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Nemesis Saga #0
Island 731: A Thriller
NO EVENT IN HISTORY COULD HAVE PREPARED HIM FOR THIS. Mark Hawkins, former park ranger and expert tracker, is on board a research vessel on the Pacific. But his work is interrupted when the ship is plagued by a series of strange malfunctions and the crew is battered by a raging storm... "Jeremy Robinson blends myth, science, and terminal-velocity action like no one else."-Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Nocturnal
The next morning, the beaten crew awakens to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island-and no one knows how they got there. The ship has been sabotaged, two crewmen are dead, and a third is missing. Hawkins spots signs of the missing man onshore and leads a small team to bring him back. But they soon discover evidence of a brutal history left behind by the island's former occupants: Unit 731, Japan's ruthless World War II human experimentation program. As more of his colleagues start to disappear, Hawkins begins to realize the horrible truth: That Island 731 was never decommissioned and the person preying on his crewmates may not be a person at all-not anymore... "Robinson, a skilled blender of the thriller and horror genres, has another winner on his hands."- Booklist
The next morning, the beaten crew awakens to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island-and no one knows how they got there. The ship has been sabotaged, two crewmen are dead, and a third is missing. Hawkins spots signs of the missing man onshore and leads a small team to bring him back. But they soon discover evidence of a brutal history left behind by the island's former occupants: Unit 731, Japan's ruthless World War II human experimentation program. As more of his colleagues start to disappear, Hawkins begins to realize the horrible truth: That Island 731 was never decommissioned and the person preying on his crewmates may not be a person at all-not anymore... "Robinson, a skilled blender of the thriller and horror genres, has another winner on his hands."- Booklist
356 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 26, 2013
192 people are currently reading
2725 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Robinson
164 books2,621 followersJeremy Robinson is the New York Times bestselling author of seventy novels and novellas, including Apocalypse Machine, Island 731, and SecondWorld, as well as the Jack Sigler thriller series and Project Nemesis, the highest selling, original (non-licensed) kaiju novel of all time. He’s known for mixing elements of science, history and mythology, which has earned him the #1 spot in Science Fiction and Action-Adventure, and secured him as the top creature feature author. Many of his novels have been adapted into comic books, optioned for film and TV, and translated into thirteen languages. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and three children. Visit him at www.bewareofmonsters.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 412 reviews
October 23, 2022
When I first started listening to Island 731 it reminded me a lot of H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau, however, author Jeremy Robinson has upped the ante and created an implausible thriller with the addition of a World War II origin story and a modern setting.
The storyline begins with Captain Mark Hawkins and his crew setting out to sea aboard the scientific ocean liner, Magellan. The group is on a mission to investigate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating profusion of garbage in the Pacific, and examine its ecologic impact on marine life. On their first day at sea the ship's systems are malfunctioning as huge storm approaches. Upon awakening the next morning they discover the Magellan has ended up in a lagoon and that several of their cohorts has disappeared from the ship. When Captain Hawkins and two other crew members travel ashore to search they discover traces of earlier inhabitants. Buckle-up and hold on tight as the plot transforms into science fiction horrors at warp speed - with barbaric surgical procedures, genetic engineering, animal husbandry and nonstop mayhem. Never a dull moment in this action-packed and imaginative first book of the Nemesis series. Bravo, Mr.Robinson.
Narrator R.C. Bray is flawless as always. Phenom.
The storyline begins with Captain Mark Hawkins and his crew setting out to sea aboard the scientific ocean liner, Magellan. The group is on a mission to investigate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating profusion of garbage in the Pacific, and examine its ecologic impact on marine life. On their first day at sea the ship's systems are malfunctioning as huge storm approaches. Upon awakening the next morning they discover the Magellan has ended up in a lagoon and that several of their cohorts has disappeared from the ship. When Captain Hawkins and two other crew members travel ashore to search they discover traces of earlier inhabitants. Buckle-up and hold on tight as the plot transforms into science fiction horrors at warp speed - with barbaric surgical procedures, genetic engineering, animal husbandry and nonstop mayhem. Never a dull moment in this action-packed and imaginative first book of the Nemesis series. Bravo, Mr.Robinson.
Narrator R.C. Bray is flawless as always. Phenom.
July 22, 2015
I really enjoyed Project Nemesis, but this one fell short. Now, I will happily suspend disbelief when it comes to a monster tale, but I want characters I can depend on. The hero here was too much, and yet too little at the same time. He was a Chuck Norris, but with no brain (possibly a bad example). He was a superman who could apparently do anything, and yet kept forgetting to use his powers when they were most needed. Example: the author dumps a ridiculous backstory to explain the hero's amazing tracking ability, and yet for most of the book, Hawkins resorts to randomly following goats through the jungle (even when those outstanding tracking skills could have saved the day). The characters make decisions over and over again based on ridiculous assumptions. They talk things out and come to conclusions only to do the exact opposite thing in the very next scene. They forget to use their axe, the bell, the gun, etc when they're most needed, and yet they still manage to escape certain death time and time again. In the end, it just doesn't come together. Reading it is a lot like watching a SyFy original movie: it sounds like a lot of fun, but it gets old fast.
November 7, 2014
First the ugly facts: Unit 731 was a Japanese research and development unit during WWII. 731 experimented with human vivisection. Some experiments included removing limbs and transplanting them to other test subjects, sometimes putting them where arms were never meant to go. When the war ended, the US wanted what 731 had learned, so they gave the scientists immunity. If WWII was one long, ugly story, then 731 was one of its ugliest chapters.
Now the crazy fiction: Jeremy Robinson’s book Island 731 puts forth the horrifying idea of ‘what if the experiments never stopped?’ An uncharted island in the Pacific has not only continued the cruel work of WWII, but expanded on it, mixing human and animal at a genetic level. Essentially, it’s a modern day Island of Doctor Moreau, with monsters neither beast nor man who now call it home.
We follow a group that’s studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Really, a whole book could be written about the Garbage Patch and I’d read it. The stuff pisses me off. And while Robinson gives the issue of pollution a fair amount of coverage, the author’s ultimately more interested in telling a horror story.
A storm hits the ship and it’s left immobile in the lagoon of an uncharted jungle island. Someone - or something - crawls onto the ship and abducts a crewmember. The remaining crew wants to leave but they can’t abandon their friends, so they form a search party and enter the jungle.
Here they run into a series of ‘chimeras’, creatures created by mixing animals together to create something new and monstrous. And soon it becomes apparent that the facilities on the island are still in working order and someone is making these monsters…
In a lot of ways, this book is my kind of horror story. It mixes in a bit of science fiction, which I always respond to. And it’s set on an island, something I just enjoy for whatever reason.
Robinson’s prose is straightforward, which makes for a fast-paced story. The characters are likable. And the story never feels predictable. It’s a good genre mashup. There is a lot to like about the book.
But there are a couple things I didn’t like. Considering the gravity of the situation they’re in, I would say the characters are a bit too jovial during the first half of the book. Robinson makes them likable but it’s not always believable that people would be smiling or cracking wise in situations like this.
I also would have liked the book to dive into some of the science of the experiments. We never really get a good explanation of ‘how’, but to be fair that would slow things down quite a bit. Still, it’s far from Crichton territory where we would get a semi-plausible ‘what if.’
Island 731 is the literary equivalent of the creature feature and that’s just fine by me. I like these kinds of books and this is a good one. Robinson’s journey into the unknown may remind the reader of other similar adventures, but it’s still a trip worth taking.
Now the crazy fiction: Jeremy Robinson’s book Island 731 puts forth the horrifying idea of ‘what if the experiments never stopped?’ An uncharted island in the Pacific has not only continued the cruel work of WWII, but expanded on it, mixing human and animal at a genetic level. Essentially, it’s a modern day Island of Doctor Moreau, with monsters neither beast nor man who now call it home.
We follow a group that’s studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Really, a whole book could be written about the Garbage Patch and I’d read it. The stuff pisses me off. And while Robinson gives the issue of pollution a fair amount of coverage, the author’s ultimately more interested in telling a horror story.
A storm hits the ship and it’s left immobile in the lagoon of an uncharted jungle island. Someone - or something - crawls onto the ship and abducts a crewmember. The remaining crew wants to leave but they can’t abandon their friends, so they form a search party and enter the jungle.
Here they run into a series of ‘chimeras’, creatures created by mixing animals together to create something new and monstrous. And soon it becomes apparent that the facilities on the island are still in working order and someone is making these monsters…
In a lot of ways, this book is my kind of horror story. It mixes in a bit of science fiction, which I always respond to. And it’s set on an island, something I just enjoy for whatever reason.
Robinson’s prose is straightforward, which makes for a fast-paced story. The characters are likable. And the story never feels predictable. It’s a good genre mashup. There is a lot to like about the book.
But there are a couple things I didn’t like. Considering the gravity of the situation they’re in, I would say the characters are a bit too jovial during the first half of the book. Robinson makes them likable but it’s not always believable that people would be smiling or cracking wise in situations like this.
I also would have liked the book to dive into some of the science of the experiments. We never really get a good explanation of ‘how’, but to be fair that would slow things down quite a bit. Still, it’s far from Crichton territory where we would get a semi-plausible ‘what if.’
Island 731 is the literary equivalent of the creature feature and that’s just fine by me. I like these kinds of books and this is a good one. Robinson’s journey into the unknown may remind the reader of other similar adventures, but it’s still a trip worth taking.
June 7, 2022
What a wild ride! The story begins on an island (Island 731, as it turns out) in 1942. A man lying on a beach somewhere around Hawaii regains consciousness to a seagull eating the flesh off his leg. He can't feel it so he knows something is seriously wrong with him. He lifts one arm, sees it is a tattoed arm that isn't his. He lifts his other arm and sees that not only is it not his, but it's not even human. *insert scream here*. This is the prologue so I didn't really spoil anything. The rest of the story follows, in modern day, with equally outrageous events. When the action starts, it does not stop until the end. Apparently this novel is the first in a long series about kaiju, so if you're a kaiju fan, you'll love it.
What I liked about the book is that it taught me something new. Something horrible, but true. Unit 731 (not an island) was an actual covert biological and chemical warfare R&D department for the Japanese military during WWII. This department experimented on human beings in ways arguably worse than Josef Mengele and his nazi collaborators. They subjected their victims to diseases, vivisection, biological and chemical weapons testing and experiments with no basis in science at all. The crimes of Unit 731 will give you nightmares for decades. This real life horror show was funded by the Japanese government. An estimated 400,000 men, women, children and babies were killed during such experiments; most of them were Chinese. I'm guessing that this is all news to many people reading this review.
It's horrible, terrible stuff. What makes it worse is that, at the end of the war, the "researchers" captured by American soldiers were secretly given immunity (!!!!!) in exchange for the 'data' and information they gathered on these victims. Almost half a million people died during these gruesome 'experiments'! And they have never been recognized, mourned or shown respect! The perpetrators were given immunity by General Douglas MacArthur! Excuse me while I scream into the abyss!!! Even the Soviets persecuted the "researchers" they arrested during war crime trials in 1949.
This novel may not have been the most intellectually stimulating piece of writing. However, I appreciated that the author tied in this history, as shameful and gruesome as it is. As a society we cannot forget these atrocities and those complicit in them. Only by remembering can we prevent them from happening again.
What I liked about the book is that it taught me something new. Something horrible, but true. Unit 731 (not an island) was an actual covert biological and chemical warfare R&D department for the Japanese military during WWII. This department experimented on human beings in ways arguably worse than Josef Mengele and his nazi collaborators. They subjected their victims to diseases, vivisection, biological and chemical weapons testing and experiments with no basis in science at all. The crimes of Unit 731 will give you nightmares for decades. This real life horror show was funded by the Japanese government. An estimated 400,000 men, women, children and babies were killed during such experiments; most of them were Chinese. I'm guessing that this is all news to many people reading this review.
