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Escape from Lost Island #6
Escape!
After a plane crash, seven misfit boys find themselves stranded on a subtropical island where a dark force stalks them, even as they struggle to return to civilization
Paperback
Published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 21, 2021
Reread: 3/30-4/3, 2016
I'm afraid it's time to trot this picture out for this book:
Yep. It's getting the stamp. I now understand why this series was a one and done jimmy-jank. There are too many things that just don't add up, not to mention the inconsistencies, the continuity errors, playing fast and loose with some laws of physics and nature, etc. Some good editing could've fixed it all, but maybe Mr. Coleman just didn't give a rip at this point and wanted to be done with the series? Anyway, it jumped the shark here.
"Heeeeeyyyyy!"
Actually it did it a couple of books ago, but whatever. I know there are technical rules associated with "jumping the shark," and this doesn't completely apply, but I loosely translate the phrase to mean "shit just got stupid." Besides, it's April fourth, I work for accountants (hence my usually reading kids' books every February through April), I've about had it, I'm tired all the time now (and really ought to be in bed now even if it is only 9:30, but I want to get this review done first), I'm a little cranky at the moment, and I can say what I want cause Goodreads lets me, so there. I'm actually amazed I managed to read six books in the past month, but they were light fare, and only 130-150 pages each. So, with that I'll repeat emphatically that the shark has been jumped. PHPT!
OK, Pierce, stick to the review...
Alright.
So why did I give this four stars even with all the technical flaws I now see that I didn't catch in middle school? Again, because I can. I still liked the story, and it has the nostalgia thing going for it for me. And I still think it's a great read for the 10-14 year old age group even if I'm 37 now. The story is good.
Kirkland is the only character who has character development going on, though what 10-year-old gives a tiddly wink about that? I liked it. I really like the way he turns out in the end. If you've read the rest of these reviews, you'll recall I was quite pissed off at him in the fourth book. Everything is wrapped up neatly in the end, and there are no loose threads hanging out. That's a plus in this kind of literature. There's a coincidence in this that relates back to the first or second book, but it had more of a chickens-coming-home-to-roost feel to it than a Dickensian chance. I really liked the twist.
So, this series has those going for it.
But...
A character on the island can see the people in the speedboat approaching with his binoculars but the people on the boat can't see the island that takes a couple of days to traverse by land yet?
A storm blows a girl in a canoe all the way from another island in a trip that takes three days, but the aforementioned speedboat takes a day and a night? A canoe? On the Pacific ocean? Who does that first off? And assuming it isn't capsized by the first wave... Well, I'm sorry. I can't assume that, and thus can get no further in this thought.
And another canoe trip in the opposite direction takes three days, then that character comes back with an armada of natives in their own canoes? I know island folks are probably great sailors, but this is amazing.
8/21/21 update: I'm an ignorant idiot. It seems there are many kinds of canoes, not just the little two-person thing I'm familiar with which is hardly a sea-faring vessel but works fine on a pond (unless I'm in it with you, and the chances of tipping it over are exponentially increased). Apparently other canoes work just fine in the Pacific, and the first settlers in Hawaii got there from the Polynesian islands in canoes about 1,500 years ago. Who knew?End update.
Ocean currents carry a boat that lost its paddles to Lost Island which is 10 miles away, but later the same currents carry boats in the opposite direction? (Actually, that happened in the previous book). These islands which could be seen one from the other and vice versa earlier in the series are no longer visible even with the aforementioned Hubble binoculars because they're too far away, but the distance is still only 10 miles? Yet the island is visible again when there's a fleet of mutants on the water?
Characters stranded in a speedboat that's broken down have rifles. The mutants in their catamarans have crossbows. The mutants are out of rifle range, but the good guys aren't out of crossbow range? What are they packing, pop guns? Are the mutants channeling Legolas?
"Easy shots. Good thing I'm out of blunderbuss range."
Speedboat on the way from the far away island (Papua) has 3/8ths of a tank of gas left, so the character driving it knows he has enough petrol to get back to Papua if he turns around in another hour? I'm not the best at math, but I'm pretty sure the point of no return in such a venture is the halfway mark on a tank of gas, and I'm pretty sure 3/8 is less than 1/2.
Let's do the math to be sure. First we need a common denominator. 8 will do which is great since we already have one. So, 2x4=8, and 1x4=4, so we change 1/2 to 4/8. So far, so good. Now we still have 3/8, and we have 4/8 standing in for 1/2. Let's count in numerical order by ones. 1, 2, 3, 4, and we'll stop right there. It looks like 3 still comes before 4. Therefore 3 is less than 4. By extension 3/8 is less than 4/8. Therefore 3/8 is less than 1/2... Mah fah, you've used up too much of your gas to get back to Papua!
Well, there was some technical stuff about using one engine instead of two. That explanation didn't wash for me either, but I'm not a mechanic, so take that for what it's worth. And like I said, I'm also not a mathematician either, so I could be wrong here. This is the kind of math I understand. This here is beyond me, not that it has anything to do with this review.
And one last thing. This isn't a technical thing, just dorky as hell. The mutants all have nicknames they go by. In fact, they shun their Christian names completely. We've met Cannibal, Meat Hook, Bullet Head, Dog Face, and a few others. These all work fine. When they take on a new recruit earlier in the series they hang the moniker Razorback on him. Still just fine. Razorback bestows the new name on the newest recruit: Frankenstein...
"Today's program brought to you by the letters L, P, M, I, & S, which could serve as an acronym for 'Lord, please make it stop.'"
Anyway, in spite of all that and my gripes in my other reviews, I think this is a great series for the younger end of the young adult age group. Thank you again Mr. Coleman for making this a part of my youth and for helping me unwind at the end of the day during tax season.
I'm afraid it's time to trot this picture out for this book:
Yep. It's getting the stamp. I now understand why this series was a one and done jimmy-jank. There are too many things that just don't add up, not to mention the inconsistencies, the continuity errors, playing fast and loose with some laws of physics and nature, etc. Some good editing could've fixed it all, but maybe Mr. Coleman just didn't give a rip at this point and wanted to be done with the series? Anyway, it jumped the shark here.
"Heeeeeyyyyy!"
Actually it did it a couple of books ago, but whatever. I know there are technical rules associated with "jumping the shark," and this doesn't completely apply, but I loosely translate the phrase to mean "shit just got stupid." Besides, it's April fourth, I work for accountants (hence my usually reading kids' books every February through April), I've about had it, I'm tired all the time now (and really ought to be in bed now even if it is only 9:30, but I want to get this review done first), I'm a little cranky at the moment, and I can say what I want cause Goodreads lets me, so there. I'm actually amazed I managed to read six books in the past month, but they were light fare, and only 130-150 pages each. So, with that I'll repeat emphatically that the shark has been jumped. PHPT!
OK, Pierce, stick to the review...
Alright.
So why did I give this four stars even with all the technical flaws I now see that I didn't catch in middle school? Again, because I can. I still liked the story, and it has the nostalgia thing going for it for me. And I still think it's a great read for the 10-14 year old age group even if I'm 37 now. The story is good.
Kirkland is the only character who has character development going on, though what 10-year-old gives a tiddly wink about that? I liked it. I really like the way he turns out in the end. If you've read the rest of these reviews, you'll recall I was quite pissed off at him in the fourth book. Everything is wrapped up neatly in the end, and there are no loose threads hanging out. That's a plus in this kind of literature. There's a coincidence in this that relates back to the first or second book, but it had more of a chickens-coming-home-to-roost feel to it than a Dickensian chance. I really liked the twist.
So, this series has those going for it.
But...
A character on the island can see the people in the speedboat approaching with his binoculars but the people on the boat can't see the island that takes a couple of days to traverse by land yet?
A storm blows a girl in a canoe all the way from another island in a trip that takes three days, but the aforementioned speedboat takes a day and a night? A canoe? On the Pacific ocean? Who does that first off? And assuming it isn't capsized by the first wave... Well, I'm sorry. I can't assume that, and thus can get no further in this thought.
And another canoe trip in the opposite direction takes three days, then that character comes back with an armada of natives in their own canoes? I know island folks are probably great sailors, but this is amazing.
