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gabgon2597's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Body horror, Child death, Bullying, Gore, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood
justine5599's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Death, Blood, Murder, and Medical trauma
Minor: Rape
itsjustgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Medical content, Body horror, Gun violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment and Vomit
Minor: Suicide, War, Torture, Cannibalism, Drug use, Violence, Animal cruelty, Rape, and Animal death
jwicks's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Gun violence, and Death
cassie_04's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Violence, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Cursing, Rape, Drug abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Misogyny, Blood, Drug use, Vomit, Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Torture
rumblebree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Body horror, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, and Violence
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.75
“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.
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
ande13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Body horror, Murder, Cannibalism, Blood, and Violence
bookishloz's review against another edition
- 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
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
catsy2022's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Fantasticland is a retrospective fictional horror novel presented as a series of interviews by Adam Jakes, a reporter doing a piece on the fiasco that was Fantasticland. During the late 2010s, Fantasticland, a theme park built in Florida in the 1970s, was hit by Hurricane Sadie and isolated from rescue services, who deemed the park livable due to the supplies that were reported to be in the park.
I think this book is probably best digested as audio, due to the formatting of the story. It unravels through successive interviews from people who were outside the park to those on the edge inside and then finally with the leaders of each faction in the park. I personally found the book a bit of a slog to get through and I think the structure might have been better if we worked backwards from inside the park to outside, rather than hearing the same story over and over again from the interviewees.
I wasn't particularly shocked or moved by the story, but I found the speed at which people resorted to violence a bit unbelievable, especially when the overall message of the book is that modern people can't cope without social media. (So they turn to violence and tribalism.)
It was fine to read, I would probably only recommend it if you wanted to read another book like World War Z, and if it was real, you'd probably hear about it on a true crime podcast.
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Violence, Kidnapping, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault