Adrian McKinty, The Island

 

- Adrian McKinty's prior stand-alone novel, The Chain, released in 2019, was a huge international success. The Island, just released, will undoubtedly be as well. And it deserves to be. It's far better than the deeply flawed The Chain in my view. 

- It's aimed primarily at the American market: dollars are US denominated, distances are in miles, and temperatures are Fahrenheit. It's a story about a young American family holidaying in Victoria. So of course it's stuffed with your standard Aussie cliches: mates, blokes, spiders, snakes, sharks, dunnies, footy, and insufferable heat. 

- They visit Dutch Island, a short ferry trip from Melbourne, for just a few hours, but it quickly turns very ugly. The locals are one large family, the O'Neills, and they're neanderthals, or ‘Mad Max psycho-killers’ as McKinty calls them. They feel wronged and are utterly incapable of anything but violence. 

- McKinty is a master at keeping up the pace. Short sharp sentences, often with just one word, sprinkled with full stops. His prose is relentless and propulsive.

- The story gets more complex and intriguing as it develops, particularly towards the end. Family dynamics and circumstances play a central role, which adds immeasurably to the texture and makes it very satisfying. There’s a lot more going on in this book than the surface story would indicate.

- The O’Neill’s hunt for the young family is akin to the whites’ hunt for the indigenous people in the colony’s early years. The real prehistoric throwbacks are clear here.

- McKinty also has a gift for nature writing. He's poetic about Australian and American sublime natural beauty. 

- The ending is nice but a bit abrupt. One or two more pages of resolution would have made it more emotionally satisfying. But that's a minor issue. 

- This thriller is about as good as it gets. Give yourself a break. You'll thoroughly enjoy it.