It's horrible, terrible stuff. What makes it worse is that, at the end of the war, the "researchers" captured by American soldiers were secretly given immunity (!!!!!) in exchange for the 'data' and information they gathered on these victims. Almost half a million people died during these gruesome 'experiments'! And they have never been recognized, mourned or shown respect! The perpetrators were given immunity by General Douglas MacArthur! Excuse me while I scream into the abyss!!! Even the Soviets persecuted the "researchers" they arrested during war crime trials in 1949.
This novel may not have been the most intellectually stimulating piece of writing. However, I appreciated that the author tied in this history, as shameful and gruesome as it is. As a society we cannot forget these atrocities and those complicit in them. Only by remembering can we prevent them from happening again.
April 25, 2017
Jurassic Park style madness, but replace the dinos with horrific mutants and spread a thick layer of WWII biogenetic experimentation in there. It's a tasty recipe. Robinson's imagination is scrumtrulescent!
March 13, 2016
Are you a fan of crazy conspiracy theories? Do you enjoy reading about secret experiments carried out by various governments? Then you should probably get your hands on this book because crazy conspiracy theories and experiments are what it's all about. It's not often that I read adult fiction, but I've been in a weird, conspiracy kind of mood lately (it might have something to do with binge watching Making a Murderer). When I stumbled across this one, I knew I had to make some time for it and I'm glad that I did!
Island 731 is about a group of sailors and researchers who are unfortunate enough to find themselves stranded on an uncharted island during a brutal storm. Strange things start to happen and the crew comes face to face with a series of extremely disturbing life forms. From there the mystery begins to unravel slowly as the danger grows more real and tension builds.
Mark Hawkins is the main character in this story and he was a pretty decent one, in my opinion. Mark is a prior park ranger and was raised to understand the importance respecting nature. This makes him the obvious choice to lead the team when they land on the island and start to lose people to its inhabitance. I enjoyed Mark overall and found him to be a believable character for the most part. He was a smart, strategic, and likable character, but with one really annoying flaw. Remember how I said he respects nature? Well, it is taken to almost a ridiculous level at times. There were a lot of flashbacks to his upbringing and I was honestly waiting for him to break out into song with "Colors of the Wind." I honestly feel like pointing out his background as a ranger would have been enough.
I really enjoyed the conspiracy plot of this book a lot. It was extremely reminiscent of The Island of Doctor Moreau but with even more crazies! Each time another part of the big picture was revealed, I was a little bit shocked. Even the big reveal, which I thought I had figured out early on, caught me completely off guard. Still, my suspension of disbelief can only go so far and the experiments on Island 731 actually took me past my threshold somewhere around 3/4 of the way through and the end actually had me rolling my eyes.
Despite its eventual unbelievability, Island 731 was a quick, creepy read with enough twists and turns to keep it really interesting. I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of The Island of Doctor Moreau or The Madman's Daughter trilogy! I do think I'll be checking out more of Jeremy Robinsons books in the future.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
August 4, 2013
This book could be called "Lost Meets Aliens"; all it needs is S. Weaver in the role of Joliet and Matthew Fox as the hero. The genetics is silly, the physics are impossible, and the characters are a little over the top. There's a nice family scene near the end of the book, kind of heartwarming in a way as long as you don't mind improbability. Also this gets a 5-splatter rating for gore and guts, literally. My biggest sense of loss came from the senseless destruction of the hero's prized knife about half way through the book. How will he do without it?
April 4, 2014
This was my first book by this author and gets 3.5 stars, more closer to 3. The reason is that although it was really absolutely fast-pacing, action-filled and sort of fun, the story was just a bit too crazy/unrealistic. The description had a lot of promise and the story started out awesome, but the farther I read, the more unbelievable it got until even the lowest BS detector would have sounded the alarm. Still, the book showed that the author can write very nicely in terms of adventure, suspense and breathtaking action so this will not have been the last book I've read from Jeremy Robinson.
February 11, 2018
A research vessel, studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (i.e., thirty miles of refuse) is marooned on an unchartered island, when the crew members start dying or disappearing. A former Park ranger (Hawkins) launches a rescue mission and finds himself and his team members facing various genetically hybrid chimeras. Neither the characters nor the story were interesting. 1.5 stars, rounded up just for the creativity of the various hybrid species. Skip this one.
