Mike Bockoven: Fantasticland

 Hi everyone

This is my review for Mike Bockoven's Fantasticland. I read the book on my e-reader.

"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?"

Fantasticland was an absolute rollercoaster read. There were moments when I was bored and others when I was too terrified to read further. But I finished it, and I’m glad I did.

The survivors recounting their experiences made parts of the book drag for me because some chapters took a long time to get interesting. But at the same time, these different perspectives on what truly happened in the park are one of the things that kept me thinking about the book long after I finished it. It’s fascinating how the same events can be seen and interpreted in completely different ways, depending on who’s telling the story.

That said, I still feel the situation went south way too fast in the park. I can understand how people might turn violent in such extreme circumstances, but the speed of the descent into chaos felt unrealistic to me. The horror escalated too quickly, without enough buildup or psychological depth to make it feel fully believable.
And when it was terrifying, it was really terrifying. There were moments that haunted me, the imagery is vivid and disturbing, and it sticks with you.

Fantasticland is not a perfect book, but it’s definitely a memorable one. 

Have you read Fantasticland? Did you find it as unsettling as I did, or did you connect with it differently? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena