Review by INFAMOUS 🦀

When I first decided to review this I was a bit nervous. What made me feel that way was the disclosure found under the book details on Amazon:

“Paperback and ebook editions have been revised and updated following customer feedback as of 31 OCT 23.”

To me that was an instant red flag as the term ‘revision’ these days can mean anything in a book. What was revised exactly is something I will further discuss with the author in an upcoming Q&A interview, so stay tuned.

By the time I was done reading, however, I knew this was going to enter our 5-star elite club here at VP! This novel absolutely delivers everything you would expect by looking at its cover (fantastic cover, by the way!). All my fears wiped away, Milton Lane absolutely crushed it by bringing back a traditional pulp classic genre that is authentic, respectful of those authors who pioneered the genre, and keeping a fine balance between fantasy trope injected with an acute sense of realism.

After surviving the mysterious sinking of the ship The Invincible, former Naval Officer Hannibal Harken (a.k.a. The Adventurer) finds himself stranded on an uncharted island with a group of other survivors. Now, facing not only the natural adversities that the island itself poses, but also some not-so-friendly locals, the Adventurer must rely on his skills, intuition, and a few unexpected friends, to survive and get back to civilization.

Pretty simple concept, and yet SO easy to bungle up if the writer doesn’t do his homework. Fortunately in The Island of the Lost (paid link) this is not the case. Far from it!

Lane is able to capture that retro pulp style we got to know in Doc Savage, Solomon Kane, and even The Shadow to an extent. The story moves along nicely beginning to end, the prose is classic 1930s-40s style with rich and witty dialogues. 

The characters are not dull and predictable. In fact, although there are a few good looking female characters featured, our main character does not get involved in a romance, or ‘demand’ a heartfelt kiss from the girl before going on risking his life. Not that there’s anything wrong with romantic tropes, but as an astute writer you also gotta know when this would aid the story or  simply feel too forced while doing nothing to propel the main narrative.

Last thoughts that really bring this review to a positive conclusion: this story is self-contained. It has a 1)beginning,  2)bridge, 3)climax, and 4)conclusion. You don’t have to wait for the next book in the series to find out what happens, yet, at the same time you hope there will be more adventures facing the Adventurer so that we can join him amidst strange lands, strange peoples, and the pursuit of TRUTH!