The Island [Hardcover]

Peter Benchley (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (April 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385131720
• ISBN-13: 978-0385131728
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,333,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Undecided..., May 2, 2004

By 

P. Robinson "Relic113" (Calgary) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Island (Hardcover)

After watching Pirates of the Carribean i pulled this one off my shelf where it had been collecting dust for a decade...(I bought it after reading Jaws) The Idea of this book is pretty interesting: a man arrives at an island where the people have not "evolved" and are basically still living the life of pirates and do not conform to modern values...There is a hidden treasure of course... but not one we might expect... The problem with this otherwise fine boook is that too much time is speant on the relationship between the protagonist and his son and the troubles in their relationship and not enough time dealing witht he pirates and the seamonsters...

Imagine "Jaws" with Chief Brody's son on board bickering instead of "sharking" and you will get my point...
All in all not a bad read, but "Jaws" and "The Beast" are much more satisfying...

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There be pirates!, October 5, 2003

By 

S. Griffin (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Island (Hardcover)

I must admit 'The Island' was a guilty pleasure to read. But I enjoyed it SO much! Peter Benchley has written a suspenseful story about modern-day pirates. Well, maybe not so modern-day, as the pirates behave in a decidedly archaic manner. The ending could have gone either of two ways, and I wasn't sure which way that would be. This kept the suspense going until the very last pages. I recommend this book for good escapist reading.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting concept, weak presentation., February 28, 2002

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Island (Paperback)

Peter Benchley's The Island certainly has an interesting idea, the pirates of old are still around and are largely responsible for most of the missing boats in the Bermuda Triangle. Benchley attempts to weave real history with contemporary fantasy, but the results are mixed. The beginning and ending are action packed and suspenseful, but the middle part drags horribly and the pirates way of life does not seem capable of real life survival outside the pages of a pulp novel. Watered down adventure from the author of Jaws.