Particularize Books During Funland
| Original Title: | Funland |
| ISBN: | 0747235473 (ISBN13: 9780747235477) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Richard Laymon
Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 500 pages Rating: 3.8 | 3641 Users | 170 Reviews
Identify Regarding Books Funland
| Title | : | Funland |
| Author | : | Richard Laymon |
| Book Format | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 500 pages |
| Published | : | 1990 by Headline Book Publishing (first published 1989) |
| Categories | : | Horror. Fiction. Thriller |
Rendition To Books Funland
No, no, no, no...bad Laymon. Baaaaaad. Okay, this isn't the worst book I've ever read, but for a Laymon book, it's distinctly horrible, in extremely bad taste, and too dull in too many sections to give it that zap! and zing! I've come to expect from him.
The late Richard Laymon is always my go-to guy for a pulpy, sometimes sleazy, never politically correct but always satisfying horror romp. There's just something so delightfully wicked and deranged about his straightforward, shoot from the hip, slice like a razor blade prose that puts you right into the action and hardly ever relents until the last page is turned.
Once upon a time, Stephen King referred to his own work as the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries. Not a chance Mr. King; even on your worst day you offer up something rich and tasty with complex flavor profiles that linger long in the memory luring readers back over and over again for repeated tastings. Laymon's books, however (and I love them for this) are a cheeseburger and fries that you wolf down and perhaps groan in pleasure while doing so, then lie back for a satiated moment of stoned out bliss. You'd never want to subsist entirely on a diet of Laymon books, but Jesus, who doesn't get a craving every now and then for an injection of grease and carbs?
But god help you if you get a bad burger and spend the night in the john or grasping that bottle of Pepto Bismol in your weak and shaky hands (I'm definitely taking this metaphor too far, but seriously, I feel like I just ate a bad burger, and I'm not happy about it). The indigestion is leaving me a little pissy and put out.
This book has its moments that salvage it from the garbage heap completely -- the last section in the Funhouse is pretty messed up and unfolds nicely with Laymon's characteristic cinematic style. Why more of his books have not been made into movies is beyond me. They are the perfect fodder for the slasher crowd. But for the most part, this book is too slow to really get started. The characters are mostly terrible and so dislikable it kept making me curl my lip in distaste.
I've pretty much gotten used to Laymon's standard sex-obsessed male adolescent who ogles all the female characters and thinks nasty, inappropriate things about them in his mind. Doesn't matter if death is breathing down your neck or some monster is crawling up out of the floor, if there's any chance of getting laid, these male characters will never pass up an opportunity to cop a feel or make out. This time the level of inappropriate hormone-driven angst is ridiculous, and insulting. The comments made about the girls drove me bananas! Maybe I'm just getting too old for this shit. All I know is my tolerance for blatant male chauvinism bordering on misogyny has whittled down to zero. Laymon tries to balance this with "strong" female leads who are the heroes of the story, but it wasn't enough to tip the scales for me.
Furthermore, there are huge, long, meandering sections supposedly reserved for "character development" but do much more to bog the story down than enrich it in any way.
Sorry Laymon my man. Rest in peace and all, but this one is a real miss for me.
Rating Regarding Books Funland
Ratings: 3.8 From 3641 Users | 170 ReviewsCommentary Regarding Books Funland
Funland.... Yes!!! What a place to be as a kid, as a grown-up, as a wino! Funland was GREAT! Wish they would make a movie after this one, might be too "gruesome" but wicked! Friends, love, fears, attacks... what's worse... being stuck in a ferris wheel with winos or in the gravity (from Zombieland) with zombies! I just don't know.I give this one a 4.25. Although it's slower paced than most of the author's other novels, I never lost interest and tore through the book in a couple of sittings. The final showdown in the funhouse is classic, action-packed Laymon.I probably would have upped my rating on this one to a 5 if not for the laggier sections and an odd loose thread in the story that Laymon could have tied up with a single scene or even just a short paragraph. It wasn't anything major, and it didn't keep me from
Let's get my biases out of the way first: I've read enough Richard Laymon to know I don't like him very much. I was a fan of horror back in the '80s but I think it's pretty safe to say my preferences for fiction lay more on the lyrical/literary side of the scale than the splatterpunk/grindhouse side. (Of course, horror fiction being horror fiction, only at the farthest edges will you find something that doesn't have at least a touch of both but I hope you can grant me the efficacy of my hasty,
The climax makes the rest of the book seem like it belonged in another book, and vice versa. Laymon knows how to keep you reading, and on that level, this book is enjoyable. However, he sticks fantasy into realism too late, like a Bloody Mary with a candy cane instead of a celery stalk.
This was the first Richard Laymon novel I'd read after hearing about him for years. I was a little disappointed to be honest, but I also plan to read a few more of his novels to get a better sampling of his work.Funland had an interesting premise, but the plot just seemed to meander. I think this book could have been edited down and been a better novel. The characters were interesting, but honestly didn't seem all that real to me. And the ending seemed to come out of nowhere. I don't like to put
One of the reviews on here by "Trudi" nails many the flaws of Funland comprehensively so I won't repeat them. Go read that. She's right. Some of the characters are pretty ludicrous, it's hugely tasteless and even kind of embarrassing to read in parts (the horny teens and the depiction of the homeless in particular).Yet still, Laymon knows how to structure an exciting story (admirable considering nothing really happens for 400 pages) and keep you engaged. The ludicrous characters all somehow come
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