Excellent book, fantastic writing! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was lucky enough to get it through Netgalley. If you like zombies, or giant critters, you are in luck and get both for the price of one! Very well done and I am hoping there will be a second book, we shall see. Brian Keene is a master storyteller and this book just proves that.

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy of this.

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you mixed Conan with zombies, this would be your answer! With Giant Ants, we can’t forget about those!

It had fun fantasy and horror elements mixed in with some basic human decency discussions.

The world of fiction needs more barbarian versus zombies stories. Master horror writer Brian Keene has triumphantly filled that void with Island of the Dead. And by Crom, this is one ridiculously fun read.

Keene does not worry about backstory or world building. Embodying the one-directionness of his heroic barbarian Einar, Island of the Dead simply starts in medias res and constantly moves forward in a lurch for survival. The reader comes along as a willing captive, reveling in all its gory escapade. Keene is relentless as he is entertaining.

Island… opens as Einar finds himself a slave; an oarsman on a giant battle galley. He no sooner plans to escape when a giant storm wrecks the ship on a peaceful, fertile island. Albeit one with giant ants.

And Atlantean survivors.

One other thing survives too. A biological weapon that was planned to be unleashed on enemy soil but now roams free on the tropical atoll - zombies.

Einar picks up comrades: fellow slaves Fhad and Chuy, and Mathias, a young soldier with a secret. All they want to do is escape and head for home. But this is a story about barbarian slaves, so safe travels home are not in the cards. Instead, Keene offers rampant stories of muscles and swords, blood and kinsmanship and unending fights with six-foot ants, inbred Atlanteans, and the undead themselves.

Keene, like Einar, keeps moving forward. Rarely does his tale relinquish its hold for a breath. Keene, then, similar to the island, can be both beautiful with his prose and harsh with its overarching violence. Einar and friends fight, slash, hurl, and curse in an immersive, genre-breaking read. Yet, Keene cleverly mixes in his own thoughts and ideals on race and creed and culture. His subtle political views remain metaphorical but deepen an otherwise shallow actioneer.

Island of the Dead is a hard-hitting, violent read full of manly bravado and macho adventurism. Back in the heyday of Orion, Carolco, or New World Pictures, Island of the Dead would be a VHS-rental mainstay of imaginative proportions. For now, it remains a wonderful piece of pure horror fiction. Island of the Dead not only deserves an adaptation - be it comics or cinema - but also a sequel.


Many thanks to Apex Books and NetGalley for sending me this ARC to read and review. Thanks to Brian Keene as well. I will make it out to Vortex Books this summer. Honest. And I still miss the hell outta the Defenders Dialogue podcast.

Once again Keene has knocked it out of the park, I'm not a zombie girl at all, but I will never turn down anything apocalyptic or zombie related from him, he weaves a zombie story that I can't help but become invested in, every single time.
This is a bit of a slow burn at the start but when it picks up, you'll have whiplash haha.
So keep thst in mind and trust me this is worth it.

I'd also like to disclose this was an ARC read for me so I was given a copy in exchange for a honest review.
But I would have bought it anyways

I love Brian Keene's books! His stories will have you on the edge of your seat. In this story, you have ZOMBIES. You can't go wrong with zombies. This story started out very intense but then began to slow down. I had to push my way through some parts but I'm glad I did. After the lull, it picked up again.
Thank you to NetGalley and Apex Books for an advanced copy of Island of the Dead. This is my honest review.

This was such a ridiculous book but if you've read other books in the Brian Keene universe you'll enjoy the h3ll out of this fun jaunt. If you haven't then prepare yourself for a humorous apocalypse with a heavy dose of crazy character whip-lash.

Although this was not my favorite by Keene, I liked that it smashed so many of his other monsters together. Besides who can turn down Barbarians fighting zombies? It is as you'd expect that to be. I love his take on a dystopian society but he lost me with the Atlanteans. Ironically that was just a bridge too far for me.

Full disclosure, I originally read part of this story as it was being written, through Vella, before it was taken down. When the ARC became available I only had around 75 pgs left to finish. Keene remains one of the most original authors out there and his books are always extremely campy and entertaining. This was no exception.

Brian Keene is one of those authors I will buy or request from NetGalley without even reading the description. I did exactly that with this one. I had no idea what it was about when I requested it. I can honestly say the numerous zombie books I’ve read, I have never read one quite like this. It’s a combination of a fantasy story and a zombie invasion. Entertaining as hell. But underneath it all seems to be a lesson people in society today could use some introduction to. It’s a lesson about what happens when people spend their time fighting about everything under the sun instead of just taking a moment to work together. Horrific things happen when these people can’t take the time to stop and talk, and there’s a whole bunch of death. Which, as we know, leads to more zombies. In this story, I think it’s the humans that are the monsters, not the zombies. The zombies are just following nature. But the humans… they don’t have an excuse to be as terrible as they are. A fun read you don’t want to miss!

Huge thanks to Apex Books and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Another great read from Brian Keene. He never disappoints. Great characters. Great adventure story, with great pacing. Hope we will get a book continuing the story of Einar. #IslandoftheDead #NetGalley

4.5 rounded up to 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Apex Books for an advanced copy of Island of the Dead.

Every once in a while, I read a book that ends up impacting me more than I expect it to; Island of the Dead was definitely one of those books. This is the kind of book that is the reason why I love horror so much. I read my first Brian Keene book back when I was in high school (The Rising), so his books are familiar to me. When I saw he was releasing another zombie story, I had to read it.

This book was so much more fun than your run-of-the-mill zombie survival story; there was isolation and survival on a remote island, monstrous creatures defending their territory, inbred survivors from years previous who were fearful of strangers and had violent tendencies, and (of course), zombie hordes. It was violent, bloody, and terrifying - everything I expect from this type of story. What I didn't expect was the bond and friendship that formed amongst the main characters, as they tried to survive the slavery they escaped from. I was invested in all of them and rooted for them the entire time.

I may be looking into this book much more deeply than the author intended, but with the chaos and non-stop, fast-paced action, it reminded me of the state of our current world. We are all fighting to survive in this time of political turmoil and floundering economy, and yet at the core, we are still connected to each other despite our different backgrounds. The friendship of the main characters and their enduring will to survive despite the odds was oddly comforting and hopeful. Everything came full circle by the end, and it left me wanting to see more of these characters.

Highly recommend this book if you are into tons of action, mayhem and gore, but also something that is hopeful and comforting at the same time. It reminded me of a mix of Conan the Barbarian, Them! (an old horror movie from the 1950s), and Lost.

In Island of the Dead, we follow the story of our main character named Joe, who travels to a remote island to scatter his wife's ashes. The island is shrouded in mystery and terror, as it is inhabited by monstrous creatures and haunted by the spirits of the dead. As Joe delves deeper into the island's secrets, he must confront both the external horrors and his own inner demons. A notable horror element in Island of the Dead, is the presence of the monstrous creatures that inhabit the island. These beings are not just mindless beasts, but are deeply connected to the island's dark history and the malevolent spirits that linger there. The combination of physical danger from the creatures and the psychological terror of the haunted environment creates a relentless atmosphere of dread and suspense.