Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven

33 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

3.75

 Finished reading: November 3rd 2023

“To think our young people are capable of what we saw chills the blood for a very long time.”

It's true that I don't tend to read a lot of proper horror titles, but I saw Fantasticland mentioned and I couldn't resist adding it to my TBR. I have a weak spot for an amusement park setting, and there was just something about this premise that sounded both terrifying and absolutely fascinating. I have to say this before I continue though: this book isn't for everyone and you definitely have to suspend your disbelief to be able to get a positive reading experience. If you are able to do that, make sure to brace yourself for a extremely twisted ride! Seriously, this basically reads like Lord Of The Flies on acid, but set in an amusement park after a hurricane hits. I wasn't expecting the non fiction vibe of this story though; Fantasticland is written in a way that makes you feel like you are reading the result of an investigation by a journalist. This journalist helps narrate the story, although the plot mainly consists in first-person accounts of people present at the park. The interviews are presented in a way that slowly reveals just how bad things got before they were finally rescued... And boy, things get properly twisted and graphic long before that final page. Torture, mutilation and even cannibalism; nothing is too much in this story. What I did find a bit lacking was the explanation of how things escalated so quickly after the hurricane hit... I was expecting something more elaborated, or at least more of an answer to that question. That said, I can't deny that this was a perfect Halloween read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Child death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, Stalking, Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Bullying, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, War, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, and Torture

averagesparrow's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Blood, Child death, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Torture, Excrement, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Drug use, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

that_cow_girl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is fucking CRAZY! I didn’t think I’d be a fan of the format but it was very easy to pick up and read. The author was amazing with all of the different characters and SO MUCH HAPPENING!! my jaw dropped at certain points and I was thoroughly invested. I couldn’t stop reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Violence, Cursing, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Cannibalism

helenastinks's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Blood

Minor: Rape, Torture, Confinement, Drug use, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, Excrement, and Suicidal thoughts

datewithathriller's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Body horror, Violence, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts

anastashamarie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4/5 ⭐

❗ I ended up liking this one a lot. Big Lord of the Flies vibes. Overall I would recommend to anyone who likes horror/thriller without paranormal elements.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Blood, Abandonment, and Confinement

Moderate: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, and Cursing

Minor: Drug use, Rape, War, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

delekelll's review against another edition

4.0

Really quite good. Disturbing. Gory. Unsettling, if you're into that sort of thing. These teenagers act in enraging ways. I guess if I was there I would have to suck it up. I wonder what this author thinks about Lord of the Flies

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Torture, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual assault

chloseencounter's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was laid out in a super unique way that kept me pretty drawn in consistently. Even though this is not a story I’d usually gravitate to, this novel deserves 4⭐️ just for being so well put together and different. I found it to be super interesting that despite this isn’t exactly a chronological story, you are able to begin putting everything together using different eye witness accounts of the same events.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Gore

marslotus's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a very interesting book that I heavily enjoyed, my only main problem being the open-endedness of the end. Instead of feeling like a reflective story on society, the quick ending leaves a few too many questions in my head to be able to ponder the meaning. Rather, I'm wondering things like "What was the point of the Warthogs," or "Why did the interviewer give a handful of names at the beginning with no mention of them again in the novel?" Maybe that's the point, but it was heavy enough on my mind to mention. I truly could not put this book down and had a great time reading it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Gore, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Blood

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, and Rape

bookishloz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexism, Sexual violence, Body horror, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Cannibalism, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Violence