Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Fantasticland

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Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

15 reviews

redus_reuse_recycle's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Most average Florida experience.

A great read for the most part, definitely a great concept. After a while the descriptions of intense violence got boring. Surely, in a situation like this, there would be groups of people helping eachother survive. Ending kind of ended in a dud for me.

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ej_trask's review

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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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courtneys_shelves's review

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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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k8scoll's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I thought this book was such an interesting take on a very common theme: what happens to humanity when the worst happens. The backdrop of an amusement park, and the interview style made me want to keep reading. I finished the book wanting more perspectives, but that wouldn’t have added to the story itself. Loved it.

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beanbag's review

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

To start off, I fully expected this book to have some supernatural elements to it. Why? I'm not sure. So when I began reading and the format became more "True Crime Documentary" I was a little disappointed. This caused me to take a big gap in reading, which I think influenced my view.

I will say, this book is not bad by any metric. The characters were very believable and well written even if some of the characters interviewed felt a little similar. Furthermore, each interview/chapter led into the next one very well. There was always some connection between interview, like putting together a puzzle. And the puzzle pieces kept getting darker and more serious each time, exploring another twisted aspect of the story. In that regard it was a very well executed format.

However that's where my problem lies. There really isnt much plot in the book. Now, do I view the book this way because I wasnt expecting a True Crime Documentary style? Possibly, and I'd be remiss to ignore my own biases. But I genuinely do believe there isn't much plot to be written about. The story consists of retellings of what happened in the park, however by the halfway mark you know pretty much everything. Each interview just adds another tragedy or tragic death but nothing substantial. There are exceptions, however,

mostly regarding the Council of Pieces. This event felt the most like a turning point, especially in terms of Brock and his ability to be seen as anything other than a monster

. But Besides that, there really isn't much.

The closest thing I can think of is the story of

Brock and how his brother's death in the tunnel possibly influenced his horrible actions as leader of the Pirates

, which I do think was executed very well. But in reality

there wasn't much regarding that story besides the initial death, the mention of his brother at the Council of Pieces, and then at the end during his interview

. Besides that, the story felt kind of meandering and I had trouble picking the book up and keeping the pages open, which is unfortunate.

Despite my critiques and whining, I did really enjoy this work and would heavily suggest it to anyone who likes True Crime, psychology, or horror in an amusement park.

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mblanke's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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effaly's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Overall it's a good story, but unfortunately, the style in which it was written makes it a pain to read sometimes.

The story is revealed through interviews with several people who were there after Sadie hit Fantasticland. At first, I really liked the idea. It made it all feel so much more personal to hear from the characters directly what it was like and what each and everyone saw, thought and felt. However, it became very quickly very repetitive. There are events and people that were described over and over again, to the point where they lost their "punch". When you read some stuff the first time, it's shocking. But after the fifth time, you just want to hear about something else.

And then there's the misogynistic tone in almost every chapter. 😒

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