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A review by adamyeti
FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The audiobook is fantastic, and I would highly recommend that version. I think I would have enjoyed it less in a regular book format due to the way the characters speak and the long informational sections that would probably feel like reading a book report. This honestly felt like it was intended to be an audiobook. It just fits the format that well.
Things that I loved:
Throughout the book we hear from around 20 people who were in the park, all with wildly different perspectives based on where they were, who they were with, etc. Mike did a great job of shining a light on lots of different angles of this event, and I loved the way that some of the stories would intertwine and even clarify events from other interviews.
The initial discussion of the storm and its effects outside of Fantasticland really made it feel immersive to me, almost like listening to a news bulletin. Early on, I would nearly forget that I was listening to fiction.
Overall, I think the author did a great job with the concept. It's hard to make such a crazy event like this seem believable, but for the most part, I think he did.
Things that I didn't like:
Many of the characters spoke in very similar ways. Not their voices but their words and speech patterns. Notably, there were two characters who were very different ages but both referenced Starship Troopers, which did not make sense to me. As different as most of these characters should have been from one another, it often felt like the same person telling each story.
Despite most of the events feeling reasonably explained and believable, there were a few key escalation moments that still felt a bit unbelievable. Depending on the level of your suspension of disbelief, however, your opinion may vary.
One thing that really irked me at several points in the book was when some plot serving unlikely/unexplainable event would happen or some key object that shouldn't have been in the park would be found and the character being interviewed would basically say "That doesn't make any sense. There's no reason for that to happen," and then we would move on as if that acknowledgement should justify the event/object's existence. This felt like a cheap way to skirt around limitations to introduce key plot elements, which bothered me.
Overall, I would definitely recommend giving the audiobook a listen if you think the concept sounds interesting. I think it's very well executed and perfectly written for audio. It's not perfect, but its strengths certainly outweigh its weaknesses.
Things that I loved:
Throughout the book we hear from around 20 people who were in the park, all with wildly different perspectives based on where they were, who they were with, etc. Mike did a great job of shining a light on lots of different angles of this event, and I loved the way that some of the stories would intertwine and even clarify events from other interviews.
The initial discussion of the storm and its effects outside of Fantasticland really made it feel immersive to me, almost like listening to a news bulletin. Early on, I would nearly forget that I was listening to fiction.
Overall, I think the author did a great job with the concept. It's hard to make such a crazy event like this seem believable, but for the most part, I think he did.
Things that I didn't like:
Many of the characters spoke in very similar ways. Not their voices but their words and speech patterns. Notably, there were two characters who were very different ages but both referenced Starship Troopers, which did not make sense to me. As different as most of these characters should have been from one another, it often felt like the same person telling each story.
Despite most of the events feeling reasonably explained and believable, there were a few key escalation moments that still felt a bit unbelievable. Depending on the level of your suspension of disbelief, however, your opinion may vary.
One thing that really irked me at several points in the book was when some plot serving unlikely/unexplainable event would happen or some key object that shouldn't have been in the park would be found and the character being interviewed would basically say "That doesn't make any sense. There's no reason for that to happen," and then we would move on as if that acknowledgement should justify the event/object's existence. This felt like a cheap way to skirt around limitations to introduce key plot elements, which bothered me.
Overall, I would definitely recommend giving the audiobook a listen if you think the concept sounds interesting. I think it's very well executed and perfectly written for audio. It's not perfect, but its strengths certainly outweigh its weaknesses.