Carl Freeman has gotten in trouble one too many times. So when a judge orders him to a remote island boot camp for troubled orphaned youth (pretty specific criteria for entry there), at first it seems like a harsh punishment and environment to send a sixteen year old kid into. That is before Carl and his friends discovers that not all is as it appears to be on Phoenix Island and things go from harsh to hellish.

Thus begins (and I do mean begins) the story of Phoenix Island by John Dixon, a respectable if flawed first novel that also served as the basis for the short-lived CBS series “Intelligence.” Things ramp up pretty quickly and the reader doesn't have to wait long for the ugly side of Phoenix Island to come to light. And that's part of the problem. More on this in a moment.

Carl is likeable and maddening at the same time. He is a young boxer who has a short temper, but what really sets him off are bullies picking on the weak. Carl has a noble streak in him, and most of the times that he's gotten into trouble have involved him stepping in to defend someone who couldn't defend themselves. It's a likeable if simple trait in an age where anti-heroes seem to be the order of the day. But he also tends to revert back to boxing metaphors for nearly everything, which becomes annoying. I understand that this is Dixon's background, but he need to realize that not everyone is as into boxing as he is and the boxing metaphors become distracting.

The problem with his character come in with his naiveté. Carl, quite frankly, is not that smart. And this is where the above mentioned problem begins to rear its head. It quickly becomes obvious that something is very, very wrong on Phoenix Island. And yet Carl and his friends play along for a lot longer than someone with the aforementioned noble streak should. And as they piece it together, I felt myself wanting to scream at the page what is so blatantly obvious that they just don't seem to grasp. This might be a way of trying to show that they're inexperienced kids, but I found it frustrating and it starts to bring back the previously suspended disbelief very quickly.

Aside from the rather frustrating character flaws that seem to be extremely plot-convenient, the plot runs very quickly. As I mentioned earlier, things ramp up fast, so there's not much of a preamble before the meat of the book starts. It becomes a roller coaster of action and espionage. As a side note, the reader would be well-advised not to get too attached to any of the characters as Dixon seems be taking a cue from George R. R. Martin, and Dixon does not shy away from the darker, more violent aspects of Phoenix Island.

With characters that are likeable but frustrating, a fast but oddly convenient plot, and a dark if somewhat unbelievable tone, Phoenix Island is an easy read and at the very least a respectable first book despite its numerous flaws. I understand that this will be the first part of a series, which based on the ending of this one can only illicit the response of “Well, duh!” I will be reading the second book and watching to see if Dixon learns from the mistakes he made with Phoenix Island. There is definitely a budding talent here, but he could use a little more refining.

Phoenix Island by John Dixon earns 3 brain chips out of 5.

Note: An electronic copy of this book was provided to this reviewer by the publisher for free through NetGalley. This has in no way affected the content of this review. ( )

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Holy crap I think it's going to be a while before my heart stops racing. I don't even know where to start. This was disturbing, action packed, thought provoking and at times incredibly disgusting (there is a scene with bugs that made me want to hurl). The author wrote so descriptively that I felt like I was there with Carl and frankly, I didn't want to be. I see how they got a tv show from this story but after reading about the tv show, I will of course stick to the book form. Definitely worth a read if you like action packed (slightly disturbing) freaky sciencey fiction kind of stuff. ( )

This book, while falling into a category of young adult fiction that I read from quite a bit, is not something I would have picked up on my own. It is well written and at times almost believable, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down.

That said, while I was reading, I found myself outraged at the treatment the kids are forced to endure for the sake of "progress." I found myself outraged at the fact that in this book's setting, orphans are considered easily disposed of since no one cares for them anyway. I found myself seething every time Carl had to listen to the leader, Stark, go on about his dream for humanity. Realizing that this is fiction and not real, the subject matter nonetheless invoked frustration at the orphans' plight, because no matter how you looked at it, who would have believed these kids anyway?

This is not a book I would recommend to everyone, because there is violence and abuse. But if you are interested in dystopian fiction, then definitely feel free to pick this up. ( )

I have been reading quite a bit of post-apocalyptic fiction of late, some of which involves zombies destroying humanity, so it becomes difficult for a novel or series to stand out from the pack. This is even moreso when you add in television shows and movies. Zombie Fallout takes place immediately after the government lets loose a cure for H1N1, which unwittingly destroys much of the human race. The main character is Mike Talbot, a former marine and father of three, who is a bit unhinged at times and often falls back on sarcasm and wiseass remarks. After getting back his son and daughter, they hunker down in his housing development, where they have created a wall to keep out the zombies. However, Mike knows it’s only a matter of time before things collapse and the zombies come in.

The writing style is pretty easy going and the novel moves quickly. I thought there were more issues grammatically and stylistically than I would have liked to have seen and it could use some stronger editing. The characters were fairly well developed. One thing that distinguishes this novel is that there seems to be a sort of supernatural element to it, both in the character of Tommy, a huge teen who has premonitions of the future and the zombie, Eliza. The problem was that so much of the novel has no supernatural component that these things stick out. So, I wasn’t quite sure where the author was going with it, and in this novel, these issues weren’t fully resolved. I’ll be interested in seeing in what direction it goes in future novels. All together, this was a fun novel that I would recommend.

Carl Alves - author of Conjesero ( )

Phoenix Island by John Dixon is the first novel in what looks like a new series of novels that should appeal to the older end of the YA market. It is the basis for a new, upcoming CBS adaptation, Intelligence.

In Phoenix Island Carl Freeman is a 16 year old orphan who has been battling bullies as long as he can remember. His fighting ability, and he is a champion boxer, has landed him in trouble repeatedly with the authorities. His juvenile delinquency record has landed him in trouble for the last time. Carl is being sentenced to Phoenix Island. The island is located out of the USA, and therefore out of US jurisdiction, somewhere off the coast of Mexico. He's told it's a juvenile detention facility, a last chance boot camp for delinquents. He must stay there, sans any contact with the outside world, until he is 18.

It becomes clear immediately that Phoenix Island is not quite the boot camp/rehabilitation facility that Carl thought it would be. It is run with military precision and organization by a squad of sadistic "drill sergeants" who make life on Phoenix Island hell for the kids there. Added to that the other kids there are encouraged to torture the weaker kids. It's a whole system built upon the bullying that Carl so consistently has hated and fought against his whole life.

All the kids sent there are orphans. This is to guarantee that no one will be looking for them should any "accident"happen to the kids sentenced there. They are all expendable. As the viciousness increases, Carl knows he must find a way out.

This thriller is a page turner that can be compared to Lord of the Flies but also clearly pays homage to several other movies and books as the story progresses. Since Dixon is a boxer his inside knowledge of the sport lends a real authenticity to Carl's moves and thoughts as he fights. There is a lot of military influence in the twisted society that exists on Phoenix Island, so there is the whole vocabulary and organization that goes along with that. It's also a violent book so I wouldn't hand it to a younger teen.

The writing is certainly good and the action kept the novel moving at a frantic clip. I did have a few "Oh, really? Really" moments in the action as various twists in the plot can into play. The twists seemed to jump, flip, and morph the plot into something else. It was certainly an entertaining book and perfect for escapism. The ending definitely promises a continuation of the story. It will be interesting to see if Intelligence is anything like Phoenix Island.

highly recommended

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Gallery Book via Netgalley for review purposes. ( )