What do you think?
Rate this book
Castaways
They came to the lush, deserted island to compete on a popular reality TV show. Each one hoped to be the last to leave. Now they're just hoping to stay alive. It seems the island isn't deserted after all. Contestants and crew members are disappearing, but they aren't being eliminated by the game. They're being taken by the monstrous half-human creatures that live in the jungle. The men will be slaughtered. The women will be kept alive as captives. Night is falling, the creatures are coming, and rescue is so far away. . .
285 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 2, 2009
47 people are currently reading
3086 people want to read
About the author
Brian Keene
386 books3,004 followersBRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.
Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.
Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.
Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.
The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.
Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.
Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.
Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.
The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 343 reviews
June 17, 2019
I don't know what people want in horror stories anymore. I read some reviews lately for some awesome horror books and I'm shaking my head like, "What do you people *EVEN* want?!" I think readers need to ask themselves some questions before they decide to pick up a horror story.
Read the back. Decide: Does this sound like something I'm going to enjoy?? Usually, there are clues if this is going to be the right book for you. If you read the back and you're still like, "Hell yes! I want to read about a cast of characters subjected to an inbred race of ape humanoids!" then, by all means, read it! If it doesn't deliver on what the synopsis promised, NOW you write a review.
Anyways...
I read the back of this book and I was one of the people who exclaimed, "Hell yes!"
I loved the reality show, SURVIVOR, back in the day and I could totally see how a show like that could get a horror twist on it and be VERY entertaining. Well, Brian Keene delivered on this expectation and then some!
There are several agents of disaster on this island--Brian set everything up perfectly. The story is one major binge-fest. I could have devoured the whole thing in one fell swoop if it wasn't for life.
You have the contestants themselves, competing against each other for a million dollars on a reality TV show.
You have some potential threatening characters.
You have an incoming storm.
You got your island inhabited with...with... THINGS.
And at the end of every chapter, you're like, "SHIT!" now I need to read the next one! I must know what happens!
No stone here is left unturned--Keene processes through everything so that reader satisfaction is at its optimum. I loved the character development, pacing, plot structure, dialog, motivations, creature building...
Like, check check check
Authors of horror should take note that even though this book had some nasty, rapey beasts hunting down the female characters, the women were not just props. Keene does an exceptional job of taking the time to flesh out his main characters. Sure, there are some minor characters that don't get special treatment but seasoned horror readers know that they will most likely get picked off quickly.
Several characters, however, become fast favorites. I loved Becka & Jerry, Troy, and the creeper, Matthew.
Troy.
I'm not going to go into a ton of detail here because it's for readers to discover on their own, but the foul-mouthed, tatted up scrawny dude from Seattle is a new favorite literary character. I LOVE HIM.
As you speed through the amazing climax and wind down to the conclusion, don't forget to read the Author's Notes. When Ashley and I announced our read-along, Brian wrote a blog post inspired by our group read and he suggested we read the Author's notes at the end--if your edition doesn't have it, read this:
http://www.briankeene.com/2019/06/15/...
I recommend this book for anyone who loves "reality TV gone wrong", Creature-features, Entertaining characters, fast pacing, hilarious dialog, compelling storylines, and FUN. So much fun.
Great summer reading.
Also read GHOUL by Brian Keene. That is all!
Read the back. Decide: Does this sound like something I'm going to enjoy?? Usually, there are clues if this is going to be the right book for you. If you read the back and you're still like, "Hell yes! I want to read about a cast of characters subjected to an inbred race of ape humanoids!" then, by all means, read it! If it doesn't deliver on what the synopsis promised, NOW you write a review.
Anyways...
I read the back of this book and I was one of the people who exclaimed, "Hell yes!"
I loved the reality show, SURVIVOR, back in the day and I could totally see how a show like that could get a horror twist on it and be VERY entertaining. Well, Brian Keene delivered on this expectation and then some!
There are several agents of disaster on this island--Brian set everything up perfectly. The story is one major binge-fest. I could have devoured the whole thing in one fell swoop if it wasn't for life.
You have the contestants themselves, competing against each other for a million dollars on a reality TV show.
You have some potential threatening characters.
You have an incoming storm.
You got your island inhabited with...with... THINGS.
And at the end of every chapter, you're like, "SHIT!" now I need to read the next one! I must know what happens!
No stone here is left unturned--Keene processes through everything so that reader satisfaction is at its optimum. I loved the character development, pacing, plot structure, dialog, motivations, creature building...
Like, check check check
Authors of horror should take note that even though this book had some nasty, rapey beasts hunting down the female characters, the women were not just props. Keene does an exceptional job of taking the time to flesh out his main characters. Sure, there are some minor characters that don't get special treatment but seasoned horror readers know that they will most likely get picked off quickly.
Several characters, however, become fast favorites. I loved Becka & Jerry, Troy, and the creeper, Matthew.
Troy.
I'm not going to go into a ton of detail here because it's for readers to discover on their own, but the foul-mouthed, tatted up scrawny dude from Seattle is a new favorite literary character. I LOVE HIM.
As you speed through the amazing climax and wind down to the conclusion, don't forget to read the Author's Notes. When Ashley and I announced our read-along, Brian wrote a blog post inspired by our group read and he suggested we read the Author's notes at the end--if your edition doesn't have it, read this:
http://www.briankeene.com/2019/06/15/...
I recommend this book for anyone who loves "reality TV gone wrong", Creature-features, Entertaining characters, fast pacing, hilarious dialog, compelling storylines, and FUN. So much fun.
Great summer reading.
Also read GHOUL by Brian Keene. That is all!
July 4, 2019
A gory action-packed tribute to late splatterpunk icon legend Richard Laymon, with well fleshed characters, twists and cliffhangers at the end of almost every chapter.
Sadly the author has removed all the previously intended references to Laymon's House of the Beast series, but this tale was a real blast of a read for me.
