Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven

12 reviews

exlibrisphoebe's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Confinement, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, and Cursing

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Sexual content, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts

tonijanereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Oh this was so creepy cool!

A massive, unprecedented hurricane hits Florida and Fantasticland, “Where fun is guaranteed!” (A fictional amusement park in the vein of the major parks) and chaos ensues. 

Staff have chosen to be part of “Operation Rapture” and volunteer to stay behind in the event of an event like this, but none foresaw what could happen. 

So good! Be prepared to be left wanting more. 

Written in the style of a collection of interviews, I recommend this as an audiobook to get the feeling of “was this real??”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Cannibalism

blymanor's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

Intriguing. Great world-building! The technology aspect of the book was a bit weak and I feel it could have been cut out without affecting the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death, Gore, Confinement, Gun violence, Stalking, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Medical content, Infidelity, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Rape

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

achay91's review against another edition

dark sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Bullying, Gore, Cursing, Murder, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Rape, Gun violence, and Alcohol

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

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

magical_mads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Excrement, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cannibalism

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