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the_evergrowing_library's review against another edition
3.0
This book uses the word ‘rump’ 34 times.
This was my first Richard Laymon book, and I have a lot to say about it!
First off, I think it was great that 1) I didn’t really know what the book was about……yeah there’s people going missing and yeah there’s a group of kids taking revenge on the homeless….. but where’s that go? 2) who’s side am I on? Everyone felt pretty awful.
As for the writing though, it felt like giving someone half a bJ(not the good half) and going “now write a book”.
It was sex-obsessed male adolescents who ogle all the female characters and it apparently doesn’t matter if death is breathing down your neck, these guys will never pass up an opportunity to cop a feel. So much chauvinism bordering on misogyny. But then just to be totally perplexing, we get some solid, strong female characters thrown in.
I enjoyed the plot and even for a 500 page book it flew by pretty fast with lots of different POV’s and quite an interesting story overall. Just sadly it sort of boiled down to “how much sketchy stuff would you do in the hope a hot girl will touch your penis?”
This was my first Richard Laymon book, and I have a lot to say about it!
First off, I think it was great that 1) I didn’t really know what the book was about……yeah there’s people going missing and yeah there’s a group of kids taking revenge on the homeless….. but where’s that go? 2) who’s side am I on? Everyone felt pretty awful.
As for the writing though, it felt like giving someone half a bJ(not the good half) and going “now write a book”.
It was sex-obsessed male adolescents who ogle all the female characters and it apparently doesn’t matter if death is breathing down your neck, these guys will never pass up an opportunity to cop a feel. So much chauvinism bordering on misogyny. But then just to be totally perplexing, we get some solid, strong female characters thrown in.
I enjoyed the plot and even for a 500 page book it flew by pretty fast with lots of different POV’s and quite an interesting story overall. Just sadly it sort of boiled down to “how much sketchy stuff would you do in the hope a hot girl will touch your penis?”
trudilibrarian's review
2.0
No, no, no, no...bad Laymon. Baaaaaad. Okay, this isn't the worst book I've ever read, but for a Laymon book, it's distinctly horrible, in extremely bad taste, and too dull in too many sections to give it that zap! and zing! I've come to expect from him.
The late Richard Laymon is always my go-to guy for a pulpy, sometimes sleazy, never politically correct but always satisfying horror romp. There's just something so delightfully wicked and deranged about his straightforward, shoot from the hip, slice like a razor blade prose that puts you right into the action and hardly ever relents until the last page is turned.
Once upon a time, Stephen King referred to his own work as the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries. Not a chance Mr. King; even on your worst day you offer up something rich and tasty with complex flavor profiles that linger long in the memory luring readers back over and over again for repeated tastings. Laymon's books, however (and I love them for this) are a cheeseburger and fries that you wolf down and perhaps groan in pleasure while doing so, then lie back for a satiated moment of stoned out bliss. You'd never want to subsist entirely on a diet of Laymon books, but Jesus, who doesn't get a craving every now and then for an injection of grease and carbs?
But god help you if you get a bad burger and spend the night in the john or grasping that bottle of Pepto Bismol in your weak and shaky hands (I'm definitely taking this metaphor too far, but seriously, I feel like I just ate a bad burger, and I'm not happy about it). The indigestion is leaving me a little pissy and put out.
This book has its moments that salvage it from the garbage heap completely -- the last section in the Funhouse is pretty messed up and unfolds nicely with Laymon's characteristic cinematic style. Why more of his books have not been made into movies is beyond me. They are the perfect fodder for the slasher crowd. But for the most part, this book is too slow to really get started. The characters are mostly terrible and so dislikable it kept making me curl my lip in distaste.
I've pretty much gotten used to Laymon's standard sex-obsessed male adolescent who ogles all the female characters and thinks nasty, inappropriate things about them in his mind. Doesn't matter if death is breathing down your neck or some monster is crawling up out of the floor, if there's any chance of getting laid, these male characters will never pass up an opportunity to cop a feel or make out. This time the level of inappropriate hormone-driven angst is ridiculous, and insulting. The comments made about the girls drove me bananas! Maybe I'm just getting too old for this shit. All I know is my tolerance for blatant male chauvinism bordering on misogyny has whittled down to zero. Laymon tries to balance this with "strong" female leads who are the heroes of the story, but it wasn't enough to tip the scales for me.
Furthermore, there are huge, long, meandering sections supposedly reserved for "character development" but do much more to bog the story down than enrich it in any way.
Sorry Laymon my man. Rest in peace and all, but this one is a real miss for me.
aiden_e_messer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
This was way too slow for me. There were a few funny moments and I liked the ending, but overall I was bored for most of the story. I couldn't care less about most of the characters, and I felt like nothing was happening for chapters. It's not a bad book though, it's well written and there's a few nice twists, but it's clearly not for me
andshe_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic, never read any books by this author before but I'm hooked!!!
innae's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
3.0
Funland is not so fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, and Murder