June 29, 2023
I loved listening to this book, as the narration brought the story to life. This was a great story that never slowed down. I loved all of the creatures and characters and the possibility of the science behind the creatures.
July 19, 2015
Jeremy Robinson’s Island 731 is a loose prequel to his ‘A Kaiju Thriller’ series, or so I’m lead to believe. His website recommends reading this first, so why not? The review quote on the cover dubs it ‘One of the best Jurassic Park successors’, though comparisons with that book are superficial at best. This is much more like an ultra-pulpy re-imagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau.
The best monster stories can evoke various emotions, from exhilaration to awe and wonder to fear of the unknown. Island 731 however is much more at the ‘Sharktopus vs Whalewolf’ end of the spectrum. It’s all far too over the top to be taken seriously, and the grim sincerity of the ultra-masculine lead and sidekicks is about as laughable as in one of those kinds of movies.
The book feels like a series of action film or video game set pieces strung together. Oh, and even the largest monsters here are well short of the city-levelling kaiju variety. This is much more about cheap and ridiculous ‘body horror’ as Robinson creates a menagerie of lethal creatures hybridised from different species.
If ever I’ve read ‘junk food’ fiction, this is it. It satisfies an urge for a time but that’s about all. I’ll continue with Project Nemesis anyway because I would love to think that someone out there can write a decent action-packed techno-thriller based on a Godzilla-style scenario.
The best monster stories can evoke various emotions, from exhilaration to awe and wonder to fear of the unknown. Island 731 however is much more at the ‘Sharktopus vs Whalewolf’ end of the spectrum. It’s all far too over the top to be taken seriously, and the grim sincerity of the ultra-masculine lead and sidekicks is about as laughable as in one of those kinds of movies.
The book feels like a series of action film or video game set pieces strung together. Oh, and even the largest monsters here are well short of the city-levelling kaiju variety. This is much more about cheap and ridiculous ‘body horror’ as Robinson creates a menagerie of lethal creatures hybridised from different species.
If ever I’ve read ‘junk food’ fiction, this is it. It satisfies an urge for a time but that’s about all. I’ll continue with Project Nemesis anyway because I would love to think that someone out there can write a decent action-packed techno-thriller based on a Godzilla-style scenario.
August 18, 2017
My general descriptor of this is Lost as written by Nick Cutter. Basically a collection of people wind up on a creepy island. The stuff is more biomedical experiment than straight-up supernatural, but things go wrong pretty quickly.
If I wanted to nitpick, I definitely could, but I was just kind of enjoying the plot for what it was. I did figure out some of what was going on but at this point that just doesn't bother me. I'm not sure I'll seek out other books by this author because some of the writing was a bit clunky, but I started this book because I needed something action-packed that would keep me awake on a drive and it did a pretty good job of that.
If I wanted to nitpick, I definitely could, but I was just kind of enjoying the plot for what it was. I did figure out some of what was going on but at this point that just doesn't bother me. I'm not sure I'll seek out other books by this author because some of the writing was a bit clunky, but I started this book because I needed something action-packed that would keep me awake on a drive and it did a pretty good job of that.
March 4, 2017
This thriller is a mash up of several genres. It is reminiscent of H.G. Wells cautionary tale, The Island of Doctor Monreau. It has the adventure of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. There is conspiracy theories used as so many dystopian works have.
I enjoyed the cliffhanger stops along the way. It did have that old serial feeling as the chapters ended. I liked the humanizing message at the end of the novel. I am fond of the shifting allegiances.
I would certainly have given a higher rating if the pacing were a bit tighter. I seem to be running into this quite frequently now in my choice of books. The middle goes on 2 or 3 encounters too long. My dear Mela suggested my books are like Ohio...round on the ends but hi in the middle. I said it was more like "o-hello-o.": Too long in the middle.
I thought this was a good yarn. The characters were believable and human. They suffered, as do we all, from their connections to other. The cool things about those connections is that they also bless us.
I like the thought of this becoming a TV series starring Hawkins and Joliet...
I enjoyed the cliffhanger stops along the way. It did have that old serial feeling as the chapters ended. I liked the humanizing message at the end of the novel. I am fond of the shifting allegiances.
I would certainly have given a higher rating if the pacing were a bit tighter. I seem to be running into this quite frequently now in my choice of books. The middle goes on 2 or 3 encounters too long. My dear Mela suggested my books are like Ohio...round on the ends but hi in the middle. I said it was more like "o-hello-o.": Too long in the middle.
I thought this was a good yarn. The characters were believable and human. They suffered, as do we all, from their connections to other. The cool things about those connections is that they also bless us.
I like the thought of this becoming a TV series starring Hawkins and Joliet...
November 29, 2015
LOST meets JURRASIC PARK, ala Crichton. Creepy horror thriller that would probably best appeal to young adults. Not particularly well written, but completely within the parameters of novels in this genre. Contrived, to say the least, formulaic, with characters having just the right skills to move the story along, with sinister protagonists and deadly adversaries, faced off against the trained hero knight who repeatedly barely escapes each hurdle presented. Really good for maybe a beach read. I could have been a little more generous with my rating, but I am sometimes stingy that way. Some readers will love it, but most of the (few) people who read my reviews will not be too happy if they take this one up.
April 5, 2024
This is a manly book for manly men. The women breast boobily and the men are all Chuck Norris. The one Asian character is portrayed as geeky, impossibly smart and sneaky. I'm honestly amazed the Black characters didn't fall into complete stereotypes.
The science is impossible and the hero is bullet-proof and yet... I had fun with this, after slogging through a slow (and weird) start.
This author can write an action scene and were this book released forty or fifty years ago I'd have been able to overlook a lot of the rest.
Still, if you're into your manly action men and fully suspend as much disbelief as possible, there's a fun and surprisingly dark tale here.
The science is impossible and the hero is bullet-proof and yet... I had fun with this, after slogging through a slow (and weird) start.
This author can write an action scene and were this book released forty or fifty years ago I'd have been able to overlook a lot of the rest.
Still, if you're into your manly action men and fully suspend as much disbelief as possible, there's a fun and surprisingly dark tale here.
July 22, 2018
As others have stated, this would be perfect for those terrible SYFY original films.
Bad characters, with an extremely boring main character.
Like “The Island Of Doctor Moreau,” if the doctor was on a bad acid trip. Laughable creatures that just get worse and worse as the story goes on.
This was a struggle to finish...why I finished this at all, is a mystery
Bad characters, with an extremely boring main character.
Like “The Island Of Doctor Moreau,” if the doctor was on a bad acid trip. Laughable creatures that just get worse and worse as the story goes on.
This was a struggle to finish...why I finished this at all, is a mystery
March 29, 2014
A fun book. Lots of stuff goes down on this mysterious island with a very dark secret. The author certainly had a good time with this.
July 31, 2017
Interesting
May 12, 2019
Well despite the fact that the author really did push it to the limit, I had fun reading this one. I honestly had no knowledge of Unit 731 in real life and when I looked it up and read about it I was stunned. So much truly horrific stuff done to people that I hadn’t known about. I’m glad that this book made me learn about another terrible part of World War 2. The book was fast paced and although the characters made some dumb choices I still wanted to see where it ended up. It is definitely an Island of Dr. Moreau story, and though some complain about how far the author pushed it, I found it fun.
April 7, 2013
I started reading Jeremy Robinson's book for no other reason than I wanted something to fill the void while waiting for the next Matthew Reilly book. I have come to really enjoy that kind of over-the-top action, science based adventure story that James Rollins, David Lynn Golemon, Jeff Long and the aforementioned Matthew Reilly put out. He is also clearly influenced by Michael Crichton. Along the way I came to enjoy his books as much as, and in many cases, more so than some of his colleagues. In addition to the quality of his works I appreciate some of the innovative ways he promotes himself and his works. For instance, by posting a review of "Island 731" on this site or Amazon you get a free copy of his next novella "I Am Cowboy". There is little I won't do for free books so posting a review of a book I would have read anyway is a no brainer. I like his website in general, there's free content and even a handy checklist of his books, which fulfills my need to cross things off lists. He is also prolific, publishing 5 or 6 books (or novellas) a year, all of which are available on Kindle, which I appreciate and which he seems to have embraced. His works on the Kindle are reasonably priced and I believe delivers true value for your money. Moving on.
I must admit to having never heard of Unit 731, Japan's R&D organization that committed atrocities on villagers, POWs and Pacific Islanders during WWII. These experiments, designed to develop new ways to kill American soldiers, are eerily similar to what the Nazis were doing in Europe at the time and herein lies the premise of "Island 731". It's kind of a contemporary "Island of Dr.Moreau", but darker and more disturbing due to the historic implications. I suppose some of the content may cross from science-based into science fiction but it's hard to say what ramifications such experiments would have not only on the victims but on the ecosystem in which they took place. Imagine taking some of the deadlier aspects of some of natures predators and combining them into horrific conglomerations with the express purpose of killing humans. This, for me, made up the fun part of the book. if there's any fun to be had in such a dark. heinous subject. I abhor spoilers, particularly in a new book, so you'll find none here. Suffice it to say that I enjoy Jeremy Robinson's books and "Island 731" in particular and will now cross it off my list.
I must admit to having never heard of Unit 731, Japan's R&D organization that committed atrocities on villagers, POWs and Pacific Islanders during WWII. These experiments, designed to develop new ways to kill American soldiers, are eerily similar to what the Nazis were doing in Europe at the time and herein lies the premise of "Island 731". It's kind of a contemporary "Island of Dr.Moreau", but darker and more disturbing due to the historic implications. I suppose some of the content may cross from science-based into science fiction but it's hard to say what ramifications such experiments would have not only on the victims but on the ecosystem in which they took place. Imagine taking some of the deadlier aspects of some of natures predators and combining them into horrific conglomerations with the express purpose of killing humans. This, for me, made up the fun part of the book. if there's any fun to be had in such a dark. heinous subject. I abhor spoilers, particularly in a new book, so you'll find none here. Suffice it to say that I enjoy Jeremy Robinson's books and "Island 731" in particular and will now cross it off my list.
April 8, 2013
The crew of the research ship, Magellan is out in the Great Pacific. They are researching the Garbage Patch. While there they come across a huge sea turtle. The turtle is dead. They bring it onto the ship. There they discover that the turtle has a deformity. Only it seems that the deformity was human induced. Before they can fully understand the extent of this discovery, the ship and the crew are washed overboard due to a storm.
They awake to discover to one of the crew members is missing. A search party forms to find the missing crew member. The group gets more then they bargained for when they come upon the inhabitants of the island.
I can officially say that I am a fan of Mr. Robinson! This book by far exceeded my expectations. This is saying something huge too. I knew what to expect from Mr. Robinson having read SecondWorld. Which by the way I also loved. Only this book just became my new favorite of Mr. Robinson.
It was creepy in a sci-fi sort of way but also there was lots of drama to keep me intrigued. Also, all of the characters were great, even the bad guys. I could definitely see this book being made into a movie on the big screen. I could not stop reading this book. The further I got into the book, the more intense it got. I got the imagines of the experiments in my mind. Lets just say that I am glad I never have to worry about meeting any of the experiments. I can not wait to read Mr. Robinson’s next book. Island 731 is an absolute, must read book. I am calling it now and it is one of the best books of 2013!
March 17, 2019
Yet again, Robinson - already one of the greatest authors currently writing - outdoes even himself.
We open in WWII, where we get a sense of what is to transpire throughout the book. After the opener, we find ourselves in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch aboard the Magellan... about to be eaten by a shark!
It never really lets up from there, though when the crew of the Magellan finds a pillbox inscribed with "731", anyone who has heard of the real-life Unit 731 of the Empire of Japan during WWII automatically has a skin-crawl moment.
Robinson has written of chimeras before, but never before has he based a story around such an atrocious real world event - and he even gives a real world history lesson during the course of the book.