There are a few references to Keene's Labyrinth Mythos, but you don't need to have read other books from the author to fully appreciate it.
August 22, 2023
Contestants of Survivor Castaways show find themselves stranded on an island with some strange and ferocious inhabitants. Quite interesting and representative characters and an excelent pace, kept me on my edge while reading.
* Plot: 4★
* Characters: 4.5★
* Coherence/Consistency: 3★
* Language/Humor/Witticism: 3.5★
* Enjoyability: 4★
P.S. Don't know if it was my copy, or the editor / spell checking team did a poor job, but I kept get annoyed by "what ever"s and "to night"s..
* Plot: 4★
* Characters: 4.5★
* Coherence/Consistency: 3★
* Language/Humor/Witticism: 3.5★
* Enjoyability: 4★
P.S. Don't know if it was my copy, or the editor / spell checking team did a poor job, but I kept get annoyed by "what ever"s and "to night"s..
October 15, 2022
One of the awesome aspects of Goodreads is getting exposed to new material to read, including new (to me) authors. I know that Mr. Keene has been writing an publishing for many years, but he was new to me, pre-GR. Anyway, enough about that.
Castaways was my introduction to him. I liked it. Dark, dark stuff. I listened to the audio-book. The story makes only the thinnest attempts to distinguish the fictional show of "Castaways" from the real-life show we all know (or at least know of) -- "Survivor." There is a different label for "immunity," "the idol," etc. That was the only thing that kind of took me out of the story, but it was the one element that he had to use for his setting and to bring the characters together, so that is a very soft criticism. It became even less of an issue once the twists got in there. For example, Becca's back story tells us she applied for the show because she is young with frightfully grim economic and vocational prospects, having recently gotten through college. Other characters have back stories, too. But And then the plot twists came and I was into it. So the story is a sort of "what if __ happened" in a situation/scenario we've all seen or heard about before (i.e., a reality-TV contest show).
The creatures are creepy and grim and not to be denied. Keene does a great job of depicting animalistic creatures with enough intelligence to be repulsive when they act. The story has lots of gory, disturbing and violent descriptions and images. It is horror. Yes, it does have some very explicitly brutal scenes. I was immersed and I can ask for no less in any story, and horror in particular.
Several of the characters came across as caricatures, which was okay, I guess. The narrator had some pronunciations that struck me as either odd or left me thinking --- huh? But when the narrator said the word "macchiato," I shuddered and had a mini-stroke in my chair. The way that word was said hurt my coffee-loving Seattleite sensibilities like an ice-pick through an eardrum that just kept on going 'till it burst through the other side.
I liked the ending a lot. I found it very satisfying. It wrapped up the story and it made perfect sense considering the events that happened earlier in the story.
I'm glad I gave this one a go.
Castaways was my introduction to him. I liked it. Dark, dark stuff. I listened to the audio-book. The story makes only the thinnest attempts to distinguish the fictional show of "Castaways" from the real-life show we all know (or at least know of) -- "Survivor." There is a different label for "immunity," "the idol," etc. That was the only thing that kind of took me out of the story, but it was the one element that he had to use for his setting and to bring the characters together, so that is a very soft criticism. It became even less of an issue once the twists got in there. For example, Becca's back story tells us she applied for the show because she is young with frightfully grim economic and vocational prospects, having recently gotten through college. Other characters have back stories, too. But And then the plot twists came and I was into it. So the story is a sort of "what if __ happened" in a situation/scenario we've all seen or heard about before (i.e., a reality-TV contest show).
The creatures are creepy and grim and not to be denied. Keene does a great job of depicting animalistic creatures with enough intelligence to be repulsive when they act. The story has lots of gory, disturbing and violent descriptions and images. It is horror. Yes, it does have some very explicitly brutal scenes. I was immersed and I can ask for no less in any story, and horror in particular.
Several of the characters came across as caricatures, which was okay, I guess. The narrator had some pronunciations that struck me as either odd or left me thinking --- huh? But when the narrator said the word "macchiato," I shuddered and had a mini-stroke in my chair. The way that word was said hurt my coffee-loving Seattleite sensibilities like an ice-pick through an eardrum that just kept on going 'till it burst through the other side.
I liked the ending a lot. I found it very satisfying. It wrapped up the story and it made perfect sense considering the events that happened earlier in the story.
I'm glad I gave this one a go.
September 18, 2021
This was a gory insanity romp through the mind of Brian Keene! Fun Stuff!
What would you do for a million dollars? Would you participate in a "survivor" type show on a deserted island with a bunch of strangers? Would you sacrifice life and limb for the big prize?
Well that is what happens with all the contestants on this show as they are participating for the mega bucks as they have to endure not only each other, but something else that is watching and lurking out in the wilds of the island.
When it makes itself known is when the crap hits the fan and the contestants have to go into survival mode to try to escape the "creatures" that have been watching and waiting for them since their arrival.
Who lives and who dies on this show? What kind of creatures are inhabiting the island? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
This book took off right away for me and it became hard to put down! The action was non-stop from the half way point to the end of the book which kept me on my toes as the minute I would put the book down, my fingers grabbed my kindle and wanted to keep going! I stayed up most of the night last night finishing up the last few chapters as I just could not go to sleep till I found out how it all ended!
This book was a bloody mess though as the gore was flying left and right within these pages! There were a lot of "cringing moments" within the gore sections of the book, but I "survived the night" to get through them as I just had to see what was going to happen next!
Giving this book four "Bloody" stars!
For more thoughts on this review, please see my blog:
https://crusader1515.blogspot.com/202...
What would you do for a million dollars? Would you participate in a "survivor" type show on a deserted island with a bunch of strangers? Would you sacrifice life and limb for the big prize?
Well that is what happens with all the contestants on this show as they are participating for the mega bucks as they have to endure not only each other, but something else that is watching and lurking out in the wilds of the island.
When it makes itself known is when the crap hits the fan and the contestants have to go into survival mode to try to escape the "creatures" that have been watching and waiting for them since their arrival.
Who lives and who dies on this show? What kind of creatures are inhabiting the island? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
This book took off right away for me and it became hard to put down! The action was non-stop from the half way point to the end of the book which kept me on my toes as the minute I would put the book down, my fingers grabbed my kindle and wanted to keep going! I stayed up most of the night last night finishing up the last few chapters as I just could not go to sleep till I found out how it all ended!
This book was a bloody mess though as the gore was flying left and right within these pages! There were a lot of "cringing moments" within the gore sections of the book, but I "survived the night" to get through them as I just had to see what was going to happen next!
Giving this book four "Bloody" stars!
For more thoughts on this review, please see my blog:
https://crusader1515.blogspot.com/202...
August 23, 2023
This novel is a fantastic mix of the most macabre and hilarity. Castaways is a reality TV show being filmed on a deserted island - similar to what we would equate with the reality TV show Survivor (first aired on May 31, 2000 in the U.S.) - which starts out like we would expect with the contestants forming alliances and so on. Soon thereafter, they realize they are not alone and must fight for their lives against other unknown inhabitants. The plot very quickly becomes a stomach churning blood battle between the humans and the "others." As we would expect from a reality television show - many of the characters are unscrupulous, others are kind, and one, (my personal favorite) named Troy is a foul mouthed spitfire full of pi-- and vinegar. He had be roiling in laughter as he fought and ran for his life. This was a fun, super-charged audiobook and yet another great novel from the amazing Mr. Brian Keene.
Narrator Chet Williamson did a stellar job bringing the intense atmosphere to light for the listener and was fabulous as the voice for all of the characters.
Narrator Chet Williamson did a stellar job bringing the intense atmosphere to light for the listener and was fabulous as the voice for all of the characters.
February 24, 2009
Words fail me. That's how bad this book is...compared to his other books which are great reads. It was formulaic, the characters were annoying, and the pop-culturish quality of the story was off putting for some reason.
Maybe it's just because Jack Ketchum's Off Season is a brilliant take on inbred cave dwellers clashing with society that anything else pales by comparison.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Or maybe those just starting out in the horror genre and won't compare this book to the horror canon.
Maybe it's just because Jack Ketchum's Off Season is a brilliant take on inbred cave dwellers clashing with society that anything else pales by comparison.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Or maybe those just starting out in the horror genre and won't compare this book to the horror canon.
July 17, 2017
This hardcover edition is numbered 62 of 300 copies signed by Brian Keene.
August 17, 2019
Review pending!
November 22, 2019
3.75 🌟🌟🌟💫
Castaways is my first book by Brian Keene. He did not disappoint. I found it super campy and extremely vile.....which is a good thing! That’s why I love reading Horror! You can read a story that’s dark and intensely dramatic or read one that’s overly exaggerated with twisted humor and vicious murders. I love it!
Castaways is my first book by Brian Keene. He did not disappoint. I found it super campy and extremely vile.....which is a good thing! That’s why I love reading Horror! You can read a story that’s dark and intensely dramatic or read one that’s overly exaggerated with twisted humor and vicious murders. I love it!
September 10, 2025
What did I just read!? This audiobook wow! This book has been on my TBR since December 2017 I’m not sure why I waited so long to listen to this book but I’m glad I did.
This book is about contestants that are competing for one million dollars. They are left on an island to fend for themselves. This book definitely gives a survivor feel to it. Luckily for the contestants since they are left on the island they are each allowed to bring one luxury item. They are cut off from the outside world. Alliances are formed and the games have begun.
Then a storm happens and the people on the island are left to fend for themselves since the network has decided to pull back resources. Little does anyone know there are other people on the island. The contestants on the show are not alone. The action definitely picks up.
This book is full of gore ,violence, and horror. Think of the television show survivor but on crack because that’s the best way to describe this book. I love how Brian wrote the book as a dedication to Richard Laymon. That made me love the book even more. Favorite quote from the book- feel like I just gone 12 rounds with Wrath James White.
This is definitely a good and entertaining read you will not be disappointed! Thank me later.
This book is about contestants that are competing for one million dollars. They are left on an island to fend for themselves. This book definitely gives a survivor feel to it. Luckily for the contestants since they are left on the island they are each allowed to bring one luxury item. They are cut off from the outside world. Alliances are formed and the games have begun.
Then a storm happens and the people on the island are left to fend for themselves since the network has decided to pull back resources. Little does anyone know there are other people on the island. The contestants on the show are not alone. The action definitely picks up.
This book is full of gore ,violence, and horror. Think of the television show survivor but on crack because that’s the best way to describe this book. I love how Brian wrote the book as a dedication to Richard Laymon. That made me love the book even more. Favorite quote from the book- feel like I just gone 12 rounds with Wrath James White.
This is definitely a good and entertaining read you will not be disappointed! Thank me later.
May 9, 2017
Castaways is about a group of reality TV contestants hidden away on a secluded and supposedly uninhabited island battling it out among themselves to be the sole survivor for the chance to take away a million dollars in prize money. Being a Brian Keene book things are bound to go wrong and before too long the contestants are battling for survival in the truest sense. Having to deal with a massive storm, a homicidal contestant and then inbred cannibals makes for one terrifying and goose bump-inducing survival horror.
The book is obviously formulaic, borrowing heavily from the themes popularized in the reality TV show Survivor and common horror elements.
Readers familiar with horror fiction author Jack Ketchum will draw some comparisons with his cannibalistic survival horror Off Season, however, this is more from the gory way in which the characters come to an end, and the shared survival horror aspect; each story has a desperate theme and Ketchum's characters are much better defined. The only compliant I had with Castaways way the character dialogue and number of contestants, it was hard to really care about any of them (1 or 2 aside that is). I think with a shallower character pool this book could've great.
The audiobook was narrated by Maynard McKillen who did a good job at giving the characters their own voice and providing a real sense of urgency to the book, particularly in the later stages.
3.5 / 5 stars.
The book is obviously formulaic, borrowing heavily from the themes popularized in the reality TV show Survivor and common horror elements.
Readers familiar with horror fiction author Jack Ketchum will draw some comparisons with his cannibalistic survival horror Off Season, however, this is more from the gory way in which the characters come to an end, and the shared survival horror aspect; each story has a desperate theme and Ketchum's characters are much better defined. The only compliant I had with Castaways way the character dialogue and number of contestants, it was hard to really care about any of them (1 or 2 aside that is). I think with a shallower character pool this book could've great.
The audiobook was narrated by Maynard McKillen who did a good job at giving the characters their own voice and providing a real sense of urgency to the book, particularly in the later stages.
3.5 / 5 stars.
June 6, 2020
A number of contestants have come to a lush, tropical island hoping to be the winners of a Survivor-like television show with a million dollar prize. When an unexpected storm sweeps in, they’re left stranded with only a handful of crew. Then they begin to disappear one by one. They’re not alone on the island. Monstrous, half-human creatures lurk in the unexplored cave systems of the jungle, and the contestants are now fighting for their lives. Trigger warnings: graphic death (on-page), graphic rape (on-page), bestiality, suicidal thoughts, gore and gore and gore, disembowelment, body horror, severe injury, misogyny from every direction, threats, bullying. Nudity/NSFW content.
I reserve my one-star ratings for books that have absolutely nothing going for them. I hit maybe one of those a year, and I like to think I’m pretty good at finding possible points of redemption in books. Castaways has none. Vapid characters, underused plot elements, and entirely too many gross descriptions of hairy caveman penises combine to make this one of the worst books I’ve ever read. (To clarify, one gross description of a hairy caveman penis would have been too many, but this book has several. Where is the fucking brain bleach?) I usually donate books I don’t want to library sales, but I feel genuinely sorry for whoever picks this up next. You don’t deserve to suffer like this.
Let’s start with the misogyny because it’s raging and it’s everywhere. My trigger warnings indicate graphic, on-page rape scenes, so there’s that. I hate that this is included at all for horror and shock value. I hate even more that the author tries to justify it in the afterword by saying It’S ScIEnCe. If an inbreeding pack of ape-man cannibals was dying off, surely they would rape the human women for breeding. I’m skeptical, but even assuming that’s true, it doesn’t make sense that only the women are being raped. Men can be used to widen the gene pool too, crazy as that sounds (Midsommar (2019), for example?), but people rarely think of debasing men that way. (I’m not saying it doesn’t happen or that it isn’t a problem. It does. It is.) It’s only the women in this novel who are held captive and brutalized. If not putting bestial rape in the story would damage the realism, I think we need to reexamine the kind of story that we’re telling.
I wish that were all, but the women are constantly sexualized by the human characters as well, from rape fantasies to a man staring at a woman’s naked breasts while they’re literally running for their lives. Even one of the “heroes” makes a comment about how rescuing one of the women should get him some kind of payback. I’m so disgusted by this point, I should have quit reading. If that isn’t enough, the book doesn’t redeem itself in plot or character either. The characters are about as shallow as one would expect from a reality show cast. They’re mainly there for body count, which I can tolerate in horror, and aside from a few, we don’t get to know them before they die grisly deaths.
Their actions and relationships are nonsensical though, and Becka and Jerry move from tentative alliances to star-crossed romance in the same day. Jerry’s motivation for rescuing her is apparently that he has a crush on her, not because it’s, I don’t know, the right thing to do. I liked trash-talking Troy the most out of all of them, but he’s not without problems either. The human villains are totally under-utilized. Apparently, there’s a militant psychopath who slipped onto the show to murder everyone as well, which is hardly necessary with a pack of murdering monsters on the loose. Forget the Survivor element, since we never see more than half of one contest. Overall, the book is a wreck. I understand that Keene was emulating a beloved horror writer with this story, but that’s a chance to take an idea and make it into something better, not perpetuate the same awfulness. Some ideas don’t deserve preservation.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
I reserve my one-star ratings for books that have absolutely nothing going for them. I hit maybe one of those a year, and I like to think I’m pretty good at finding possible points of redemption in books. Castaways has none. Vapid characters, underused plot elements, and entirely too many gross descriptions of hairy caveman penises combine to make this one of the worst books I’ve ever read. (To clarify, one gross description of a hairy caveman penis would have been too many, but this book has several. Where is the fucking brain bleach?) I usually donate books I don’t want to library sales, but I feel genuinely sorry for whoever picks this up next. You don’t deserve to suffer like this.
Let’s start with the misogyny because it’s raging and it’s everywhere. My trigger warnings indicate graphic, on-page rape scenes, so there’s that. I hate that this is included at all for horror and shock value. I hate even more that the author tries to justify it in the afterword by saying It’S ScIEnCe. If an inbreeding pack of ape-man cannibals was dying off, surely they would rape the human women for breeding. I’m skeptical, but even assuming that’s true, it doesn’t make sense that only the women are being raped. Men can be used to widen the gene pool too, crazy as that sounds (Midsommar (2019), for example?), but people rarely think of debasing men that way. (I’m not saying it doesn’t happen or that it isn’t a problem. It does. It is.) It’s only the women in this novel who are held captive and brutalized. If not putting bestial rape in the story would damage the realism, I think we need to reexamine the kind of story that we’re telling.
I wish that were all, but the women are constantly sexualized by the human characters as well, from rape fantasies to a man staring at a woman’s naked breasts while they’re literally running for their lives. Even one of the “heroes” makes a comment about how rescuing one of the women should get him some kind of payback. I’m so disgusted by this point, I should have quit reading. If that isn’t enough, the book doesn’t redeem itself in plot or character either. The characters are about as shallow as one would expect from a reality show cast. They’re mainly there for body count, which I can tolerate in horror, and aside from a few, we don’t get to know them before they die grisly deaths.
Their actions and relationships are nonsensical though, and Becka and Jerry move from tentative alliances to star-crossed romance in the same day. Jerry’s motivation for rescuing her is apparently that he has a crush on her, not because it’s, I don’t know, the right thing to do. I liked trash-talking Troy the most out of all of them, but he’s not without problems either. The human villains are totally under-utilized. Apparently, there’s a militant psychopath who slipped onto the show to murder everyone as well, which is hardly necessary with a pack of murdering monsters on the loose. Forget the Survivor element, since we never see more than half of one contest. Overall, the book is a wreck. I understand that Keene was emulating a beloved horror writer with this story, but that’s a chance to take an idea and make it into something better, not perpetuate the same awfulness. Some ideas don’t deserve preservation.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
December 17, 2015
That was a really good book. Just the thought that he wrote that story for Richard Laymon's dedication was really cool & the story he tells about how he came up with the book was really neat & any Laymon fan would like & I would recommend this to all Laymon fans. The characters were like able the story was creative & there were some really funny moments in the book. Defiantly another good read from Keene!
August 23, 2021
Absolutely loved every word. And now I need to read the Beast House series by Laymon immediately!
April 28, 2025
Fast-paced, stupid, gory and fun. Loved the part where the angry hat-enthusiast from Seattle suddenly starts shouting random Iron Maiden lyrics at the monsters, haha!
August 28, 2019
Release Date: February 1, 2009
Genre: Horror
Oh man! I ate this one up- what a RIDE! I remember reading one of Brian Keene's books years ago and it definitely wasn't a favorite of mine (it was Urban Gothic). Because of that I didn't pick up any more of his books because I didn't think his writing style was for me. Thankfully, I decided to purchase a few more of his books as I am hugely into horror right now and was DELIGHTED with it! Castaways was truly everything I was looking for. Naive but interesting characters, a setting on a tropical island, a reality tv show (they are contestants), and apelike creatures that go berserk on those who chose to impede on their land.
Overall, I found this to be a fantastic read and it reminded me of my my favorite horror authors novels (that would be Richard Laymon). At the end of my edition there's an authors note that actually tells us that Brian Keene wrote this based on Laymon's hit series, The Beast House! I thought this was really cool. I wish I had read it back in 2009 now because this is an amazing tribute!
Anyway, if you like horror where people are picked off (and literally picked apart) by inhuman creatures then this is a must read for you! I have gone ahead and purchased more of the authors books based on this one and I am so excited to read many, many more! I just wish they were still being sold in Mass Market Paperbacks! I have to purchased mine from thrift stores and ebay.
Genre: Horror
Oh man! I ate this one up- what a RIDE! I remember reading one of Brian Keene's books years ago and it definitely wasn't a favorite of mine (it was Urban Gothic). Because of that I didn't pick up any more of his books because I didn't think his writing style was for me. Thankfully, I decided to purchase a few more of his books as I am hugely into horror right now and was DELIGHTED with it! Castaways was truly everything I was looking for. Naive but interesting characters, a setting on a tropical island, a reality tv show (they are contestants), and apelike creatures that go berserk on those who chose to impede on their land.
Overall, I found this to be a fantastic read and it reminded me of my my favorite horror authors novels (that would be Richard Laymon). At the end of my edition there's an authors note that actually tells us that Brian Keene wrote this based on Laymon's hit series, The Beast House! I thought this was really cool. I wish I had read it back in 2009 now because this is an amazing tribute!
Anyway, if you like horror where people are picked off (and literally picked apart) by inhuman creatures then this is a must read for you! I have gone ahead and purchased more of the authors books based on this one and I am so excited to read many, many more! I just wish they were still being sold in Mass Market Paperbacks! I have to purchased mine from thrift stores and ebay.
December 29, 2019
I really like reality TV, and I'm not ashamed of that. So the concept of Castaways made me very happy. A Survivor type show where contestants compete to be the last cast member left for a $1,000,000 prize. The crew is housed on a ship offshore while the contestants sleep on the island. When a hurricane approaches, the crew abandons the island leaving the contestants to fend for themselves only they aren't the only ones left on the island. The creatures that call this island home aren't happy about the interlopers, and all hell breaks loose during the storm.
I loved basically everything about this book. The concept, creatures, characters, and writing are ALL top-notch. The violence is intense and death descriptions gruesome, but in between all that, Keene writes some very strong characters. This is something that I've noticed about Keene's writing that his characters are always exceptionally written. Like his other work, I think that this book can appeal to a broader audience. READ THIS BOOK!
I loved basically everything about this book. The concept, creatures, characters, and writing are ALL top-notch. The violence is intense and death descriptions gruesome, but in between all that, Keene writes some very strong characters. This is something that I've noticed about Keene's writing that his characters are always exceptionally written. Like his other work, I think that this book can appeal to a broader audience. READ THIS BOOK!
June 23, 2018
What fun this one was! It was about a Survivor type reality show set on an island where the contestents find out they are not alone! It was a fast read that had a lot of action and humor in it. I read it in two sittings. I enjoyed the variety of characters and their humanistic response to the environment. The author wrote a note at the end explaining how he came up with the idea and how he used it to honor Richard Laymon. Good stuff! This is the first book of Brian Keene that I have read, but it won't be the last!
February 27, 2013
Castaways by Brian Keene is a fun “Survivor” type novel in which the game gets a little bit sideways…and then the wheels come completely off. It is a tongue in cheek horror novel that reads very quick with a quirky cast of characters and no shortage of blood and guts. If you are looking to read something that is not too “hardcore” and has a few laughs then I think that you will enjoy Castaways. I did.
June 20, 2019
Review to follow...
May 17, 2020
4.25
That was fun, ending up being a bit emotional, and gory! I loved every bit of it.
That was fun, ending up being a bit emotional, and gory! I loved every bit of it.
September 11, 2021
This is one of the worst written books I've ever read. Although I never read the synopsis of a book and mosltly depend on my instincts and the reviews I've read, when it comes to buying a book, I did read the synopsis of this one first, before deciding to read it, because I knew nothing about the author or the book. And the story sounded very intriguing to me. A couple of people live temporarily to a remote and uninhabited island for the sake of a reality TV show, but as it seems, the island is not uninhabited at all. I like stories about people who encounter an unknown "evil", while they were just enjoying their holidays or - as is the case here - being on television and competing for a huge financial reward.
What I so strongly disliked about this book is simply the writing. The book is abundant of cringy dialogues, unnatural reactions of the characters and plot holes.
Let's start with the latter.
Secondly, Very "comfortable" for the sake of plot.
Let's just see now some reactions of the characters. There is a repeating trope with people deciding to help their fellow competitors by risking their lives, and on their way to this cause, they are always starting to doubt the rationality of their decisions and thinking that they should have stayed back, but, then again, it's too late by that time. Another repeating trope is that
I would also describe ALL of the characters as annoying, but they seemed so unrealistic to me, that I can't even say that. So annoying that the author portrayed most, if not all, of his characters as egoists.
Let me finish this review with paraphrasing a quote from this book. Jerry is asking himself if, what the cryptids are doing with humans is evil and deciding that, no, it isn't, because humanity has also done atrocities in the past. So, let me get this straight. The cryptids' atrocities are justified, because mankind has done atrocities, too. A very nice point made there.
What I so strongly disliked about this book is simply the writing. The book is abundant of cringy dialogues, unnatural reactions of the characters and plot holes.
Let's start with the latter.
Secondly, Very "comfortable" for the sake of plot.
Let's just see now some reactions of the characters. There is a repeating trope with people deciding to help their fellow competitors by risking their lives, and on their way to this cause, they are always starting to doubt the rationality of their decisions and thinking that they should have stayed back, but, then again, it's too late by that time. Another repeating trope is that
I would also describe ALL of the characters as annoying, but they seemed so unrealistic to me, that I can't even say that. So annoying that the author portrayed most, if not all, of his characters as egoists.
Let me finish this review with paraphrasing a quote from this book. Jerry is asking himself if, what the cryptids are doing with humans is evil and deciding that, no, it isn't, because humanity has also done atrocities in the past. So, let me get this straight. The cryptids' atrocities are justified, because mankind has done atrocities, too. A very nice point made there.
March 27, 2012
Why read: Reality TV and horror? Sold.
What impressed me: Castaways was just great horror. It was scary and gross and kept me totally involved the whole story. I loved the mix of both human and inhuman evil out to get the castaways. I also loved the reality TV angle and how some of the character's personalities changed once things went bad and the cameras were off. I was completely impressed by Castaways and how it really used the Reality TV situation as opposed to it feeling completely gimicky.
What disappointed me: Character overkill. So many characters. So many names. So many things to remember about each. It was impossible to keep everyone straight. Not everyone needed a name and back story.
Recommended: Yes. Totally creepy. I'll definitely be checking out more from Brian Keene.
What impressed me: Castaways was just great horror. It was scary and gross and kept me totally involved the whole story. I loved the mix of both human and inhuman evil out to get the castaways. I also loved the reality TV angle and how some of the character's personalities changed once things went bad and the cameras were off. I was completely impressed by Castaways and how it really used the Reality TV situation as opposed to it feeling completely gimicky.
What disappointed me: Character overkill. So many characters. So many names. So many things to remember about each. It was impossible to keep everyone straight. Not everyone needed a name and back story.
Recommended: Yes. Totally creepy. I'll definitely be checking out more from Brian Keene.
January 25, 2009
I won't say that this is Keene's strongest work... but it certainly is one of the more fun books in his cannon. Take a bunch of stereotypical reality TV people, slap them on a deserted island a la Survivor, and then add in some cannibal pygmies... great stuff.
I really hate reality TV, so I balked at first when I realized that it was at the center of the plot of the book. But Keene has created some fun characters to follow through the almost 300 pages of this tale. There is substantial gore and a hefty body count as well as a dash of rape, so you have been warned if you are faint of heart or queasy of stomach.
Better review coming soon... because I'm feeling lazy today
I really hate reality TV, so I balked at first when I realized that it was at the center of the plot of the book. But Keene has created some fun characters to follow through the almost 300 pages of this tale. There is substantial gore and a hefty body count as well as a dash of rape, so you have been warned if you are faint of heart or queasy of stomach.
Better review coming soon... because I'm feeling lazy today
June 5, 2022
This was a wild, gory, fast-paced, hurricane of suspense! If you enjoyed Jack Ketchum's Off Season, you'll probably love this. But be warned, this is NOT for the squeamish. This book is full of graphic and triggering content.
October 30, 2017
Very intense and gruesome. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially since it's the Halloween season (not that it makes much difference to me since I am always into horror) :)
May 14, 2020
'Castaways' by Brian Keene is trashy. I debated with myself whether I should give this horror novel one star or two. I decided one-star-and-a-half which means effectively two stars because of Goodreads' refusal to allow half stars. Why the bump up? I WAS intrigued by the incredible lowbar awesomeness of the author's writing.
I was often left with my mouth open at certain turns of the story. Not that there was anything particularly original. This is a common plot familiar to viewers of the Syfy channel's horror movies with lots of sadistic and gory mayhem. Syfy's movies often involve a bunch of young stereotypical characters who are caught up in the middle of a mass killing from an insane psychopathic group, family or serial killer. However, the book not only has an unexpected soap-opera tone of hysterical proportions, the author has included in this novel an incredible rollcall of exceptionally prurient and gross vulgarity of the type of movies "USA's Up All Night" (1989-1998) used to show.
Quoted from Wikipedia about USA's Up All Night for those too young to have seen this show and older readers with high-end sensibilities:
"The program consisted primarily of low-budget films, bookended by in-studio or on-location comedy skits featuring the show's hosts. In addition to skits, the hosts would also provide sardonic comments about the featured film(s), and observations on various Hollywood- and/or New York City-area clubs and attractions (when the series was shooting out of studio). Including commercials, the program typically ran from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The movies aired ranged from cult classics, to B movies, to other fare not appearing on television frequently. Up All Night would regularly show sexploitation films, with the explicit content edited out."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Up_...
I realize my having such an in-depth knowledge reveals my tolerance of these trashy movies, if one is to put it in the best light. Truthfully, I indulge in juvenile soft-porn slapstick or salacious and stupid horror movies when I'm very bored and tired. In my favor, I cannot watch the recent 21st-century horror movies or TV shows at all, though.They have become WAY too gross!
Sorry to disappoint, gentle reader.
*ahem*
Are you familiar with the TV series called 'Survivor?' Sixteen contestants volunteer to become isolated from all civilized comforts in order to compete for money prizes. A team of camera operators and sound technicians and a host follow the contestants about while the contestants compete in teams against each other to speedily solve tasks given them by the show's producers. They often have to win food and other small amenities of comfort while becoming exhausted from living in too-harsh conditions for weeks. At certain times they vote a person off the island in strange and convoluted machinations.
I watched this show once. Peculiarly, I can't handle real-life gross visuals, even though I find fictional gross-outs funny. To a point.
https://youtu.be/BhKQBTJME5o
Right, the book review is why you are here...
A group of people from various walks of life have signed contracts to compete for a million dollar prize by living on an island for some months. The island is deserted. Supposedly. You know the drill. There be something or some things in the unexplored caves nobody got around to examining. Hungry things.
Regular and normal Jerry and Becka discover they like each other. Stefan is a callous stuffed shirt and Matthew is weird. Pauline is a blond bimbo. Shonette is a sassy mom with young kids at home. The production crew includes a shallow host and disinterested techies just doing their jobs living in comfort aboard a nearby support ship. And so on. I don't really need to go on with character introductions, do I.
Big typhoon suddenly strikes the deserted island. Communications fail along with the survivors' camping stuff. The ship's technicians don't know what is going wrong on the island. And some things are coming down from the caves. They are hungry. Bizarrely, they are horny for human women also.
I am now going off on a rant, a little sideways, gentle reader. Why would unhuman things crave human women for sex and not the men as well? All Humans have tight orifices, right? Why are unhuman things, monsters, cryptids, and space and ocean creatures always so choosy about human flesh they want to rape before they devour it? Why do busty slender human women always end up as objects of desire for non-human creatures with no or few human features except the, I guess necessarily implied (not in this book, though), penis?
Come on. Really?
Ok then. Back to the book review. If I've roused you into some interest in this novel, be warned these hairy monsters have graphically described HUGE heavily-veined dripping smelly icky penises. That might make one feel less roused. It did reduce what little interest I had mustered up, gentle reader.
I was often left with my mouth open at certain turns of the story. Not that there was anything particularly original. This is a common plot familiar to viewers of the Syfy channel's horror movies with lots of sadistic and gory mayhem. Syfy's movies often involve a bunch of young stereotypical characters who are caught up in the middle of a mass killing from an insane psychopathic group, family or serial killer. However, the book not only has an unexpected soap-opera tone of hysterical proportions, the author has included in this novel an incredible rollcall of exceptionally prurient and gross vulgarity of the type of movies "USA's Up All Night" (1989-1998) used to show.
Quoted from Wikipedia about USA's Up All Night for those too young to have seen this show and older readers with high-end sensibilities:
"The program consisted primarily of low-budget films, bookended by in-studio or on-location comedy skits featuring the show's hosts. In addition to skits, the hosts would also provide sardonic comments about the featured film(s), and observations on various Hollywood- and/or New York City-area clubs and attractions (when the series was shooting out of studio). Including commercials, the program typically ran from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The movies aired ranged from cult classics, to B movies, to other fare not appearing on television frequently. Up All Night would regularly show sexploitation films, with the explicit content edited out."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Up_...
I realize my having such an in-depth knowledge reveals my tolerance of these trashy movies, if one is to put it in the best light. Truthfully, I indulge in juvenile soft-porn slapstick or salacious and stupid horror movies when I'm very bored and tired. In my favor, I cannot watch the recent 21st-century horror movies or TV shows at all, though.They have become WAY too gross!
Sorry to disappoint, gentle reader.
*ahem*
Are you familiar with the TV series called 'Survivor?' Sixteen contestants volunteer to become isolated from all civilized comforts in order to compete for money prizes. A team of camera operators and sound technicians and a host follow the contestants about while the contestants compete in teams against each other to speedily solve tasks given them by the show's producers. They often have to win food and other small amenities of comfort while becoming exhausted from living in too-harsh conditions for weeks. At certain times they vote a person off the island in strange and convoluted machinations.
I watched this show once. Peculiarly, I can't handle real-life gross visuals, even though I find fictional gross-outs funny. To a point.
https://youtu.be/BhKQBTJME5o
Right, the book review is why you are here...
A group of people from various walks of life have signed contracts to compete for a million dollar prize by living on an island for some months. The island is deserted. Supposedly. You know the drill. There be something or some things in the unexplored caves nobody got around to examining. Hungry things.
Regular and normal Jerry and Becka discover they like each other. Stefan is a callous stuffed shirt and Matthew is weird. Pauline is a blond bimbo. Shonette is a sassy mom with young kids at home. The production crew includes a shallow host and disinterested techies just doing their jobs living in comfort aboard a nearby support ship. And so on. I don't really need to go on with character introductions, do I.
