What readers think of Castle of Water, plus links to write your own review.

I really enjoyed it. I would be interested to read something else by this author. Felt like I was right there on the island with them.....

I found this a good read for a snowy evening. As I began to read the book, I was not certain that I would enjoy it. Once I got into the novel, I enjoyed it. How could two people not alike, manage to survive. Read the book to find out.

A newlywed couple from France and a bond salesman starting a new life meet on the tarmac in Tahiti bound for the Marquesas Islands. The newlyweds, on a whim decide to visit the grave of a deceased rock star and the banker, hoping to become an artist, wants to visit the grave of Gaugin. A stormy plane crash near an uninhabited island results in only the banker and the bride surviving. The story is not a guide to survival nor a study of the effects of prolonged absence from civilization for over two years. I was disappointed in so much of the story being spent in day-to-day details as opposed to the development of the characters. Hand wrestling with a giant octopus, finding bathtub size water cisterns carved from basalt by ancient polynesians make this tale a light fantasy but one which is tinged with loss and sorrow.

Castle Of Water by Dane Hucklebridge is a good "beach" read. There was nothing too deep about it. I know the author was writing a castaway story but in my opinion it was a little too unbelievable. I liked the idea of the book but it went the direction of light romance. The characters could have been more fully formed and there were many parts of the story that I wished the author had dug more deeply into.

A reader looking for a modern-day Robinsonade will not find it in these pages. Castle of Water is a pastiche with a tongue-in-cheek tone. It gives a nod and a wink to previous castaway stories but never delves deeply enough into the tradition to truly come into dialogue with them. This may have proved charming and fresh, if Barry and Sophie were less self-absorbed and more likable characters.