I'm not even sure what genre this book really fits into - I received an advanced copy because I tend to like fantasy. But I would dare to say this is more than fantasy, but where does it fit exactly? I can't say for sure.

An island, two immortal gods who are also mortal enemies. The same endless tasks of slaying demons and retrieving "unwanteds" and destroying them. A circular existence that has stretched on for all of time. Or has it?

No man is an island unto himself - unless, that is, he becomes one. And thus begins one of the most intricately woven tales I have read in a while. A tale of two gods overlaid with the story of a ill-fated Princess and her prince, overlaid again with another reality altogether. Yet the three tales are intricately woven together, inseparable, clinging to each other, dependent on the other ones. But which is the true reality.

Trauma, past mistakes, demons that haunt and can never really be dispatched. Running away, hiding, coping in ways that make sense. But in reality the only thing to be done is to face it all, to tear down the walls, dismiss the alternate realities and stories that make things more bearable. The only way forward is to march straight through the past, to shoulder the responsibility, to see for once the way things really are.

Our mistakes, our decisions are rarely contained within our own realities. In fact everything we do in life effects another person, influences another's perceptions, truths, self-talk, decisions. We are never, have never been, self-contained islands unto our selves. We are never truly alone. And so the story of the stranger, and his lies, and his ability to bend perceptions, manipulate feelings and create bondage resonates with the human truth. For haven't we all fell victim? Haven't we all believed and invested ourselves in some way in the lies of the stranger because his lies flatter our ego, fill our needs, meet our unstated fears, fill that dark void, silence (even for a moment) our inner demons. But what happens when the stranger leaves and in his wake we are left with the damage? We are left with demons worse than before? How do we cope?

This book......it's so much more than the surface level. It is so much deeper than it seems. It takes a minute to wade through it, but then it resonates, it reverberates against the inner conscience. We easily want to say we have never met the stranger. We want to stand in judgment and say we are better. We want to defend our choices and lay the blame outside. It is the nature of the human to do so. But.....the reality is we are not an island, and all realities based within ourselves, all defenses we build to shield ourselves, all stories we tell ourselves and others to make the truth less painful, the demons less real will crumble in on themselves. Because we all crave forgiveness, a clean slate, a way to start over and move forward. The trick is reaching that point before the world and people we love are lost or destroyed while we were busy playing at life on an island of our own making, being gods of our own world.

Thanks for the review copy. I ordered a print copy to put beside The MIdnight Library.


Trigger warning: This book deals with mental health issues, suicide and adultery. This may contain subject matter that is sensitive and hard for some to handle. This is the only thing about the official cover description of this book that somewhat bothered me. I think that there should be a warning. The general reader will pick up this book and think they are getting a book about a war between two gods trapped on an enchanted island prison only to find out it is very much NOT that at all and the subject matter is actually deals with is weighty, heavy, hard to swallow - but reality for far to many.

Interesting read. Takes a moment to really get into the story. It was a bit slow to start, but the whole Gerd and Atticus dynamic is interesting.

Every time I start a book by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant I get excited because quite honestly you never know what you are going to get. Sure the book’s blurb will you a general idea of the story, but the truth is the journeys they will take you on are always unpredictable. You could find yourself in the middle of an alien invasion (the Invasion series), a fantasy western riding a unicorn (Unicorn Western series), a wild look at possible futures (the Dead World series or The Inevitable series to name just a few) or a smaller, tighter, more personal journey (Devil May Care). This is all to say they don’t pigeonhole themselves into a single genre. What they do is tell entertaining stories. And with The Island they do just that…delivering one heck of a trippy story. Now from reading the blurb you may think you know what you getting…two gods trapped on an island in an unending struggle, but you’ll find it WAY more than that. And while early on you may think you know what’s going on, the truth is you’re probably wrong. And I won’t spoil it for you here, just know it’s a totally trippy ride you’ll embark on. For me it had a very very Lost-esque vibe, which I enjoyed very much. I’d like to thank the publisher Sterling & Stone and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Island.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2XYN94A87TDQ0/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Two gods are forever locked in a repeating cycle. Their small island of a world sits in an uneasy balance, until a stranger arrives.
Referring to this book as a "mindfuck" is an understatement. Whenever I sat down to read the book, I would end the session with a roaring headache. But it was the kind of headache that I earned through hard thinking. By the end of the book I was equally confused and enlightened by the entertaining story created by Platt and Truant.
This book will take up residence in my private collection. However, it will not come near the middle school library due to complexity of the content for the targeted audience.

This one was a bit of a mind-bender. In the beginning, it felt like two disparate stories, with no throughline. At about the halfway point, threads started to connect the two tales, and the chaotic, random, unmoored story of Gerd and Atticus began to take on a more recognizable shape. To explain much more than that would give away the story, but what I can say is that this story finds its' way from allegorical to all-t0-human. In the end, it is much more about human emotions and guilt than it seems on the surface.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Island releases January 19, 2023

Things are not as they seem in this short book. The reader is quickly thrown into this fantasy island world where two opposing figures are at odds, killing each other just to continually be rebirthed again, where items appear from the conjuring of the mind, or have just always been. What is time? What are these tasks that they have to accomplish every day? What are the Unwanted? Who are the Authority and Gatekeepers?

The blurb was right in calling this a mindfuck of a story.
What presents as a fantasy slowly shifts into a modern and contemporary story that will have your thought process working at ends to piece together what you just read.
Confusing at first with little explanation as to how this island functions or what the rules are, but if you’re able to trust the process and enjoy a mind-bending & thought-provoking read, this is one to try.

TW: suicide, cheating, trauma

"The only real control—the only way in which we're truly free—comes from denial. From restraint."

This rather short book was a great read. I read it in a day and throughly enjoyed the story. The story centers around Atticus and Gerd who are stuck on an island. They have hilarious banter and made me laugh a lot. The book was written in a modern tone which I hadn't been expecting but enjoyed. I definitely wasn't expecting the ending. The topics that this book centered around, specifically the guilt, were very well written and developed. The authors did a great job approaching those topics.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

From the synopsis, I knew this was going to be a weird one but I didn't realize how weird. I loved it! It was a campy, hilarious, unique concept that I devoured. We have these two immortals that are always arguing, stuck on a neverending island, having to fulfill tasks day after day...it was pure entertainment! And the ending?? Oh it got me.

This book made me quite emotional, which I didn't suspect in the beginning. It reminded me a bit of the very lovely, but also gutwrenching book Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.

To put it simply, the book surprised me. I would say it was delightfully sad and not at all what I expected from the description. With many underlying themes and great reveals at the end.

The plot revolves around Atticus and Gerd, two semi-god-like figures trapped on an island, endlessly tormenting each other and fulfilling meaningless tasks, until one day - something appears that wasn't there before. Or was it? The question the book raises is, do they deserve each other or their predicament, and is there perhaps a way out of it?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It filled an afternoon for me that I consider well-spent. Thanks NetGalley and the authors for the advance copy.

This was such a good fantasy concept, it worked well from the description. I enjoyed the idea of being stuck on a island. The characters were what I was expecting and really interesting. I enjoyed the way Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant wrote this and was invested in what was going on.

"So Lucas went outside. The world was, at last, big enough to breathe. He sat in the sun, still feeling the nightmare, and waited with clenched fists. He sat until things returned to normal … except that now, “normal” included a quiet horror that whatever had just happened could easily happen again."