Kindle Price: $9.99

Save $5.00 (33%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

David Wellington
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Monster Island: A Zombie Novel (The Monster Island Book 1) Kindle Edition

by David Wellington (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 340 ratings
See all formats and editions
First in the cult classic trilogy: “A fantastic zombie novel . . . There are many layers to this zombie apocalypse, and this book just gets things rolling” (Booklist).

Welcome to New York City, Population Zero? The power grid has collapsed. There is no running water, no light, no heat. The massive neon signs of Times Square are dark now, and the subway trains crouch silent in their tunnels, waiting for commuters who will never return. An epidemic of staggering lethality has passed over the city and left nothing living in its wake. And yet the city is not deserted. The dead have returned to life, and they're hungry. The millions of people who once worked and lived in New York have been turned into cannibalistic monsters whose only function is to consume. No living person would dare enter the city--it would be suicide. Dekalb doesn't have a choice. He must protect his daughter's future, and that means retrieving vital medical supplies from the UN building in Midtown. A cadre of teenage girl soldiers have been recruited to help him find what he needs, and get back alive. They're well armed. They're devoted to their mission and willing to sacrifice anything to pull it off. But the odds against them are staggering. Especially when it turns out that not all zombies are created equal. Deep inside the city a medical student named Gary comes back from the dead different--his mind is intact. He can still think and feel. He's hungry, just like the rest, but unlike them he can plan, plot, and scheme. He can even lead the others, bending them to his will. Soon he has a small army at his command, a growing mob of rotting corpses all devoted to one cause: to find meat for their master. When Dekalb and Gary cross paths sparks will fly, destinies will clash--and the future of humanity will be decided, one head shot at a time. 
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Monster Island Trilogy
  2. Print length
    289 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Open Road Media
  6. Publication date
    April 1, 2014
  7. File size
    3862 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
All 3 for you in this series See full series
See included books
Total Price: $25.97
By clicking on above button, you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use
More like Monster Island: A Zombie Novel (The Monster Island Book 1)
Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. Positive: A Novel
    Kindle Edition
    $9.49
  4. Paradise-1 (Red Space)
    Kindle Edition
    $9.99
  6. What Remains
    Kindle Edition
    $2.99
  8. SUB-ZERO
    Kindle Edition
    $6.99
  9. The Last Astronaut
    Kindle Edition
    $9.99
  11. Salvation Day
    Kindle Edition
    Editors' pick
    $8.99
  13. Autumn (Autumn series Book 1)
    Kindle Edition
    $9.99
  17. Rise of the Grey
    Kindle Edition
    $3.99
  18. Dead City (Dead World Book 1)
    Kindle Edition
    $4.49
  19. Slow Burn: Zero Day, Book 1
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
  21. Night Train
    Kindle Edition
    $7.99
  30. Ghost Station
    Kindle Edition
    Just released
    $14.99
Next page
Loading...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Wellington's energetic horror debut, the first of a promised trilogy, Manhattan has become Monster Island after a plague has turned all its denizens into shambling, rotting animated corpses, except for a couple who have kept their intelligence and also acquired psychic powers. When an expedition from Africa arrives, composed of teenage girl-soldiers and a former U.N. weapons inspector, the zombie masters mobilize their forces to kill or eat the living humans. Page by page, the story is inventive and exciting as Wellington exploits his familiarity with New York's nooks and crannies as settings for flesh-chomping battles and narrow escapes. As a whole, though, the book satisfies less since the author selectively forgets anything about the situation or the characters that would inhibit further gross-out episodes. Still, the novel offers some provocative thoughts about the purpose of life and death underlaid with some ultra-dark humor. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This is a zombie novel--a fantastic zombie novel. Most of the world has fallen to the undead, with pockets of survivors clinging to a precarious existence. At the behest of the leader of the Free Women's Republic of Somaliland, a shipload of those makes the ludicrous trip from Africa to New York in a desperate quest for medicine. New York is a wasteland, and everything depends on a small, incredibly dedicated band of teenage girls, armed to the teeth, and native guide Dekalb, formerly a UN arms inspector. Also, in NYC there is Gary, a zombie who, completely unexpectedly, retains live human mental faculties. The questers get ringside seats for some of the apocalypse's finest moments, and no matter how prepared they thought they were, something worse awaits in the depths of New York. When zombies have already overrun everything, that's saying something. There are many layers to this zombie apocalypse, and this book just gets things rolling. Stay tuned. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00J90BQU0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (April 1, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3862 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 340 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
David Wellington

David Wellington

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

David Wellington was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Syracuse University and received an MFA in creative writing from Penn State.

In 2004 he began serializing his novel Monster Island online. The book rapidly gained a following, and was acquired for print publication by Thunder’s Mouth Press.

Since then, Wellington has published more than 15 novels, and has been featured in The New York Times, Boing Boing and the Los Angeles Times.

You can find him online at davidwellington.net.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
340 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

anon
5.0 out of 5 stars It's monster island not zombie island but still in the zombie genre
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2022
Verified Purchase
Most of the criticism I see here is the book doesn't follow the formula of zombie genre. This is why i liked it. Why read essentially the same story from different angles? What Wellington does is change the rules some so the traditional story evolves into something completely different but in the end it's still about the need to survive and finding out what drives that compulsion. Yes there are some significant new variables thrown in that defies logic but zombies defy logic. I just want the writer create his world with his rules and see if characters act reasonably in it.

What i got was a story that is unpredictable, fun, imaginative, smart, and at times poignant. It's unique often brilliant and funny. I read it in one sitting and will read the other two in the series
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
C.V. Hunt
4.0 out of 5 stars Zombies with purpose.
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2011
Verified Purchase
Dekalb is a weapons inspector for the UN. He and his young daughter have been captured by a Somalian warlord. He's been offered refuge for his family and a possible new life for his daughter under certain circumstances.

His mission is to sail to America to find drugs to treat AIDS, since this is what the warlord is infected with, while most of the world has been infected with the zombie virus. It sounds impossible...it sounds like a suicide mission. Who else is going to be able to take care of him and his daughter when firearms are what you need to survive in this new and devastating world?

Gary used to be a doctor. Now he's the smartest dead guy in the world. Or at least that is what he'll tell you when you talk to him. He knew there were two options when New York was swallowed alive by the zombie plague: be eaten or join them.

Using his medical theory - that the dead stop breathing, depleting oxygen to the brain, and causing them to be mindless when they reanimate - he hooked himself to the right medical equipment, and then took his own life. He woke up dead.

When the dead are able to think, a zombie infested world will become more terrifying. Gary and Dekalb aren't as different as you might think at first glance; the both have the same goal - survival.

I first ran into David Wellington's books in a used book store. I picked up his 13 Bullets series, which is about vampires. He does extremely well with the darker side of monsters, and I fell in love with his writing style. A fifth book of his vampire series is coming out soon, and I felt that I need to explore the rest of his work. Monster Island is the first of a zombie trilogy, and I must say, the first book had me captivated again. I look forward to reading the rest of this series, the continuation of his vampire series, and recently, he has started a werewolf series.

If you are ready to step away from the cuddly monsters that have been creeping up on us, and get back to the basics of horror, read some of David Wellington's books.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Monster Island= like a lot
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2011
Verified Purchase
This book was a fun read. I was unsure where it would go, but once I got the idea of were it was leading too I was excited to continue. I enjoyed the new angle of this zombie novel. It is narrated partly by a zombie , but the man was able to think and act for himself, even leading other zombies to follow him. The end went crazy, it kept me interested by introducing characters such as mummies. Overall, David Wellington created a story with classic engrossing zombies and luring twists.
Helpful
 Report
M. J. Evans
3.0 out of 5 stars I Think, Therefore I Am. . .
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2011
Verified Purchase
And so continues my zombie reads with David Wellington's Monster Island, Book 1 of his zombie trilogy. This was a Must Read for me since it takes place in New York City, and as a Native New Yorker, books that take place in and around the Big Apple go onto my list. Not necessarily because they are great reads, but more because I want to see how accurate they are to the locale.

