pietan's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
lenlex's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Spoiler
Bro im sorry the cannibalism is not that they eat children it’s that they are made of candy and also eat candy, live in houses of candy etc.The writing was mediocre and the world building just pretty basic. I thought the submissive thing was just to not elaborate on the culture of the candy people. A lot of lost potential I would have loved to have franklin be a convincing candy person and actually live in their world instead of literally being chained to the bed.
Very short and still not that much happens??? At least in the middle of the book she’s like eat this meat of children and he’s like no and she feeds him and Blabla
Overall intriguing concept but the execution was lacking/
Spoiler
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Child death, Death, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia and Torture
olivesss's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Read this as a joke and all i have to say is i despise troy
Spoiler
JUJY HAD NO BUSINESS KILLING OFF CRABCAKE OR CIRCUS PEANUTsonjbean's review
5.0
a quick and fast-paced read with some great ideas! i'm still fairly new to the world of bizarro but this is one of the best novels i've read so far. loved all the descriptions of candy people and candyland. is it weird that it made me hungry? i do have a giant sweeth tooth ...
however,
however,
Spoiler
i was not happy with the demise of crabcake. :(meigan84's review
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I can’t wait for the second book. Love story that goes all wrong.
euzie's review
3.0
I am not saying this was a work of art, or even close. I still think CMIII (as well as most other members of Bizarro or Avante Punk) is a little bit fixated with "porn sex". But reading this is the equivalent of curling up hungover and watching a bunch of episodes of Ren and Stimpy.
Which cannot be a bad thing right?
Which cannot be a bad thing right?
sheldonnylander's review
3.0
Being a clown made of candy is about to take on a whole new meaning.
Franklin is a man with an obsession. He watched his siblings die at the hand of a woman made of candy when he was very young. Since then, he has been obsessed with finding these candy people and proving to the world that they exist. He should have been careful what he wished for.
The Cannibals of Candyland by Carlton Mellick III is a dark fantasy that's bittersweet. After reading a couple of other books by Mellick, I had a pretty good idea what I was in for. At the same time, it turned out to be a much darker story than the other books I've read. Dark, but full of candy.
I have to admit that the author has put a lot of thought into how different type of candy could form people, structures, landscapes, etc. Maybe a little too much thought to be healthy, not to mention risking Type II Diabetes. In short, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to think about having sex with a marshmallow the same way again.
As always, Mellick's prose is pristine and has a very easy and readable flow to it. But there are a couple of flaws with this book, mostly stylistic in nature. First of all, the characters aren't particularly likable, especially Jujy. I'm not sure if we're actually supposed to like her at any point, but she just quite evil the whole way through. Misguided, yes, but still evil. Franklin himself is really rather pathetic and tends to be extremely passive, having more things happen to him than things that he makes happen. It becomes extremely frustrating for a protagonist to be so pathetic, and it becomes very wearing. And there's not much character development. There are physical changes, yes, but not real personal development, other than going in a full circle. Also, the book is a lot darker than I was really prepared for.
Unfortunately, these flaws are enough to lower my score a bit. I still enjoy Carlton Mellick's work and I plan to continue reading the rest of his repertoire, but The Cannibals of Candyland simply didn't satisfy my Bizarro sweet tooth, especially when compared to his other work.
The Cannibals of Candyland by Carlton Mellick III earns 3 red licorice whips out of 5.
Franklin is a man with an obsession. He watched his siblings die at the hand of a woman made of candy when he was very young. Since then, he has been obsessed with finding these candy people and proving to the world that they exist. He should have been careful what he wished for.
The Cannibals of Candyland by Carlton Mellick III is a dark fantasy that's bittersweet. After reading a couple of other books by Mellick, I had a pretty good idea what I was in for. At the same time, it turned out to be a much darker story than the other books I've read. Dark, but full of candy.
I have to admit that the author has put a lot of thought into how different type of candy could form people, structures, landscapes, etc. Maybe a little too much thought to be healthy, not to mention risking Type II Diabetes. In short, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to think about having sex with a marshmallow the same way again.
As always, Mellick's prose is pristine and has a very easy and readable flow to it. But there are a couple of flaws with this book, mostly stylistic in nature. First of all, the characters aren't particularly likable, especially Jujy. I'm not sure if we're actually supposed to like her at any point, but she just quite evil the whole way through. Misguided, yes, but still evil. Franklin himself is really rather pathetic and tends to be extremely passive, having more things happen to him than things that he makes happen. It becomes extremely frustrating for a protagonist to be so pathetic, and it becomes very wearing. And there's not much character development. There are physical changes, yes, but not real personal development, other than going in a full circle. Also, the book is a lot darker than I was really prepared for.
Unfortunately, these flaws are enough to lower my score a bit. I still enjoy Carlton Mellick's work and I plan to continue reading the rest of his repertoire, but The Cannibals of Candyland simply didn't satisfy my Bizarro sweet tooth, especially when compared to his other work.
The Cannibals of Candyland by Carlton Mellick III earns 3 red licorice whips out of 5.