Monster Island (Wellington novel)

Monster Island is a novel in the zombie apocalypse horror subgenre by American writer David Wellington, published in serial online in August, 2004 and in print in April, 2006.

"Zombie Island" redirects here. For for the Scooby-Doo movie, see Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.
Monster Island
First print edition
AuthorDavid Wellington
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesDavid Wellington's Monster trilogy
GenreHorror
PublisherThunder's Mouth Press
Publication date
August 2004 (online) April 2006 (print)
Media typeE-book & Print (Paperback)
Pages272
ISBN1-56025-850-0
OCLC64772295
813/.6 22
LC ClassPS3623.E468 M68 2006
Followed byMonster Nation 

Plot introduction

Monster Island takes place in Manhattan one month after New York City has been completely overrun by the undead.

A former UN employee named Dekalb, whose daughter is being held by a warlord in Somalia in exchange for his assistance, enters the zombie-infested island with a band of East African child soldiers in order to retrieve precious AIDS medication for the warlord. After surviving numerous zombie attacks, the group encounters Gary Fleck, an undead medical student who has managed to retain a high level of consciousness and self-control unlike other zombies.

Release details
  • 2004, United States, Brokentype e-book
  • 2005, United States, Thunder's Mouth Press ISBN 1-56025-850-0, Pub date 28 March 2006, paperback

About the trilogy

Monster Island is the first in a trilogy of online serial novels.

The second novel, Monster Nation, is a prequel and tells the story of the origins of the epidemic and its rapid spread across the United States.

The third novel, Monster Planet, describes the results of the global outbreak.

In Monster Island, Mael, a reanimated bog mummy, makes reference to the two other characters later in the trilogy:

[Gary asks] "I can’t be the only one, though. You found me from a distance, you must know if there are others like us."

Mael nodded. "A few...There’s a boy in a place called Russia. Very promising. Struck down in a hit and run. He suffered for months with machines pumping his heart for him but his parents wouldn’t let the doctors pull the plug. Another one here in your country. In California...A yoga teacher hiding out in an oxygen bar..."[1]

Critical commentary

Booklist called Monster Island "a fantastic zombie novel," and wrote, "There are many layers to this zombie apocalypse, and this book just gets things rolling."[2]

In a review that was chiefly positive, Publishers Weekly praised the book's visceral impact, describing the plot as "inventive and exciting". They also commended Wellington for his knowledge of New York and the Monster Island's touches of dark humor, but felt that he displayed selective memory at times in composing the narrative.[3]

The Washington Post gave the novel a strongly negative review, criticizing it for a lack of background information on the origin of the zombie menace, as well as what the reviewer considered to be nonsensical or absent motives for many characters' actions.[4]

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gollark: Is there some way to switch over subtypes or whatever?
gollark: ADTs? ADTs ADTs. ADTs ADTs ADTs, ADTs ADTs!
gollark: ADTs!
gollark: ```haskelldata Node = Thingy Int Int Int | Thingummy String Int | Whatsit [Node]```

See also

References
  1. "Chapter Eleven". Monster Island. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
  2. "Wellington, David. Monster Island.(Brief article)(Book review)". Booklist. March 15, 2006.
  3. Staff. "Monster Island: A Zombie Novel", Publishers Weekly, March 13, 2006, p. 47.
  4. Wooster, Martin Morse. "The Dreary Dead", The Washington Post, page BW 08, published May 28, 2006, accessed May 15, 2007.
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