It's Like Survivor, Only Better

I'm not a big fan of Survivor, or any other reality show in general. Sure, I have my few, mostly Bravo shows, but the rest I kind of see as strange social experiments. Personally, I like to pretend I have some hope that people can be nice to each other, and shows like Survivor don't help that view. They're all out to get one another and stab each other in the back to win. 

I understand that that's the point, to win, but there's not much skill involved. Aside from the challenges, what really matters is how you can manipulate your fellow competitors. The person who deserves to win, is therefore not always the person who walks away with the cash. I will admit, though, that it was pretty amusing to hear about a certain nude someone's tax evasion. 

That being said, I've just started reading Brian Keene's latest, Castaways. In this latest from the author of The Rising (2003 Stoker winner for First Novel) and City of the Dead, contestants on the show Castaways are fighting for the cash and their lives. Like Survivor, the contestants must use their wits and strength to duke it out for a million bucks. Unfortunately, there are a few things that they weren't prepared for in this contest. First a serious storm is set to hit the island and their told that leaving will forfeit their contracts and leave them disqualified from the show. Then it turns out that the island is not uninhabited after all. Sure they were told the stories about how the locals avoid the place and all that, but they all thought it was just to add drama to the show. They were wrong. 

There's more to it than that, and Keene gets to the action rather quickly in this horrific survivalist tale, but I won't give it away. It's too much fun to discover it on your own. With winter upon us, Castaways is the perfect, chilling beach read to curl up with inside where you're safe and warm.