Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

14 reviews

beanbag's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

To start off, I fully expected this book to have some supernatural elements to it. Why? I'm not sure. So when I began reading and the format became more "True Crime Documentary" I was a little disappointed. This caused me to take a big gap in reading, which I think influenced my view.

I will say, this book is not bad by any metric. The characters were very believable and well written even if some of the characters interviewed felt a little similar. Furthermore, each interview/chapter led into the next one very well. There was always some connection between interview, like putting together a puzzle. And the puzzle pieces kept getting darker and more serious each time, exploring another twisted aspect of the story. In that regard it was a very well executed format.

However that's where my problem lies. There really isnt much plot in the book. Now, do I view the book this way because I wasnt expecting a True Crime Documentary style? Possibly, and I'd be remiss to ignore my own biases. But I genuinely do believe there isn't much plot to be written about. The story consists of retellings of what happened in the park, however by the halfway mark you know pretty much everything. Each interview just adds another tragedy or tragic death but nothing substantial. There are exceptions, however,

mostly regarding the Council of Pieces. This event felt the most like a turning point, especially in terms of Brock and his ability to be seen as anything other than a monster

. But Besides that, there really isn't much.

The closest thing I can think of is the story of

Brock and how his brother's death in the tunnel possibly influenced his horrible actions as leader of the Pirates

, which I do think was executed very well. But in reality

there wasn't much regarding that story besides the initial death, the mention of his brother at the Council of Pieces, and then at the end during his interview

. Besides that, the story felt kind of meandering and I had trouble picking the book up and keeping the pages open, which is unfortunate.

Despite my critiques and whining, I did really enjoy this work and would heavily suggest it to anyone who likes True Crime, psychology, or horror in an amusement park.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Misogyny, Rape, Torture, and Stalking

poirot's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

effaly's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Overall it's a good story, but unfortunately, the style in which it was written makes it a pain to read sometimes.

The story is revealed through interviews with several people who were there after Sadie hit Fantasticland. At first, I really liked the idea. It made it all feel so much more personal to hear from the characters directly what it was like and what each and everyone saw, thought and felt. However, it became very quickly very repetitive. There are events and people that were described over and over again, to the point where they lost their "punch". When you read some stuff the first time, it's shocking. But after the fifth time, you just want to hear about something else. 

And then there's the misogynistic tone in almost every chapter. 😒 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Excrement, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

whatzoreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dezaraemd's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and War

cassie_04's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

blymanor's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Intriguing. Great world-building! The technology aspect of the book was a bit weak and I feel it could have been cut out without affecting the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, and Pregnancy

cowbrotherx's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

emomixtape's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Rape and Cannibalism

bookishloz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail