Comments on: King Kong: The Island of the Skull

By: Drowned Night » Bookgasm

Drowned Night » Bookgasm — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:38:06 +0000

[...] This time around, author Blaine is actually Matthew J. Costello, who penned last year’s way-underrated KING KONG: THE ISLAND OF THE SKULL, a prequel tie-in to Peter Jackson’s bloated blockbuster, and one that proved for a more satisfying entertainment experience than the creatively bankrupt movie. That novel included several deep-sea diving sequences, and Costello again makes use of those details to plumb the depths of underwater horror here. [...]

By: Bookgasm » BOOKGASM’s Best (and Worst) of 2005

Bookgasm » BOOKGASM’s Best (and Worst) of 2005 — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 15:03:41 +0000

[...] BEST MOVIE TIE-IN THAT’S BETTER THAN THE MOVIE KING KONG: THE ISLAND OF THE SKULL by Matthew Costello – Seriously. Even without Kong, it’s more rewarding than the three-hour epic now lumbering in theaters. [...]

By: Bookgasm » Kong Reborn

Bookgasm » Kong Reborn — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 12:58:37 +0000

[...] Blackford’s decision to bring Kong back to life via cloning is a smart, credible one, but I’m afraid the potential of such a setup is never reached. What’s marginally exciting early on never catches fire, leaving us to limp through an unimaginative second half, which is somewhat of a chore at 200 pages. The effect is numbing. As a sequel to the public-domain original novelization, KONG REBORN has no ties to the current big-screen KING KONG; for that you’d be best to check out Matthew Costello’s KING KONG: THE ISLAND OF THE SKULL, a prequel that’s far more enjoyable than this, even with the disadvantage of having no big ape. [...]