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 r...

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

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...

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 blo...

Review to follow...

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...

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 abou...

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!

Release Date: February 1, 2009 Genre: HorrorOh 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

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!

Absolutely loved every word. And now I need to read the Beast House series by Laymon immediately!

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, (view spoiler)[the Leviathan/Cthulhu effige was just a great easter-egg, (hide spoiler)]but you don't need to have read o...

This hardcover edition is numbered 62 of 300 copies signed by Brian Keene.

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.

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) :)

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 abo...

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...

Review pending!

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.W...

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-induc...