staffer in the Johnson White House. Rummies (aka Lush), which appeared in 1989, is a semi-autobiographical work, loosely inspired by the Benchley family's history of alcohol abuse. While the first half of the novel is a relatively straightforward (and harrowing) account of a suburbanite's descent into alcoholic hell, the second part—which takes place at a New Mexico substance abuse clinic—veers off into wildly improbable thriller-type territory.
He returned to nautical themes in 1991's Beast written about a giant squid threatening Bermuda. Beast was brought to the small screen as a made-for-TV movie in 1996, under the slightly altered title The Beast. His next novel, White Shark, was published in 1994. The story of a Nazi-created genetically engineered shark/human hybrid failed to achieve popular or critical success.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
July 6, 2020
”One boat has been disappearing every other day for three years. That’s how it averages out, like the population clock downtown: every so often, bingo!, roll over another one. Tell you the truth, I don’t think anybody’s ever going to know what happened to those boats. Not to all of them...not to half of them.”
Reporter Blair Maynard smells a story, a big story. Hundreds of boats have disappeared in the same section of the Bahamas along with their two thousand plus passengers, and mysteriously, no one seems to be alarmed.
Misadventure? That’s a lot of misadventure.
The mysteries of the sea sometimes never reveal themselves. The ocean is vast and unpredictable, and sometimes even a veteran crew disappears without a trace. This feels different though. This doesn’t feel like a Bermuda Triangle. This feels like something methodical, something man-designed rather than a freakishness of nature. Under the pretense of a vacation with his twelve year old son Justin, he ventures out into this mysterious zone to find out the truth.
They disappear without a trace.
To the world, that is true, but they are very much alive, trapped in a world that existed a couple of hundred years ago. They’ve fallen into pages that would fit better between the covers of Treasure Island. Maynard soon finds himself at odds with his son and in a desperate battle for survival. His life isn’t worth the value of a bottle of rum, and he will have to dig deep within himself to find the feral, mental toughness to save Justin and himself.
I chuckled at one point when Peter Benchley alludes to Jacqueline Bisset and her wet t-shirt, which of course is in the movie version of his book The Deep. There is a movie version of The Island as well, starring Michael Caine. I’ve not watched it yet, but intend to watch it eventually.
The book is certainly not as compelling as his signature work…Jaws, but there are some thrilling scenes that certainly grabbed me as Maynard grappled with situations requiring a lizard brain that his life as a reporter had never activated. ”A hand clawed at his eyes, fingers probing to uproot his eyeballs. He stopped one hand, then the other, then felt teeth fasten on the skin of his cheek and tear away. He released a hand and punched at the biting mouth, and the hand he released drove a pointed fingernail deep into his ear.
His brain shrieked: Overboard!”
If you have ever fancied the life of a pirate, Benchley might disabuse you of those desires. Their lives were brutal, with harsh penalties for any infraction of the arbitrary rules, and certainly the scurvy bastards that Maynard and his son encounter are indicative of the unpredictable and untrustworthy men you’d be sharing the life with.
I’ve now read the first three novels that Benchley wrote. He only wrote eight. I will most likely venture forth with the rest eventually. These novels from the 1970s and 1980s are time capsules of the era before computers were readily available and before people were glued to cell phones. The lives of people back then seem more meaningful, less passive, as they are more engaged with the world around them than the world displayed in the pixels of the glass and plastic of Chinese-made time-wasters. We have more knowledge at our fingertips than we’ve ever had before, but somehow we individually seem to know less. For those who enjoy an escape to the world before it became enslaved by technology, these Benchley books are a breath of fresh air from a past that is quickly receding in the rearview mirror, never to be experienced again except for in the pages of books, old movies, and the songs that make memories come alive again.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
Reporter Blair Maynard smells a story, a big story. Hundreds of boats have disappeared in the same section of the Bahamas along with their two thousand plus passengers, and mysteriously, no one seems to be alarmed.
Misadventure? That’s a lot of misadventure.
The mysteries of the sea sometimes never reveal themselves. The ocean is vast and unpredictable, and sometimes even a veteran crew disappears without a trace. This feels different though. This doesn’t feel like a Bermuda Triangle. This feels like something methodical, something man-designed rather than a freakishness of nature. Under the pretense of a vacation with his twelve year old son Justin, he ventures out into this mysterious zone to find out the truth.
They disappear without a trace.
To the world, that is true, but they are very much alive, trapped in a world that existed a couple of hundred years ago. They’ve fallen into pages that would fit better between the covers of Treasure Island. Maynard soon finds himself at odds with his son and in a desperate battle for survival. His life isn’t worth the value of a bottle of rum, and he will have to dig deep within himself to find the feral, mental toughness to save Justin and himself.
I chuckled at one point when Peter Benchley alludes to Jacqueline Bisset and her wet t-shirt, which of course is in the movie version of his book The Deep. There is a movie version of The Island as well, starring Michael Caine. I’ve not watched it yet, but intend to watch it eventually.
The book is certainly not as compelling as his signature work…Jaws, but there are some thrilling scenes that certainly grabbed me as Maynard grappled with situations requiring a lizard brain that his life as a reporter had never activated. ”A hand clawed at his eyes, fingers probing to uproot his eyeballs. He stopped one hand, then the other, then felt teeth fasten on the skin of his cheek and tear away. He released a hand and punched at the biting mouth, and the hand he released drove a pointed fingernail deep into his ear.
His brain shrieked: Overboard!”
If you have ever fancied the life of a pirate, Benchley might disabuse you of those desires. Their lives were brutal, with harsh penalties for any infraction of the arbitrary rules, and certainly the scurvy bastards that Maynard and his son encounter are indicative of the unpredictable and untrustworthy men you’d be sharing the life with.
I’ve now read the first three novels that Benchley wrote. He only wrote eight. I will most likely venture forth with the rest eventually. These novels from the 1970s and 1980s are time capsules of the era before computers were readily available and before people were glued to cell phones. The lives of people back then seem more meaningful, less passive, as they are more engaged with the world around them than the world displayed in the pixels of the glass and plastic of Chinese-made time-wasters. We have more knowledge at our fingertips than we’ve ever had before, but somehow we individually seem to know less. For those who enjoy an escape to the world before it became enslaved by technology, these Benchley books are a breath of fresh air from a past that is quickly receding in the rearview mirror, never to be experienced again except for in the pages of books, old movies, and the songs that make memories come alive again.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
February 7, 2017
POTBOILER!! – The best word to describe the book.
I come across the book in a second hand book store and the name of the writer – Peter Benchley, the man who wrote Jaws, made me buy this novel.
The story starts with a mysterious man killing people in a boat. Of course, the killing continues – “the bodies keep piling” as the blurbs of pulp fiction thrillers like to proclaim.
Now enters Blair Maynard, a writer for a newsweekly. He is a clichéd character in many respects – wife left him with their only son, he suffers from the usual symptoms of post-separation grief such as indulgence in the bottle and sex and there is some tension in work as well. The author says that Maynard is a lover of history because he is dissatisfied with the present. By the way, Maynard’s beautiful assistant is a sadomasochist.
Anyways, Maynard comes across the Coast Guard statistics that around 610 boats had disappeared in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Gulf Coast areas in the past three years with a loss of at least 2000 lives. This piece of information piques our protagonist’s interest and against the advice/order of his superior sets off to investigate. Oh! He takes his son along with him too, without informing his estranged wife.
The author had made an effort at fleshing out Maynard’s character. His love for his gun-crazy minor son is probably the best thing about him.
Then we have plenty of action, murders and some sex in the story. I don’t want to go into the specifics but would say that the author resorted to every trick to write a pulp fiction potboiler – murderous criminals, Maynard being made to live as a catamite to a woman, the brainwashing of a young impressionable mind and whatnot.
This book was written to provide some cheap entertainment and that it did to some extent – parts of it dragged and I believe the author should have tried to come up with a better ending.
I am not sure about the availability of this book, but if you like the author or enjoy this kind of 1970s thrillers, then you might want to check it out. I would mention that better thrillers are available in the market.
The edition I have mentions that the novel would be adapted into a movie starring Michael Caine. I checked IMDB and found that the movie has a rating of 5.3 only.
I come across the book in a second hand book store and the name of the writer – Peter Benchley, the man who wrote Jaws, made me buy this novel.
The story starts with a mysterious man killing people in a boat. Of course, the killing continues – “the bodies keep piling” as the blurbs of pulp fiction thrillers like to proclaim.
Now enters Blair Maynard, a writer for a newsweekly. He is a clichéd character in many respects – wife left him with their only son, he suffers from the usual symptoms of post-separation grief such as indulgence in the bottle and sex and there is some tension in work as well. The author says that Maynard is a lover of history because he is dissatisfied with the present. By the way, Maynard’s beautiful assistant is a sadomasochist.
Anyways, Maynard comes across the Coast Guard statistics that around 610 boats had disappeared in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Gulf Coast areas in the past three years with a loss of at least 2000 lives. This piece of information piques our protagonist’s interest and against the advice/order of his superior sets off to investigate. Oh! He takes his son along with him too, without informing his estranged wife.
The author had made an effort at fleshing out Maynard’s character. His love for his gun-crazy minor son is probably the best thing about him.