8/21/21 update: I'm an ignorant idiot. It seems there are many kinds of canoes, not just the little two-person thing I'm familiar with which is hardly a sea-faring vessel but works fine on a pond (unless I'm in it with you, and the chances of tipping it over are exponentially increased). Apparently other canoes work just fine in the Pacific, and the first settlers in Hawaii got there from the Polynesian islands in canoes about 1,500 years ago. Who knew?End update.
Ocean currents carry a boat that lost its paddles to Lost Island which is 10 miles away, but later the same currents carry boats in the opposite direction? (Actually, that happened in the previous book). These islands which could be seen one from the other and vice versa earlier in the series are no longer visible even with the aforementioned Hubble binoculars because they're too far away, but the distance is still only 10 miles? Yet the island is visible again when there's a fleet of mutants on the water?
Characters stranded in a speedboat that's broken down have rifles. The mutants in their catamarans have crossbows. The mutants are out of rifle range, but the good guys aren't out of crossbow range? What are they packing, pop guns? Are the mutants channeling Legolas?
"Easy shots. Good thing I'm out of blunderbuss range."
Speedboat on the way from the far away island (Papua) has 3/8ths of a tank of gas left, so the character driving it knows he has enough petrol to get back to Papua if he turns around in another hour? I'm not the best at math, but I'm pretty sure the point of no return in such a venture is the halfway mark on a tank of gas, and I'm pretty sure 3/8 is less than 1/2.
Let's do the math to be sure. First we need a common denominator. 8 will do which is great since we already have one. So, 2x4=8, and 1x4=4, so we change 1/2 to 4/8. So far, so good. Now we still have 3/8, and we have 4/8 standing in for 1/2. Let's count in numerical order by ones. 1, 2, 3, 4, and we'll stop right there. It looks like 3 still comes before 4. Therefore 3 is less than 4. By extension 3/8 is less than 4/8. Therefore 3/8 is less than 1/2... Mah fah, you've used up too much of your gas to get back to Papua!
Well, there was some technical stuff about using one engine instead of two. That explanation didn't wash for me either, but I'm not a mechanic, so take that for what it's worth. And like I said, I'm also not a mathematician either, so I could be wrong here. This is the kind of math I understand. This here is beyond me, not that it has anything to do with this review.
And one last thing. This isn't a technical thing, just dorky as hell. The mutants all have nicknames they go by. In fact, they shun their Christian names completely. We've met Cannibal, Meat Hook, Bullet Head, Dog Face, and a few others. These all work fine. When they take on a new recruit earlier in the series they hang the moniker Razorback on him. Still just fine. Razorback bestows the new name on the newest recruit: Frankenstein...
"Today's program brought to you by the letters L, P, M, I, & S, which could serve as an acronym for 'Lord, please make it stop.'"
Anyway, in spite of all that and my gripes in my other reviews, I think this is a great series for the younger end of the young adult age group. Thank you again Mr. Coleman for making this a part of my youth and for helping me unwind at the end of the day during tax season.
July 21, 2020
Awesome!
I’ve read each book in the series and will try to post a positive review in each one. I started the series two days ago, couldn’t put it down. Non stop suspense, you just don’t know how the story will end... and I’m not telling.
I’ve read each book in the series and will try to post a positive review in each one. I started the series two days ago, couldn’t put it down. Non stop suspense, you just don’t know how the story will end... and I’m not telling.
June 22, 2008
Escape from lost island series is along the lines of "Lord of the Flies" but without the Devil worshipping. I read this series when I was in Jr. High and recently reread them through interlibrary loan at the library. Well worth the time.
In a nutshell: Evil mutants live on an island that is owned by the military (experiments gone wrong). Plane of young boys get stranded and must try to survive until someone can rescue them or they find a way to escape.
Great set of books I wish the series would be reprinted.
Series includes: Stranded! Attack! Mutiny! Discovered! Revenge! and Escape! by Clay Coleman
In a nutshell: Evil mutants live on an island that is owned by the military (experiments gone wrong). Plane of young boys get stranded and must try to survive until someone can rescue them or they find a way to escape.
Great set of books I wish the series would be reprinted.
Series includes: Stranded! Attack! Mutiny! Discovered! Revenge! and Escape! by Clay Coleman
December 15, 2015
I remember reading this series as a teenager and thoroughly enjoying them. Great story of a plane crash and what some kids find on an island that was used as a genetic research lab.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews