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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
This book was good. I loved how it built to the plot and then closer to the end the actual plot came out. But it wasn't just alot of words to make a big book. This was a fairly easy read but I really liked it.
[b:The Funhouse|32452|The Funhouse|Dean Koontz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168390878s/32452.jpg|2212445] is a little predictable and exactly what you would expect from [a:Dean Koontz|9355|Dean Koontz|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1196542105p2/9355.jpg]. I liked the gore and the quick pace of the story. However, I felt there was some unfinished business at the end.
That was way out of my wheel house! Very strange and bizarre. If you're looking for creepy with slight suspense and characters you can't help but despise, look no further!
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I ended up reading this one night the summer of 2016 when our power went out. It was one of the many books that sits on my shelves that I never got the chance to read before that night. While it may not be one of best, it's definitely worth the little bit of time it takes to go through this one. I believe the prologue stated this is either Dean Koontz' first published book, if not one of the first... so die hard fans will definitely want to take a look. I believe a movie was also made based on it, but the adaptation is not particularly good.
Again, not my absolute favorite from Koontz, but I think a lot of it comes from the fact that I really wanted to sympathize with one of the main characters and I ended up really disliking her by the end. However, I became quickly hooked on how her story carried on to others and affected them by the end. It did become a bit predictable, though, and it could use a stronger ending... but it's a fun, quick read regardless. The premise of the story still sticks with me as well, despite some things I would personally change.
Again, not my absolute favorite from Koontz, but I think a lot of it comes from the fact that I really wanted to sympathize with one of the main characters and I ended up really disliking her by the end. However, I became quickly hooked on how her story carried on to others and affected them by the end. It did become a bit predictable, though, and it could use a stronger ending... but it's a fun, quick read regardless. The premise of the story still sticks with me as well, despite some things I would personally change.
Horror is a stretch to me.
I prefer my horror subtle (as I did love Odd Thomas, Shadows by Saul, and some Stephen King), but this horror for me was a stretch. The characters were great, but the horror aspect was cartoonish, like a B horror movie on paper.
If that's what you like, then this book is for you. I must say; however, that it ended simply, which gave it an air of the telling of a classic horror tale.
I prefer my horror subtle (as I did love Odd Thomas, Shadows by Saul, and some Stephen King), but this horror for me was a stretch. The characters were great, but the horror aspect was cartoonish, like a B horror movie on paper.
If that's what you like, then this book is for you. I must say; however, that it ended simply, which gave it an air of the telling of a classic horror tale.
This book was a fun and creepy ride. I found it hard to put down and there were very few places where it dragged. The carnival setting is great, I've always thought carnivals were a little creepy, so this was the perfect backdrop for a horror story. My only criticism is that I hate the overly religious, fire and brimstone, condemning mother cliche that was in this book as well as others that I've read. I also felt that it ended very abruptly, an epilogue would have been nice.
I've been a Koontz fan for a long time. But I've been chasing the high I got from Phantoms. All the books since then have just not measured up. I am getting tired of abrupt endings with a bunch of loose ends. Does Dean just get tired of writing one day and say "I need to end this right now" ? It seems like the whole book is so full of detail and plot....yet the endings are 10 pages or less, just smashed together in a quick mess.
The carnival is always a unique, exciting setting for any horror novel. Amidst all the freaks, gloomy funhouses, maniacally grinning clowns, and … well, candy, there’s a man with a mission. To seek out and destroy his ex-wife’s children, the ex-wife who had taken away his own mutated son. Besides this juicy tidbit, there’s also a misled creature that delights in killing innocent men and raping/shredding apart women in each town it visits.
One thing that really made The Funhouse work was the characterization. Their lives were so rich, so deep, I truly cared and believed. Each one had their own internal struggle going on. Each one with their own personal demons to slay, their unique hurdles to stumble over, and their ultimate prices to pay.
The characters are the meat behind The Funhouse.
The atmosphere is a bit hard to explain. Below everything there is a seemingly endless sense of desperation, a struggle to sniff out what is right and what is wrong. To overcome the miserable lives led and make things better for themselves.
In short, the atmosphere is bleak, dark, and at times depressing -- but in the end uplifting and hopeful.
Amy is a strong heroine to latch on to. A typical teenage girl in a chaotic household, she longs for acceptance, excitement, change…but is also afraid of all those things, for she has secrets fears that her mother may be right - she really may be evil. Little Joey is adorable and I felt incredibly bad for him at several moments in the story. He’s a realistic little kid and I loved seeing through his young, impressionable eyes. The mother, Ellen, was just as enjoyable to read through, but unlike some of the others, not quite “fun”. Being in her mind was like walking on a psychological tight rope. Conrad is a unique enough villain of a man, but I would have enjoyed finding out a bit more on him. He was driven purely by hate and the lust for revenge, and that’s all Koontz really allowed him to show.
The pace is heady with it’s strength; just the beginning alone may get you high off the fumes of desperation and depression. It plunges into the abyss of despair immediately, does a few bumps and curves along the way, but never raises high enough so that you can feel the sun shining full force on your face.
Koontz’s style changes a bit from some books; here he writes well, enhances his characters to an amazing degree, describes things with fine detail but not overly so to where it becomes repetitive, and take care to allow terror to shine through when it should.
The Funhouse beams with an incredible array of colors. The ending is a bit of a let down, but that can be overlooked when it‘s all added together. When the last door of the carnival is locked, every last mark has gone home and is now safely snug in their beds, The Funhouse gets the rating of an event akin to sitting on an intense roller coaster that delivers all it originally promised.
One thing that really made The Funhouse work was the characterization. Their lives were so rich, so deep, I truly cared and believed. Each one had their own internal struggle going on. Each one with their own personal demons to slay, their unique hurdles to stumble over, and their ultimate prices to pay.
The characters are the meat behind The Funhouse.
The atmosphere is a bit hard to explain. Below everything there is a seemingly endless sense of desperation, a struggle to sniff out what is right and what is wrong. To overcome the miserable lives led and make things better for themselves.
In short, the atmosphere is bleak, dark, and at times depressing -- but in the end uplifting and hopeful.
Amy is a strong heroine to latch on to. A typical teenage girl in a chaotic household, she longs for acceptance, excitement, change…but is also afraid of all those things, for she has secrets fears that her mother may be right - she really may be evil. Little Joey is adorable and I felt incredibly bad for him at several moments in the story. He’s a realistic little kid and I loved seeing through his young, impressionable eyes. The mother, Ellen, was just as enjoyable to read through, but unlike some of the others, not quite “fun”. Being in her mind was like walking on a psychological tight rope. Conrad is a unique enough villain of a man, but I would have enjoyed finding out a bit more on him. He was driven purely by hate and the lust for revenge, and that’s all Koontz really allowed him to show.
The pace is heady with it’s strength; just the beginning alone may get you high off the fumes of desperation and depression. It plunges into the abyss of despair immediately, does a few bumps and curves along the way, but never raises high enough so that you can feel the sun shining full force on your face.
Koontz’s style changes a bit from some books; here he writes well, enhances his characters to an amazing degree, describes things with fine detail but not overly so to where it becomes repetitive, and take care to allow terror to shine through when it should.
The Funhouse beams with an incredible array of colors. The ending is a bit of a let down, but that can be overlooked when it‘s all added together. When the last door of the carnival is locked, every last mark has gone home and is now safely snug in their beds, The Funhouse gets the rating of an event akin to sitting on an intense roller coaster that delivers all it originally promised.