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lay_kone's review
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and Cannibalism
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: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
averagesparrow's review
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug use, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism
caitiebarton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Excrement, Cannibalism, and War
jesshadlow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Confinement, Rape, and Cannibalism
cowbrotherx's review
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
helenastinks'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Confinement, Drug use, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
anastashamarie's review
- 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
❗ 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.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and War
ramreadsagain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is Lord of the Flies on steroids, brutal, gory, and a tough listen at times. The author has done a fantastic job with the writing and the way the interview style can reveal information slowly while also showing you events from different perspectives. I can't talk about much without spoilers but I really recommend it if you think you can stomach it.
Some spoiler discussion under the cut.
One aspect I loved was the whole unreliable narrator thing which becomes more and more clear as you get further through the book, and towards the end you truly realise that there is no way of knowing what actually happened. On the one hand, people may (intentionally or otherwise) exaggerate what they saw and especially heard, but on the other, these are traumatised people who committed crimes and may not want to be fully honest about what they did.
I would have liked another interview from a Pirate, as I feel the stupid kid didn't quite provide enough information about what was going on, and couldn't possibly be a complete representation of every member. However, I still think the author did a great job especially with the interview with the Pirate leader (I've forgotten his name lol) in portraying how groupthink and cultish behaviour can happen very quickly under dramatic circumstances.
My main criticisms are minor but: (1) I feel like extreme violence occured a bit too soon, (2) the (male) author tried to dance around the subject of rape (which would have been widespread had these events actually occured) with some throwaway lines about why it wasn't happening (though, again, unreliable narrators), and (3) there was a bit of a 'phones bad' thing going on which wasn't explored beyond that. Yes, 'phones bad', but there is more to it than that and you need to explore it for me to enjoy it as a narrative trope.
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Medical content, and Cannibalism
magical_mads'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol
Minor: Cannibalism