Just when you think the book is winding down and all the monsters are revealed, you get a plot twist you never see coming. Then the surprises are over, right? Not at all. Indeed, Robinson keeps them coming right until the very last word of this masterpiece.
If you've never read Jeremy before, pick this up - you won't be disappointed.
We open in WWII, where we get a sense of what is to transpire throughout the book. After the opener, we find ourselves in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch aboard the Magellan... about to be eaten by a shark!
It never really lets up from there, though when the crew of the Magellan finds a pillbox inscribed with "731", anyone who has heard of the real-life Unit 731 of the Empire of Japan during WWII automatically has a skin-crawl moment.
Robinson has written of chimeras before, but never before has he based a story around such an atrocious real world event - and he even gives a real world history lesson during the course of the book.
Just when you think the book is winding down and all the monsters are revealed, you get a plot twist you never see coming. Then the surprises are over, right? Not at all. Indeed, Robinson keeps them coming right until the very last word of this masterpiece.
If you've never read Jeremy before, pick this up - you won't be disappointed.
September 11, 2025
At first I thought this was going to be a standard "Haunted Island" book, or maybe a "Science Experiment Gone Wrong." I was wrong, this book is full of unique characters, great plot development, and some awesome action. I'm wondering if there will be a tie in with Project Nemesis. I don't recognize the governmental figures from this book, but that means nothing. This is an author that I need to read more of and see what he is going to do. The potential for creating an interlocking world for his novels is there, and it would be amazing.
Back to this book, I enjoyed the history mixed with fiction. The history gave the novel a Clive Cussler feel. It was well done, and the continuing reveals of the history made it better than a Dirk Pitt novel in my opinion. This book is on my top ten fiction list and I recommend it.
Back to this book, I enjoyed the history mixed with fiction. The history gave the novel a Clive Cussler feel. It was well done, and the continuing reveals of the history made it better than a Dirk Pitt novel in my opinion. This book is on my top ten fiction list and I recommend it.
June 25, 2013
Having read SecondWorld by the same author and The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells, I was interested in this. I am a sucker for monster stories and thought this would be good, as I enjoyed SecondWorld a lot.
But I have to say this story felt week, it was exciting, but also just too unbelievable,, not so much the creatures and the Science as that is a given for the story, but the way they survived the Island. With so any deadly creatures and so many others dying, the central characters just seems to get off too lightly which seem to take away all the tension.
I did enjoy the pacing and action of the story, but could not rate the book that highly because of the weak and easy way the author just allowed some characters to survive what should have been impossible odds or certain death. It just feels lazy.
April 30, 2013
Robinson has created theater of the absurd in this one. It is based around the secret Japanese biological experiment unit of WWII, Unit 731. This story has the US government taking over one of the unit's outposts to continue the experiments after the war. One of the children of the researcher's there has continued and created hybrid creatures, some of multiple creature's dna. The good old Island of Dr. Moreau was at least reasonably believable, but this is too far out there even with today's technology. To add to that a lot of the conversations are predictable and "sound" forced. Just not an enjoyable book to me.
April 29, 2013
Whoa! Another edge-of-your-seat roller coaster ride from Jeremy Robinson! It took a couple of chapters for the story to begin pulling me in, but once I was hooked it kept my interest until the final page. Definitely not for the squeamish, because some descriptions of the atrocities are very graphic, but definitely a thought-provoking story!
July 15, 2013
A secret island that hides the results of genetic splicing and hideous chimaeras. A crew that are led there to become the latest in a long time of test subjects, and a race against time before torture and mutilation, death and destruction destroy us all. Awesome story from Robinson, with shades of Jurassic Park (the book) but with far more twisted and dark experimentation at its core.
January 12, 2018
The story was interesting, though I felt much more could have been done with it. Additionally, Robinson is not actually a great writer. There's lots of unnecessary punctuation and many repetitive phrases. Very little subtlety. A quick read and an interesting enough one, but don't come in with high standards.
May 24, 2013
This is actually the most absurd book I have ever read in my entire life.
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