Big typhoon suddenly strikes the deserted island. Communications fail along with the survivors' camping stuff. The ship's technicians don't know what is going wrong on the island. And some things are coming down from the caves. They are hungry. Bizarrely, they are horny for human women also.
I am now going off on a rant, a little sideways, gentle reader. Why would unhuman things crave human women for sex and not the men as well? All Humans have tight orifices, right? Why are unhuman things, monsters, cryptids, and space and ocean creatures always so choosy about human flesh they want to rape before they devour it? Why do busty slender human women always end up as objects of desire for non-human creatures with no or few human features except the, I guess necessarily implied (not in this book, though), penis?
Come on. Really?
Ok then. Back to the book review. If I've roused you into some interest in this novel, be warned these hairy monsters have graphically described HUGE heavily-veined dripping smelly icky penises. That might make one feel less roused. It did reduce what little interest I had mustered up, gentle reader.
September 2, 2020
3.5 Stars~
“His eyes went wide with pain as his intestines slipped from the wound in ropey, purplish white strands and began coiling at his feet.
That’s my intestines, he thought. Oh my god, that’s my fucking guts!
He head butted his captor again, and this time, successfully broke free. He stumbled away from them with his guts unwinding behind him, as if they were a leash. The creatures seized the glistening strands and tugged.”
Although I have a stack of Brian Keene books, this is the first that I’ve read. I knew this would be the one to begin with, because it’s Summer. Obviously. Also, because I’ve been watching Survivor since the very first season and this sounded like the horror version of that. I’m a sucker for reality tv competition! No guilt in my pleasures, folx!
Castaways may be my introduction to Keene’s fiction, but I’ve been following him on Twitter for quite some time and he just seems like an all-around swell dude, y’know? I’ve come to respect him and what he has to say, especially after speaking up in support of victims that have been abused and sexually harassed. Thank you for being an ally to those of us that have experienced such trauma, Sir.
“On the island, the night had teeth.”
Castaways is a Survivor-like televised competition where constestants vote each other off of the uninhabited lush island while vying for the million dollar cash prize. Or rather, an island that is *supposed* to be uninhabited. It is, in fact, already quite occupied by violent sub-human creatures. Cannibals.
We join up with the large cast of characters several weeks into the survival series, after having already voted off seven of the original twenty. The remaining thirteen are preparing for the powerful Tropical Cyclone Ivan. With the storm ahead, much of the crew have been transported to an offshore freighter, where the banished contestants and production stay. Leaving behind only three camera operators to follow the remaining contestants, the group must contend with much more than the manipulation and backstabbing they were expecting.
Think classic horror, but make it in 2009. A love triangle between The Hills Have Eyes, Off Season and Survivor, if you will.
Castaways is a viscerally brutal, fucking bonkers island horror that is wickedly entertaining!
CW: Rape, misogynistic dick waffles, some fatphobic language, talk of bestiality and (obviously) cannibalistic monsters tearing people to fucking shreds.
“His eyes went wide with pain as his intestines slipped from the wound in ropey, purplish white strands and began coiling at his feet.
That’s my intestines, he thought. Oh my god, that’s my fucking guts!
He head butted his captor again, and this time, successfully broke free. He stumbled away from them with his guts unwinding behind him, as if they were a leash. The creatures seized the glistening strands and tugged.”
Although I have a stack of Brian Keene books, this is the first that I’ve read. I knew this would be the one to begin with, because it’s Summer. Obviously. Also, because I’ve been watching Survivor since the very first season and this sounded like the horror version of that. I’m a sucker for reality tv competition! No guilt in my pleasures, folx!
Castaways may be my introduction to Keene’s fiction, but I’ve been following him on Twitter for quite some time and he just seems like an all-around swell dude, y’know? I’ve come to respect him and what he has to say, especially after speaking up in support of victims that have been abused and sexually harassed. Thank you for being an ally to those of us that have experienced such trauma, Sir.
“On the island, the night had teeth.”
Castaways is a Survivor-like televised competition where constestants vote each other off of the uninhabited lush island while vying for the million dollar cash prize. Or rather, an island that is *supposed* to be uninhabited. It is, in fact, already quite occupied by violent sub-human creatures. Cannibals.
We join up with the large cast of characters several weeks into the survival series, after having already voted off seven of the original twenty. The remaining thirteen are preparing for the powerful Tropical Cyclone Ivan. With the storm ahead, much of the crew have been transported to an offshore freighter, where the banished contestants and production stay. Leaving behind only three camera operators to follow the remaining contestants, the group must contend with much more than the manipulation and backstabbing they were expecting.
Think classic horror, but make it in 2009. A love triangle between The Hills Have Eyes, Off Season and Survivor, if you will.
Castaways is a viscerally brutal, fucking bonkers island horror that is wickedly entertaining!
CW: Rape, misogynistic dick waffles, some fatphobic language, talk of bestiality and (obviously) cannibalistic monsters tearing people to fucking shreds.
July 23, 2022
This ticks all the boxes for me:
- a good background story (not in a house!!! or with a house, the most important thing)
- some darn well made characters
- a lot of dark humor, but not only
- interesting creatures
- frenetic action without much surprises, some, but still it works great
- no mercy, or at least, almost, no mercy
- a lot of gore, but at least, here, it`s not quite for the sake of it
And the list goes on! AND on!
Yeah, wait no more!
Five stars from me!
- a good background story (not in a house!!! or with a house, the most important thing)
- some darn well made characters
- a lot of dark humor, but not only
- interesting creatures
- frenetic action without much surprises, some, but still it works great
- no mercy, or at least, almost, no mercy
- a lot of gore, but at least, here, it`s not quite for the sake of it
And the list goes on! AND on!
Yeah, wait no more!
Five stars from me!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 343 reviews