Cutter, Stephen, Abby and Connor find themselves exploring a mysterious island found amidst the perilous Irish seas after a trawler is torn to pieces by an enormous sea monster off the Irish coast. Connor's anomaly detector goes off the charts: half a dozen rifts in time have appeared, all on one deserted - yet politically contentious - island. While Lester struggles to hold on to his career as the story edges ever closer to the front page, Cutter and the team battle through a deadly storm to reach the island, only to find themselves fighting to survive amidst the terrifying creatures roaming the harsh landscape...

When I read a book that is based on a TV series or movie franchise, I like to come away from the story feeling that it's added something to the universe the characters live in. Sadly, The Lost Island didn't do this for me in any way, shape or form.

To be perfectly honest I thought the main characters were under used and it almost felt as though author Paul Kerney wasn't overly familiar with them. I don't believe he managed to capture the voices of the characters as well as he could have - instead relying more on the introduction of his own characters to do the majority of the leg work.

I wasn't surprised to discover that Kerney is best known for writing original tales, in particular the Monarchies and The Sea Beggars series'. This probably explained why he brought in new characters for The Lost Island and only used the Primeval crew when absolutely necessary.

The biggest issue I had was the fact that it took so long to actually get to the action. It was only about half way through that the book starts to get interesting and then it rushes, break-neck speed, to the conclusion - which is wrapped up a little too quickly.

Fans of the TV series may be a little disappointed by this book. It takes too long to get going, and then the ending comes way to quickly. The plot in between is a strictly by the numbers romp that we've heard a million times before - think Jurassic Park stripped to the core.

4

Nick Smithson