Reviews tagging 'War'

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

30 reviews

dezaraemd's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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ehamlett's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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itsjustgrumpy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

Wow. Dark, painful and intense. A venture into the depravity that lies just under the surface of humanity, and can be drawn out when there's the temptation of getting away with it. Only slight downside is the sheer number of names that are used for repeating characters. Absolutely LOVED this read.

Edit: 5 stars. Whenever anyone asks me to recommend a book I mention this. It's only fair to give it 5 stars.

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vyralvyris's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A fascinating take on LOTF in a more modern time, the only glaring annoyance being how heavily technology addiction is blamed for the events of the novel.  Otherwise, literally couldn't put it down, listened to the full audiobook in two days.

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readerofdafuk's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought it was a solid book. Loved the interview first person accounts and how everyone has different opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the same events. I love the feeling of a slow buildup that eventually spirals into chaos at the end, and reading the whole account of the place as a timeline but each part is a different person was pretty creative. I like how the reporter included official sources too like the rescue team and outside security, etc. 

I liked the story and the graphic imagery, but it didn't feel like a horror story. Idk hownto describe it but it didn't feel horrible enough? Weird to day but alright. Interesting enough story about the failure of management and protocol. 
i also found it funny that the pirates were scared by the circus because of superstition. Because pirates.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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3.75

 Finished reading: November 3rd 2023


“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. 

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caitiebarton's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • 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


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cowbrotherx's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • 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

This book is fucking CRAZY! I didn’t think I’d be a fan of the format but it was very easy to pick up and read. The author was amazing with all of the different characters and SO MUCH HAPPENING!! my jaw dropped at certain points and I was thoroughly invested. I couldn’t stop reading. 

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anastashamarie's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • 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

4/5 ⭐

❗ 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.


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5yr1_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

5.0

Easily one of the most entertaining books I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put it down!! And now it’s getting passed around my friend group like hot potato

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