First the shark…then the pyrates… Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of
rum…
We all know Peter Benchley as the master of the giant great
white…the music, the film, the mechanical shark that just never worked right…but
I must say…The Island is just as
good, and I remember seeing the underrated, yet fabulous film, as a kid. As much as the movie made an impression on
me, as it should because Benchley himself wrote the screenplay, the book was
better…it’s a cliché thing to say…but true.
Not to give away anything should you have not an inkling of
the tale…it deals with an isolated group of “survivors”, hidden away in the Caribbean,
“plying the trade” these past 300 years.
They are the “descendants” of Francois L’Olonnais, a real and
particularly brutal 17th century buccaneer…and they are continuing the
“tradition”. He even shows up as a bit
character in Pirate Latitudes.
The Island is a relatively recent book…so
finding a first edition either hardcover or paperback is a snap. I guarantee you will not be disappointed in
this fast and exiting read…