Then we have plenty of action, murders and some sex in the story. I don’t want to go into the specifics but would say that the author resorted to every trick to write a pulp fiction potboiler – murderous criminals, Maynard being made to live as a catamite to a woman, the brainwashing of a young impressionable mind and whatnot.
This book was written to provide some cheap entertainment and that it did to some extent – parts of it dragged and I believe the author should have tried to come up with a better ending.
I am not sure about the availability of this book, but if you like the author or enjoy this kind of 1970s thrillers, then you might want to check it out. I would mention that better thrillers are available in the market.
The edition I have mentions that the novel would be adapted into a movie starring Michael Caine. I checked IMDB and found that the movie has a rating of 5.3 only.
March 28, 2016
Benchley’s maritime thrillers haven’t dated well, so I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. The premise is batshit crazy – a magazine reporter takes his young son to the Bahamas to investigate a spate of disappearing boats…only to be abducted by the descendents of 17th century pirates. Entertaining though it was, I couldn’t help wondering what a writer like Ketchum or King might’ve done with it. You might’ve seen the film adaptation? Michael Caine (as the reporter) raking down pirates with an Uzi: “You’re a bunch of arseholes playing Long John fucking Silver!” Classic.
August 6, 2019
The first half of this book is excellent, the second half is gut-wrenchingly awful. Writer tried to find why many boats have gone missing in a particular area for no known reasons. After the writer and his son get to the island the story becomes pure horror with sadistic murders and other violent garbage. The ending is very abrupt and leaves myriad parts of the tale unanswered. Only recommended to people who like pirates and lots of rum.
January 17, 2009
MUCH better than Jaws, but still filled with high-school fantasy sex scenes. The sexuality is much easier to *ahem* swallow in this novel, as it fits a little bit better with the concept as a whole. Pirates, baby, who are still living as if it was the 18th century, marauding away until they finally bite off more than their toothless maws can chew.
Skip Jaws for the movie, but definitely read this one.
Skip Jaws for the movie, but definitely read this one.
April 28, 2014
It's like the author just up and ended the book ... I mean like right in the middle of the action just wraps up, and I use the term wraps up very loosely here, the book in one page answering none of the questions or finishing any of the story lines.
June 23, 2022
A fast paced ripping yarrrrrrn about pirates and the world’s worst dad.
Read
July 25, 2023A pulpy modern-day (well, the 1970s) pirate adventure tale. Not much to it thematically but it was an enjoyable and quick read nonetheless.
June 26, 2022
Quite odd. Especially the enema bit.
June 24, 2022
Man did I ever have a blast with this one. Looking forward to sinking my teeth into JAWS next.
November 24, 2010
I liked this crazy little half-forgotten book by Benchley. Modern day pirates descended from the originals, still clinging to their strange ideals of testing strength through battle at a moments notice. Reminded me of a biker gang.
These scurvy sailors hide in the dark corners of paradise where tourists do not trek (exactly where that would be today, I have no idea), and occasionally these sea dogs steal a little ship, kill the adult occupants, plunder its booty, and keep the kids to replenish their numbers. Often the losses are blamed on the Bermuda Triangle, inexperienced weekend sailors, or people who trash their own boat for the insurance money. It's whacked, but no wackier than all those hundreds of bullshit novels out there expecting you to believe in ex-marine U.S. Senators who single-handedly go out and kill Bin Laden. There have been little kill cult cul-de-sacs in history, and this one was very, very, very close to being believable.
There were a few too many antiquated nautical terms, but that only shows he did his homework.
These scurvy sailors hide in the dark corners of paradise where tourists do not trek (exactly where that would be today, I have no idea), and occasionally these sea dogs steal a little ship, kill the adult occupants, plunder its booty, and keep the kids to replenish their numbers. Often the losses are blamed on the Bermuda Triangle, inexperienced weekend sailors, or people who trash their own boat for the insurance money. It's whacked, but no wackier than all those hundreds of bullshit novels out there expecting you to believe in ex-marine U.S. Senators who single-handedly go out and kill Bin Laden. There have been little kill cult cul-de-sacs in history, and this one was very, very, very close to being believable.
There were a few too many antiquated nautical terms, but that only shows he did his homework.
March 26, 2014
Enjoyable romp. This is pretty much a sea-going version of what in the film world is known as a "backwoods brutality" story. Instead of inbred hillbilly cannibals it features pirates tormenting the representatives of civilized society.
December 30, 2017
yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
April 30, 2018
Pirate tales can be amazing. Peter Benchley is a salty sea bard with a passion for the pen. First of all, this is real pirates. If you are looking for a tale about pretend ugly pretty Johnny Depp type pirates, look else where. These are desperate "men" with a bottle of rum throat slitting pirates and it is a father and son story too. I mean this is all yo ho ho and a bottle of rum like pirates. twenty word synopsis: 610 boats go missing, reporter on almost whim goes to find out why. Lost civilization still clawing at life. Thats it. That's all I can say without giving the best book I've read in 2018 away. Peter Benchley it took me forever to find you but you are a force. Dont expect a great ending because Benchley grudgingly gives a happy ending and I like it like that. The ending is to say the least abrupt but this book is a page turner so I was totally okay with that.
September 11, 2010
Terrible! Until this book, I had always enjoyed Benchley, but not this one!! Too much needless violence, and the ending leaves you hanging! Unless you like books about buccanneers, I cannot reccomend this book.
July 6, 2013
I have never before been much interested in Pirate stories but found myself really intrigued by this book. I really enjoyed reading it but the ending left me feeling kind of jipped. It ends really suddenly and leaves a lot unanswered. I felt like there should be a sequel or something lol.
March 20, 2010
This was the frist, "Big" book, that I ever read. I can't really remember to much about the story. Some of the other reviewers, have commented on sex scences, but for the life of me, I don't remember any.
But, I do remember liking the book.
But, I do remember liking the book.
November 11, 2015
Part lord of the flies, part pirates of the Caribbean written by the genius behind jaws. I wont say much more than that. Theres also a movie i guess but i myself hAve not seen it, could be good since while reading this i kept thinking to myself how well this would translate into film.
June 24, 2022
A grimy good time
December 5, 2023
Aaarrrr matey!
18th century pirates still surviving on an uncharted island in the Caribbean in the late 1970s and looting, carousing, pillaging, and murdering just like the old times….and a modern day down-on-his luck American reporter and his middle school-aged son have the misfortune to stumble upon these buccaneers.
This book is not for the squeamish, in terns of blood & gore, sexual content, and scatological references alike.
18th century pirates still surviving on an uncharted island in the Caribbean in the late 1970s and looting, carousing, pillaging, and murdering just like the old times….and a modern day down-on-his luck American reporter and his middle school-aged son have the misfortune to stumble upon these buccaneers.
This book is not for the squeamish, in terns of blood & gore, sexual content, and scatological references alike.
December 19, 2012
Maynard is a frustrated journalist who gave up on writing anything important and settled into his life as a magazine writer, churning out assignments but enjoying some freelance work. One day, he stumbles across an amazing statistic: boats are disappearing in the Caicos Islands area of the Caribbean at a steady rate in numbers too high not to beg for an explanation. His editor, though not as excited about it as Maynard, gives him enough encouragement for Maynard to impulsively take a trip, dragging his 12-year-old son Justin along for the ride.
The Caicos are rather remote, and Maynard only manages to get there by hiring a drunken pilot who crashes his plane on landing. Left with time on his hands, Maynard coerces a friendly, retired professor into renting him a boat so he and his son can go fishing, then ignores the professor’s warnings about areas to stay away from, and soon finds out firsthand just exactly why all those boats have gone missing.
He finds himself in a hidden island society governed by a harsh set of rules. The islanders welcome his young son into their midst, but Maynard is on borrowed time. He knows he has to escape and remove his impressionable son from the clutches of the islanders before they turn him into someone he doesn’t recognize, but his attempts all fail, and it seems hopeless. Even worse, it isn’t long before Justin seems to forget him and allies himself with the brutal islanders.
Though this book put forth an interesting concept, when it was all said and done, there were too many inconsistencies in the plot for me to truly enjoy it. The idea of a society hidden away from the rest of the world for over 300 years was an interesting one, as well as the history concocted for it, but the characters did not ring true. Justin went from a cowering wimp who did nothing to defend himself or his father from an attack at the outset, to a murderer well on his way to leadership in a matter of days. Maynard was also too passive and his doomed escape attempts got annoying. A number of other angles in the plot were also contrived in a way that simply was not believable. I generally find Peter Benchley to be a very engaging writer, but not this time out. Perhaps his publisher rushed this one along, because it is not as well-woven as anything else he has written.
The Caicos are rather remote, and Maynard only manages to get there by hiring a drunken pilot who crashes his plane on landing. Left with time on his hands, Maynard coerces a friendly, retired professor into renting him a boat so he and his son can go fishing, then ignores the professor’s warnings about areas to stay away from, and soon finds out firsthand just exactly why all those boats have gone missing.
He finds himself in a hidden island society governed by a harsh set of rules. The islanders welcome his young son into their midst, but Maynard is on borrowed time. He knows he has to escape and remove his impressionable son from the clutches of the islanders before they turn him into someone he doesn’t recognize, but his attempts all fail, and it seems hopeless. Even worse, it isn’t long before Justin seems to forget him and allies himself with the brutal islanders.
Though this book put forth an interesting concept, when it was all said and done, there were too many inconsistencies in the plot for me to truly enjoy it. The idea of a society hidden away from the rest of the world for over 300 years was an interesting one, as well as the history concocted for it, but the characters did not ring true. Justin went from a cowering wimp who did nothing to defend himself or his father from an attack at the outset, to a murderer well on his way to leadership in a matter of days. Maynard was also too passive and his doomed escape attempts got annoying. A number of other angles in the plot were also contrived in a way that simply was not believable. I generally find Peter Benchley to be a very engaging writer, but not this time out. Perhaps his publisher rushed this one along, because it is not as well-woven as anything else he has written.
June 16, 2017
I've read plenty of books where they've found dinosaurs, dragons, samurai, and even medieval knights, but here we have the lost tribe of bonifide golden-aged-style pirates from the Spanish Main. Gotta love a good pirate story, especially when you can throw in a deck mounted .50 caliber machine gun.
I will also say, the plot itself worked out a bit different than I was anticipating going into the book. In doing so, Benchley gave a vivid look into the inner workings of their little timeless pirate community. As a fan of Benchley's others works, Jaws being an obvious one, I was pleased that he pulled off non-monster from the deep story the way he did.
On a last note: I read a few reviews from people talking about how the book was sexually explicit and all this other stuff.... no, not really. There may be some outdated and even outright fucked up practices mentioned, but there's not even a real sex scene in the whole book. I'm guessing those reviews are just from the same type of people who've only ever read sanitized history books. Either way, they missed the point that Benchley wasn't glorifying those practices, only being historically realistic.
I will also say, the plot itself worked out a bit different than I was anticipating going into the book. In doing so, Benchley gave a vivid look into the inner workings of their little timeless pirate community. As a fan of Benchley's others works, Jaws being an obvious one, I was pleased that he pulled off non-monster from the deep story the way he did.
On a last note: I read a few reviews from people talking about how the book was sexually explicit and all this other stuff.... no, not really. There may be some outdated and even outright fucked up practices mentioned, but there's not even a real sex scene in the whole book. I'm guessing those reviews are just from the same type of people who've only ever read sanitized history books. Either way, they missed the point that Benchley wasn't glorifying those practices, only being historically realistic.
November 20, 2022
Novela pesadísima, llena de palabras técnicas; todo un recargado vocabulario que lleva al lector al diccionario o lo deja sin entender párrafos enteros. Es increíble que sea el mismo escritor de "Tiburón"; en este caso, Benchley no logra atrapar en ningún momento con su historia ni sus personajes que toman decisiones poco creíbles; típico best-seller del montón, tan olvidable que si no fuera por el éxito de los libros anteriores del autor, el libro hace tiempo ya que dormiría el sueño de los justos. 221 páginas y tardé más de un mes en terminarlo; eso dice mucho también.
September 6, 2018
An amazingly campy, terrible, enjoyable beach read. After the success of Jaws, Benchley decided he could write just about anything and get it published, so he did. This potboiler is about a New York magazine editor who decides to investigate boats missing near the islands of Turks and Caicos. Once there, he runs afoul of the descendants of Carribean pirates who kidnap him and his son. (None of this is as exciting as it sounds.) The boy becomes apprentice to the head pirate while the magazine editor is sold to a desperate she-pirate for the purposes of fathering her child. (It is not as erotic as it sounds, and I know it does not sound erotic at all.)
Benchley's plotting is kind of absurd - why go to such great lengths to have a New York Magazine editor be the hero? Why not a Miami Coast Guard recruit, or a Key West beach-comber? How are the Pirates able to operate so invisibly for hundreds of years? Why have a journalist/she-pirate romance that is not at all romantic?
Anyway, none of this matters. As much as it gave me cheap thrills to hate read it, I know I will forget it soon enough. You might as well forget it exists as well.
(Oh, there's also a movie starring Michael Caine. You can forget about that, too: https://youtu.be/TS6zbGPPL18)
Benchley's plotting is kind of absurd - why go to such great lengths to have a New York Magazine editor be the hero? Why not a Miami Coast Guard recruit, or a Key West beach-comber? How are the Pirates able to operate so invisibly for hundreds of years? Why have a journalist/she-pirate romance that is not at all romantic?
Anyway, none of this matters. As much as it gave me cheap thrills to hate read it, I know I will forget it soon enough. You might as well forget it exists as well.
(Oh, there's also a movie starring Michael Caine. You can forget about that, too: https://youtu.be/TS6zbGPPL18)
May 2, 2016
Although this book seemed outrageously unlikely in a few spots it nevertheless was a rollicking good concept and tale. I give this book an additional star (from 3 to 4) because I like the dust jacket art work that the hard cover first edition has. This book was released in 1979 so, it is also a nice trip back in time for me, having grown up in the 70's. I may read this book again in the future, as I am a big Benchley fan.
October 16, 2016
Read when published so the characters in my mind were developed from Benchley's great writing.
NIGHTMARE! HELPLESS!
NIGHTMARE! HELPLESS!
December 4, 2019
العدد الذي أجلته كثيرا، لتيقني من ضعفه فاجئني 😄
February 6, 2021
اسم الكتاب: الجزيرة
اسم الكاتب: بيتر بنشلي
عدد الصفحات: 393
التقييم: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
الكاتب بيتر بنشلي لمن لا يعرفه صاحب الرواية الأشهر (الفك المفترس)
وروايتنا اليوم تتحدث عن اختفاء غامض ومريب، لبعض واليخوت، الذي يكون على متنها أشخاصاً يقضون أجازة، أو يحملون بضاعة، تختفي القوارب بمن عليها نهائيا، هناك حوادث إغارة وقتل من قبل أشخاص مجهولين على هذه القوارب والغريب أن مع كثرة هذه الحوادث، إلا انهالم تأخذ حيزا من الإهتمام الإعلامي أبدا. وعدوها حوادث غرق عادية!
بعد قراءتي للرواية خرجت منها بالعديد من التساؤلات التي برع الكاتب في أن يضعها بين السطور.
- ترى هل يجب أن تكون شخصاً مشهورا حتى تهتم الشرطة والإعلام بخبر إختفاءك؟
-هل الشر شئ كامن بداخل كل إنسان، فقط يحتاج الى من يضغط الزر ليظهر ويجتاح؟
-هل التحضر والمدنية، هي فقط أقنعة نرتديها،وعند أول منعطف سريعا ما تسقط؟
-ترى هل إتهام البحار بالغدر إتهام صحيح، أم أنها بريئة والغادرين الحقيقيين هم البشر؟
برع الكاتب في رسم شخصيات الرواية، ما بين (ميلارد) ذلك الصحفي الذي يجذبه أمر اختفاء القوارب فيسعى حسيسا وراءها، غير عابئا بالمخاطر، أو غير مدركها في الأصل، وابنه (جاستين) ذي الثالثة عشر عاماً، والذي كان مفاجأة الرواية.
قد ذكرني برواية قديمة قرأتها اسمها (آلهة الذباب) تحكي عن كمية الشر الكامنة خلف قناع الطفولة، وهذا ما رأيته هنا في هذا الطفل الملائكي، الذي تحول بمجرد أن أعطوه سلاحا وأعطوه صفة الرجولة!!
كانت صدمتي به كبيرة فعلا، ولكني أحببت ذلك المنعطف الذي ذهب اليه بسرعة دون أي تحول تدريجي ومن هنا ��انت الصدمة
و(نوا) قائدا لجزيرة مجهولة لمئات من السنين تحكمها قوانين قبلية وتتسم بالبدائية المنظمة أحيانا، والتي كانت نهايته تليق به وبحلمه الذي يؤمن به.
وفي خلفية الأحداث هناك ذلك الصحفي الشهير الذي قرر الإعتزال والبعد عن الناس واختفى بإرادته، فماكان من وسائل الإعلام إلا انها جندت كل امكانياتها من طائرات وسفن واتصالات بكل أجهزة الدولة للبحث عنه!!!
ترى هل كان يقصد شيئا من هذا الموضوع؟!
أم أن الإجابة أيضا تقع بين السطور
- حقا استمتعت بالرواية جدا وبطريقة السرد،التي ربما سادها الإسهاب في البداية مما دعاني للملل،ولكن بعد الدخول في الأحداث جرت الأم��ر بسرعة،
- أحسست أن النهاية جاءت مقطوعة، أو أنني كنت أريد أن أعرف ما الذي سيحدث بعد ذلك، ولكني أعتقد ان هذا الأمر خارج نطاق اهتمام الكاتب في هذه الرواية
الإقتباسات:
1-أحب ذلك الشعور بأنني حر في الكف عن قراءة ما لا يعجبني وأطيح به في البحر، ثم أضحك سعيدا بهذا التلوث الأدبي،الذي سببته للبحر.
2-ما من قتال يحمل تعقلا يا "جوستين" اذا وجدت نفسك طرفاً في معركة، فكل ما يجب عليك هو إنهاؤها، أما الإنصاف فمشكلة الطرف الآخر.
3-وعلى كل،فإن فقد قارب بين الحين والآخر ومعه بعض الأرواح،ليس بالقضية التي تثير اهتماماً عاما على المستوى الدولي.
4-لو أن شخصا شهيرا اختفى، لواجهت الحكومة هياجا عاما، لكن بالنسبة للفرد العادي، لا تشغل بالك.
5-أثق فيك أي يوم وأنت تحمل مسدسك محشواً، أكثر مما أثق بأقرانك وهم يقودون سيارة.
6-لقد حضرنا هنا عبيداً، واحتفظوا بنا عبيداً، ونحتوها في ضمائرنا أن ذلك قدرنا.
اسم الكاتب: بيتر بنشلي
عدد الصفحات: 393
التقييم: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
الكاتب بيتر بنشلي لمن لا يعرفه صاحب الرواية الأشهر (الفك المفترس)
وروايتنا اليوم تتحدث عن اختفاء غامض ومريب، لبعض واليخوت، الذي يكون على متنها أشخاصاً يقضون أجازة، أو يحملون بضاعة، تختفي القوارب بمن عليها نهائيا، هناك حوادث إغارة وقتل من قبل أشخاص مجهولين على هذه القوارب والغريب أن مع كثرة هذه الحوادث، إلا انهالم تأخذ حيزا من الإهتمام الإعلامي أبدا. وعدوها حوادث غرق عادية!
بعد قراءتي للرواية خرجت منها بالعديد من التساؤلات التي برع الكاتب في أن يضعها بين السطور.
- ترى هل يجب أن تكون شخصاً مشهورا حتى تهتم الشرطة والإعلام بخبر إختفاءك؟
-هل الشر شئ كامن بداخل كل إنسان، فقط يحتاج الى من يضغط الزر ليظهر ويجتاح؟
-هل التحضر والمدنية، هي فقط أقنعة نرتديها،وعند أول منعطف سريعا ما تسقط؟
-ترى هل إتهام البحار بالغدر إتهام صحيح، أم أنها بريئة والغادرين الحقيقيين هم البشر؟
برع الكاتب في رسم شخصيات الرواية، ما بين (ميلارد) ذلك الصحفي الذي يجذبه أمر اختفاء القوارب فيسعى حسيسا وراءها، غير عابئا بالمخاطر، أو غير مدركها في الأصل، وابنه (جاستين) ذي الثالثة عشر عاماً، والذي كان مفاجأة الرواية.
قد ذكرني برواية قديمة قرأتها اسمها (آلهة الذباب) تحكي عن كمية الشر الكامنة خلف قناع الطفولة، وهذا ما رأيته هنا في هذا الطفل الملائكي، الذي تحول بمجرد أن أعطوه سلاحا وأعطوه صفة الرجولة!!
كانت صدمتي به كبيرة فعلا، ولكني أحببت ذلك المنعطف الذي ذهب اليه بسرعة دون أي تحول تدريجي ومن هنا ��انت الصدمة
و(نوا) قائدا لجزيرة مجهولة لمئات من السنين تحكمها قوانين قبلية وتتسم بالبدائية المنظمة أحيانا، والتي كانت نهايته تليق به وبحلمه الذي يؤمن به.
وفي خلفية الأحداث هناك ذلك الصحفي الشهير الذي قرر الإعتزال والبعد عن الناس واختفى بإرادته، فماكان من وسائل الإعلام إلا انها جندت كل امكانياتها من طائرات وسفن واتصالات بكل أجهزة الدولة للبحث عنه!!!
ترى هل كان يقصد شيئا من هذا الموضوع؟!
أم أن الإجابة أيضا تقع بين السطور
- حقا استمتعت بالرواية جدا وبطريقة السرد،التي ربما سادها الإسهاب في البداية مما دعاني للملل،ولكن بعد الدخول في الأحداث جرت الأم��ر بسرعة،
- أحسست أن النهاية جاءت مقطوعة، أو أنني كنت أريد أن أعرف ما الذي سيحدث بعد ذلك، ولكني أعتقد ان هذا الأمر خارج نطاق اهتمام الكاتب في هذه الرواية
الإقتباسات:
1-أحب ذلك الشعور بأنني حر في الكف عن قراءة ما لا يعجبني وأطيح به في البحر، ثم أضحك سعيدا بهذا التلوث الأدبي،الذي سببته للبحر.
2-ما من قتال يحمل تعقلا يا "جوستين" اذا وجدت نفسك طرفاً في معركة، فكل ما يجب عليك هو إنهاؤها، أما الإنصاف فمشكلة الطرف الآخر.
3-وعلى كل،فإن فقد قارب بين الحين والآخر ومعه بعض الأرواح،ليس بالقضية التي تثير اهتماماً عاما على المستوى الدولي.
4-لو أن شخصا شهيرا اختفى، لواجهت الحكومة هياجا عاما، لكن بالنسبة للفرد العادي، لا تشغل بالك.
5-أثق فيك أي يوم وأنت تحمل مسدسك محشواً، أكثر مما أثق بأقرانك وهم يقودون سيارة.
6-لقد حضرنا هنا عبيداً، واحتفظوا بنا عبيداً، ونحتوها في ضمائرنا أن ذلك قدرنا.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2023
If the name Peter Benchley means anything to you, then you probably know him as the author of "Jaws." That novel gets something of a bad rap. Everyone says the movie is better than the original book, and they're right. But the latter still has its moments. The best bits are all the chapters written from the shark's perspective. Benchley grew to love and respect real-life sharks--so much so that he pretty much renounced "Jaws" in his later years.
Still, it's clear that back when he actually sat down to write the story that made him famous, he enjoyed the challenge of putting himself in the mind of a top predator.
I only wish he'd done something like that here.
"The Island" isn't a sea creature story, setting it apart from "Jaws," "Beast," and most of his other bestsellers. Instead, it's a thriller/chiller about the infamous Bermuda Triangle.
"The Bermuda Triangle is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which ships, planes, and people are alleged to have mysteriously vanished," reports the National Ocean Service.
If you're an investigative reporter, like Benchley's protagonist, that's a folk tale too good to pass up.
Ultimately, there's no killer shark or giant squid waiting for our "hero." Something else, we learn, has been scuttling ships and murdering their crews in the Bermuda Triangle for several centuries. I won't give away exactly what it is, but I don't think our novelist does the best job of realizing his vision.
A Stephen King or a William Golding type would've had a lot of fun with the twist that comes along halfway through "The Island." Benchley, though, seems to be punching above his weight class. I think the premise would've worked better in another writer's hands.
That said, if you haven't already done so, I'd recommend "Beast" or better yet "Shark Trouble." Both are great books and they're a much better showcase for Peter Benchley's talents. "The Island," you can skip.
Still, it's clear that back when he actually sat down to write the story that made him famous, he enjoyed the challenge of putting himself in the mind of a top predator.
I only wish he'd done something like that here.
"The Island" isn't a sea creature story, setting it apart from "Jaws," "Beast," and most of his other bestsellers. Instead, it's a thriller/chiller about the infamous Bermuda Triangle.
"The Bermuda Triangle is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which ships, planes, and people are alleged to have mysteriously vanished," reports the National Ocean Service.
If you're an investigative reporter, like Benchley's protagonist, that's a folk tale too good to pass up.
Ultimately, there's no killer shark or giant squid waiting for our "hero." Something else, we learn, has been scuttling ships and murdering their crews in the Bermuda Triangle for several centuries. I won't give away exactly what it is, but I don't think our novelist does the best job of realizing his vision.
A Stephen King or a William Golding type would've had a lot of fun with the twist that comes along halfway through "The Island." Benchley, though, seems to be punching above his weight class. I think the premise would've worked better in another writer's hands.
That said, if you haven't already done so, I'd recommend "Beast" or better yet "Shark Trouble." Both are great books and they're a much better showcase for Peter Benchley's talents. "The Island," you can skip.
April 28, 2020
رواية رائعة ودموية من مؤلف الفك المفترس
بلير مينار صحفي في جريدة اليوم يجد فقرة صغيرة في أسفل عمود " ما الجديد " حيث تشير إحصاءات خفر السواحل إلى أن 610 يخوت اختفوا في البحر الكاريبي ومنطقة ساحل الخليج في خلال فترة قصيرة مع خسارة أكثر من 2000 شخص لأرواحهم على الأقل فيجدها مينارد فرصة لسبق صحفي فيبدأ البحث والتقصي ويبدأ معه الجحيم
الرواية سلسة ومشوقة ودموية للغاية
طبعة مكتبة الأسرة ويعيب عليها الأخطاء المطبعية بالإضافة إلى أن الترجمة في بعض الأحيان أما جامدة أو مغلوطة حيث تجدها مخالفة لسياق الأحداث
بلير مينار صحفي في جريدة اليوم يجد فقرة صغيرة في أسفل عمود " ما الجديد " حيث تشير إحصاءات خفر السواحل إلى أن 610 يخوت اختفوا في البحر الكاريبي ومنطقة ساحل الخليج في خلال فترة قصيرة مع خسارة أكثر من 2000 شخص لأرواحهم على الأقل فيجدها مينارد فرصة لسبق صحفي فيبدأ البحث والتقصي ويبدأ معه الجحيم
الرواية سلسة ومشوقة ودموية للغاية
طبعة مكتبة الأسرة ويعيب عليها الأخطاء المطبعية بالإضافة إلى أن الترجمة في بعض الأحيان أما جامدة أو مغلوطة حيث تجدها مخالفة لسياق الأحداث
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