Reviews tagging 'War'

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

35 reviews

devmac724's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I heard about this book on My Favorite Murder (the podcast) and I was intrigued. I have never read a book like this before and I loved it. The whole concept of this book really made me think about how I would handle myself had I been in that situation. I know this is fiction and for entertainment, but damn this was a thinker. 
The interview style of writing was great! It made me want to keep reading to find out what happened next from another person’s perspective. 

Brock Hockney’s interview was, in my opinion, the most honest and most upsetting. As I was reading it, I could picture myself there and hearing him talk and the comment about human flesh at the end of the interview shook me. I listen to a lot of true crime podcast and that got me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism

vixusg's review against another edition

dark medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

An interesting premise. I there's a lot I like and a lot I didn't. 

I'll start by saying each story was interesting on their own, it felt like everyone, including the interviewer was an unreliable narrator. I like the chunks of story we got with each interview.

I wasn't much of a fan of only reading the interviews, maybe not my preferred format. That being said, the author grammatical and sentence structure bleed through the characters and pulled me out of the story. It made the characters feel very same-y despite initially being successful in writing them differently in each chapter. That's really what ruined the book for me.

Aside from that, there are many aspects I really enjoyed--the story with the Freaks, the interviewers over arching development, and the book as a think piece on the impacts of social media and withdraw from it.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Torture, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic

papa_tabby's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

I loved this book. Hands down the best chapter is Interview 18. I couldn't stop reading, easily one of the most tense pages I've read in years. 

I also love how almost every character is a little psychotic and clearly trying to make themselves sound less bad or downplay their roles in the violence at the theme park. This is something I like that Mike Bockoven does, he doesn't allow the characters to get away with portraying themselves sympathetically, he undermines their claims in either the next chapter or two later. 

There's also the mystery of who are the serial killers walking in the park and how much they actually played in escalating the violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing and Gaslighting

ej_trask's review

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement and War

courtneys_shelves's review

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

ethapagesofwonder's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Fantasticland was a unique reading experience for me, as I'd never encountered a book told entirely through interviews with survivors. The unconventional format, while intriguing, took me a while to get used to. The slow start made it difficult for me to fully engage with the story early on, but once the tension ramped up, I found myself hooked.

The multiple points of view added depth to the plot, but at the same time, the sheer number of characters made it hard to keep track of who belonged to which tribe. This often made the plot feel muddled and detached, which dampened the intensity of the survival story.

One aspect that I struggled with was the idea that the absence of internet or media access was enough to push the kids into acts of violence, torture, and even murder. I didn’t find this motive entirely convincing, and it didn’t seem like a strong enough catalyst to explain the extreme behavior the characters exhibited. The author seems to stress this point rather than focusing more on the failure of management authority and the fear of being trapped, which feel like more plausible reasons for the kids' descent into violence.

Overall, while the interview format and scattered character perspectives were disorienting at times, Fantasticland did manage to deliver a gripping survival tale once it found its stride. I suggest if you want to read this book, just go with the audiobook.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore

eloisalou's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, and War

dewey_decimater's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Sexual violence

cscharfway's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This book is really dark, but is a very fascinating look at human nature. It’s an updated telling of Lord of the Flies, except it takes place in a theme park, not a desert island. I like the format of telling the events through interviews, making it seem more shocking as layer-by-layer is added. However, it’s not a format that allows the reader to really bond with the characters or experience their fear deeply so I was a little bit disappointed there. I still don’t quite understand how the character of Brock was led to commit the acts he did and I wish it showed his descent into evil a little more clearly. It’s still a very disturbing book, and the way it was presented felt like this type of event could actually happen, which made it all the more frightening. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Drug use and Kidnapping

Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Drug use and Vomit

Minor: Child death