Ratings44
Average rating4
A modern take on Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale that probes the consequences of a social civilization built online. 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?
Reviews with the most likes.
FantasticLand. An fictional amusement park in Florida where “fun is guaranteed!”. Everything was fine until Hurricane Sadie hit. Then it became a nightmare.
Told through a series of interviews, readers discover the grisly details about what actually happened during those 5 secluded weeks at the park.
This book is not for the feint of heart. It is downright disturbing, yet impossible to put down. It plays on your emotions and asks the ultimate question “What would you have done?”.
Updated my review from 3 stars to 4, because even though I initially disliked it, the story stuck in my head and I ended up rereading it. And listening to the audiobook. Uh, I actually really like this book now.
Chilling. Truly chilling. Two things really stick with me:
The killing couple. They were masked the whole time, and an urban legend to those who never saw them, so they may have mingled amongst the other kids by day. No one knows who they really were, and they're out there. And there are real people like that, waiting for a chance or an excuse to hurt people. The horror movie The Strangers was inspired by true events—people hurting people because they can, because of the shield of isolation. Then...the postcards. So many ramifications behind those. I actually got chills finishing that chapter.
The new company's choice for the park. Pay to pretend you were there. In our murder-entertainment culture right now, where podcast hosts giggle over stories of murder, this is not far-fetched from reality. Therein lies the deep horror.
I listened to the audiobook and it was great. I enjoyed the format - oral history/interview and the commentary on our generations and their attitudes.