kier26's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual content
delekelll's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Torture, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual assault
swalk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Murder, Torture, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
its_van_vulpen's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, War, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
bookishloz's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Sexism, Sexual violence, Body horror, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Cannibalism, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Violence
catsy2022's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Fantasticland is a retrospective fictional horror novel presented as a series of interviews by Adam Jakes, a reporter doing a piece on the fiasco that was Fantasticland. During the late 2010s, Fantasticland, a theme park built in Florida in the 1970s, was hit by Hurricane Sadie and isolated from rescue services, who deemed the park livable due to the supplies that were reported to be in the park.
I think this book is probably best digested as audio, due to the formatting of the story. It unravels through successive interviews from people who were outside the park to those on the edge inside and then finally with the leaders of each faction in the park. I personally found the book a bit of a slog to get through and I think the structure might have been better if we worked backwards from inside the park to outside, rather than hearing the same story over and over again from the interviewees.
I wasn't particularly shocked or moved by the story, but I found the speed at which people resorted to violence a bit unbelievable, especially when the overall message of the book is that modern people can't cope without social media. (So they turn to violence and tribalism.)
It was fine to read, I would probably only recommend it if you wanted to read another book like World War Z, and if it was real, you'd probably hear about it on a true crime podcast.
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Violence, Kidnapping, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
etwasinspired's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Sexual assault, Murder, Death, and Sexual violence
ashlikes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Torture, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Blood, Child death, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Sexism, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Mass/school shootings
horrorghoul's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
About the book: Since the 1970s, FantasticLand has been the theme park where “Fun is Guaranteed!” But when a hurricane ravages the Florida coast and isolates the park, the employees find it anything but fun. Five weeks later, the authorities who rescue the survivors encounter a scene of horror. Photos soon emerge online of heads on spikes outside of rides and viscera and human bones littering the gift shops, breaking records for hits, views, likes, clicks, and shares. How could a group of survivors, mostly teenagers, commit such terrible acts? Presented as a fact-finding investigation and a series of first-person interviews, FantasticLand pieces together the grisly series of events. Park policy was that the mostly college-aged employees surrender their electronic devices to preserve the authenticity of the FantasticLand experience. Cut off from the world and left on their own, the teenagers soon form rival tribes who viciously compete for food, medicine, social dominance, and even human flesh. This new social network divides the ravaged dreamland into territories ruled by the Pirates, the ShopGirls, the Freaks, and the Mole People. If meticulously curated online personas can replace private identities, what takes over when those constructs are lost?
Release Date: 10/11/2016
Genre: Horror
Pages: 272
Rating:**
What I Liked:
• Creepy abandoned theme park
• Crazy kids murdering one another
What I Didn't Like:
• I hated Lord of the Flies
• That books/media keep saying teens use Facebook; they don't
• There are a lot of typos in the book
• Felt repetitive
Overall Thoughts: This book started slow for me. I kicked around back and force if I even wanted to continue reading past the first few pages.
I read this book while listening to storm sounds. It really added to the atmosphere.
Book gets pretty boring by the 100th page you've pretty much heard the same story already. It just keeps repeating with different characters, but they're all saying the same things.
Maybe I don't like this book because I hated lord of the Flies. I know this is a retelling of that book with a theme park setting. Honestly, I'd rather reread Lord of the Flies again than try to finish this book. Nothing feels like it happens. Maybe things get different as you go on but I'll never know. Oh well.
Final Thoughts: I dnfed this book on page 127. I just couldn't read anymore. Every new chapter just felt so repetitive; meet a new person, talk about themselves, and what happened to them. It just felt lackluster to me and so boring. Some parts of the book had some omg moments that were pretty gory but for the most part, I was BORED.
Graphic: Cannibalism, Blood, Bullying, Death, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
anne311's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Excrement, War, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Confinement, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cannibalism