The Zombie Apocalypse is already underway when Monster Island opens. Dekalb has already lost his wife to the plague, leaving him to protect his daughter in a world overrun by the dead. He is captured by a band of female warriors, most of whom are still in their teens and who under the command of Mama Halima, and he is separated from his daughter. While his daughter is being well taken care of, he is left to his own devices in a darkened prison cell, along with numerous others. While trying to negotiate better terms for the prisoners and expressing his desire to be reunited with his daughter, Dekalb learns that Mama Halima is sick and needs drugs. But not just any drugs. The female warlord is HIV+. Dekalb agrees to venture out under armed escort to retrieve the drugs she needs in return for his daughter. He soon finds out that all of the military medical bases have been looted, but he refuses to admit defeat. He says he knows where he can get the drugs, but he will need a ship and a crew. Once the ship, crew, and armed escort have been obtained, Dekalb sets sail for New York City.

Meanwhile, in New York, Gary, a med student, has all but given up hope. He thinks he is the only one left. He is of the mind, If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and he has studied the zombie population at large and thinks he has discovered a way to improve upon their condition. They don't have to come back as shambling, decomposing, flesh-craving corpses. So, taking the equipment he thinks he will need, he sets a make-shift lab in his apartment and sets out to commit controlled suicide. When he awakens to his new life, he finds his experiment has been successful: he is dead, but he can still think and reason, and he can talk.

When the Dekalb and Gary cross paths, Gary convinces Dekalb that he can help with his mission, as he is able to move amongst the dead without fear of being attacked, since he is one of them. The only condition Dekalb has to agree to is that they take Gary with him when they leave. But can Gary be trusted? And is there something more going on than either one of them suspect?

While Monster Island starts off as your typical zombie apocalypse tale, it quickly evolves into something more. You won't find government experiments gone wrong here, nor will you find the dead rising as a result of radiation exposure or the product of some Haitian priest or priestess seeking revenge for a wrong done to his/her people. No, the reason for the dead rising delves deeper into the supernatural realm, which, when I saw where it was going, I wasn't sure I liked at first. Now that I have put some distance between the reading and the writing of this and allowed myself think on it, I feel this is the downfall of the novel. While the story did keep me interested to a point, my interest in it began to waver half way through when I saw where it was going. I know this is the first book of a trilogy, but I feel the whole supernatural element was too ambitious to be explained away in one book. In fact, I found the plot to be a little too contrived. The story starts in Africa, then jumps to New York City. You mean to tell me there was no place closer than the United States to search for the needed drugs?

My other issues with the book lay with the characters. I know they exist, but I had a hard time swallowing the whole teenage Amazonian militia thing. Since there are so many of them, the female characters strike me as being relatively flat, even those who have been assigned names. Dekalb as a hero doesn't work for me, as his character is too weak. While his main motivation is to be reunited with his daughter, he allows himself to be pushed around by the girls. Even when they are on foreign (at least to the girls) soil, he rarely takes charge of a situation, and when he finally does, it seems to out of character for him. Gary strikes me as the most interesting character, but even his character loses his uniqueness half way through.

I do have the other two books in the trilogy, and I will get to them eventually, but they are not high on my list of books to get to. The most diehard of zombie fans might want to add this to their Must Read list, but if you like your zombies of the more traditional variety, you might want to pass this one by.
15 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Robert J. Riggi Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
Interesting story...glad I finally read it, especially during the pandemic. Highly recommended if you like zombie novels, has a very good flow to it.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Vampyr68er
5.0 out of 5 stars Reading worth it
Reviewed in Canada on August 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
Great book
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars epic novels
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
a seriously under rated/infamous novel trilogy, i read them online initially on the authors web blog and bought them all i thought they were that good. Over the years ive passed them to friends who end up buying them too.

Id love to see this trilogy made into a movie but id bet they would ruin it. So much to say but its more than just a simple zombie story as it goes on and i love the foreshadowing in the first novel that isnt obvious but comes back around in the later books. Excellent books
Report
Parsec
3.0 out of 5 stars Relativ gesehen wirklich innovativ
Reviewed in Germany on March 24, 2009
Verified Purchase
MONSTER ISLAND ist der Auftakt eine recht erfolgreichen Trilogie im Genre der Zombie-Apokalypse, also einem Genre, zu dem in den letzten 5 bis 6 Jahren jede Menge an Stoff erschienen ist... manches genial (David Moody's "Autumn" dürfte mein Favorit sein), vieles aber auch austauschbare Dutzendware.

Das Problem dieses Genres allgemein ist meiner Ansicht nach, dass die Grundidee sehr stark, finster, apokalyptisch und inspirierend ist, die Variationsmöglichkeiten des Ganzen aber eher beschränkt sind. Daher laufen sehr viele Geschichten in diesem Hintergrund auf ein und dasselbe heraus, mit austauschbaren Charakteren und stereotypen Situationen. Es gab in den letzten Jahren einige Romane zum Thema, welche sich in erster Linie durch das Cover und den Namen des Autors unterschieden.

Wie dem auch sei: MONSTER ISLAND ist was die Zombie-Apokalypse angeht ein recht kurioses Mittelding. Einerseits greift Autor David Wellington tief in die Klischeekiste und schildert die durch eine Epidemie ausgelöste Vernichtung der Zivilisation durch die Untoten, andererseits geht er neue Wege und präsentiert zumindest einen relativ "lebendigen", klar denkenden Zombie und baut ein Fantasy-Element in die Handlung ein.

All dies ist meiner Ansicht nach mittelmäßig geglückt - ironischerweise sind es nämlich die stereotypen Situationen, die Wellington sehr stark schildert. Seine Beschreibung des (un-)toten New York, durch das sich der Protagonist mit einer Gruppe weiblicher somalischer Kindersoldaten kämpft ist rund rum gelungen. Die innovativen Teile sind zwar lobenswert im Ansatz, aber irgendwie machen sie das Ganze nicht so wirklich rund und passen nicht so unbedingt zum Rest der Story. Ich will aber gar nicht bezweifeln, dass es mit Teil 2 und 3 runder wird.

Geschrieben ist das ganze in einem sehr rasanten, sehr flüssigen Stil. Wellington geht sofort in die Vollen und setzt auf kurze, schnell lesbare Kapitel mit Cliffhangern und jeder Menge Dynamik.

Ich würde insgesamt irgendwie dazu neigen (wenn man es denn trennen könnte), 4 Sterne für den klassischen Part der Geschichte und 2 Sterne für die neuen Ideen zu geben. Macht im Endeffekt 3 Sterne - mit deutlichem Entwicklungspotential, ich werde mir Teil 2 und 3 bei Gelegenheit wohl zulegen. Wie gesagt: Potential ist vorhanden.

Alles in allem für Fans der Zombie-Apokalypse ein solider Tipp - bislang nichts, was für mich persönlich an die Meilensteine dieses Genres heranreicht, aber eigenständig genug um aufzufallen und eine gut geschriebene Geschichte mit Potential... das ist schon mal mehr als ein erheblicher Teil der Konkurrenz behaupten kann.

3 Sterne mit Tendenz nach oben.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
CintiaS
3.0 out of 5 stars Worth to read but out of my top list
Reviewed in Germany on October 22, 2012
Verified Purchase
The novel is very well written, and it does hold our attention from the first moment. The fact that the story runs in the middle of New York makes it interesting specially for the ones who have already been in this city, and can better imagine the streets of Manhattan the way the author well describes. Special attention to the part where Gary, the inteligent zombie walks through Central park and the NY Zoo. I would recomend its reading to general fans of the genre. It can be a good entertainment, depending on what one expects and likes about zombie novels.

Nevertheless it is definetely not in my personal top favorite list. To my taste, the fact that there is one inteligent Zombie (no matter the method that led him to be like that) breaks a bit the myth. I could overlook that, but to the fact that some supernatural explanation is given to the causes of the epidemy. That sounds to me too religious, like there was somebody, somewhere in the universe, who is overpowerfull and sent the plague for his own conscious reasons, according to a plan of his to humanity/civilization.

The mummies coming back to life is alone too much, but when one of the mummies reveals a high degree of inteligence and presents itself as an ancient Druid mummy, whose mission is to finish the job of that spoken conscious plan... well this is definetely too much.

Anyway, if you do like the genre, I suggest to read and develop your own impression.
Report
Bookworm
4.0 out of 5 stars Loved it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2008
Verified Purchase
I don't often review books, but I'll make an exception here.

I saw this book a few times, read the cover then put it back. There was something about school girl zombie killers that put me off. But eventually I caved in and I brought it.

I really enjoyed it and found it to be a real page turner. I normally only read on the train to/from work but I finished this off on a Saturday afternoon. My only disappointment was it was a short book (379 pages). But every page was interesting.

So, great book, really looking forward to reading the next one, and don't be put off by the school girl zombie killers. It makes perfect sense.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report