The Funhouse

Rating:
Summary: Not too bad!
Review: I have read better books by Dean Koontz. Well, it is one of his early books and he was still practicing then. The idea is very good, and I liked the carnival setting (which he will use again in Twilight Eyes, a far better book). But the characters and their actions are sometimes not really credible. Liz is a fictional character that would not survive long in reality. And Amy's motivation to follow Liz is also not realistic. But the story is full of suspense and a good read in your armchair or on the beach.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book had a great plot line and did not drag, I alaways wanted to turn the page and go on. I gave it 4 starts which in my opinion is a great rating, becasue this was a great book!

Rating:
Summary: Slasher movie....erm.....book
Review: This book was adapted from a slasher movie screenplay and it shows. Although Koontz has managed to craft a fine novel it still can't quite shake those roots. I also found the carnival setting to be somewhat superficial with not much bearing on the story excepting the clowns are scary, carnivals are creepy dynamic. If you want to read Koontz's "real" carnival book pick up Twilight Eyes.

Rating:
Summary: One of his earlier works
Review: This book is good although you can tell that it is an earlier work. The character development is excellent. Often I found that I had mixed feelings about many of the characters. For example, Ellen's tramatic experience at the beginning turned her into an alcoholic and a questionable mother. At first, you cheer her on. Then you hate her. Then you pity her. Amy is a young woman who has managed to get herself into trouble. You are annoyed at her having unprotected sex with her boyfriend and smoking pot with her friend Liz. When Amy asks herself why she makes the decisions that she does, she wonders if it is to rebel against her parents, peer pressure, or both. She is working toward a future for herself, but at the same time she falls into many of the traps that teens make for themselves. Even though the story takes place in 1980, Amy could very well be a teen today. Like Ellen's character, you find yourself angry at her, feeling sorry for her, and cheering her on. The carnival setting is creepy and well done. A very good book overall, but not one of Koontz' best. Even he admits that.

Rating:
Summary: One of Koontz' best early novels.
Review: This was one of Koontz earlier novels in this current genre. He does well with character developement and his imagery is very full. Although it is not his best, this book is definitely worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: The book started off awesome, but towards the end it seemed rushed and the ending was a big let-down! Koontz is a brilliant writer and it seemed that he could have made the ending better

Rating:
Summary: Koontz has done it again!
Review: When a friend wanted me to read this book I was a little taken back because she said that it was good and she thought that I would enjoy it and usually we have different tastes in books and I was shocked that she had read a Dean Koontz book. Well, I have read a lot of Dean Koontz books and I am just as pleased with this one than any of the other ones. It isn't as scary as some of the others but it is just as interesting. I couldn't put it down and when I was finished I wish that it wouldn't of ended there. I wanted to know more about the characters, but it wasn't one of those books that left you hanging in the end. I wanted to know more because I was so into reading the book that I wanted to know more about what happened and all that stuff. I would recommend it to anyone though.

Rating:
Summary: Remembered it From long ago
Review: How do you ever forget Gunther? The book mesmerized me then, and now I recently picked it up to re-read and enjoyed every minute of it. As usual with Dean Koontz.

Rating:
Summary: Alright, but NOT one of his finer pieces
Review: Was a good thriller, but I give it two stars because I consider myself a God-fearing person who is a strong believer in justice, and I found it horrifying that a woman who murders a baby and then forces her own daughter to have an abortion gets away completely scot free. But overall, not one of his better pieces

Rating:
Summary: A Carnival of Terror
Review: Funhouse, what a surprise gem of a novel. Personally, I hate books that were movies first, but when they are so delicatly done by a master, you really get curious. I myself own Funhouse the movie, and the book, of couse the latter of the two is the only one I'll admit to owning in public. The movie is atrocious, but the book on the other hand is really worth reading. The plot take off from the movie, and a couple of names occure in the novel, but Koontz goes deeper, and brings to life a dead story that was burried on screen, in a ressurection like book. Far from a flop, Funhouse takes you to a carnival where your prize if you win is your life. Remember this, avoid the movie, but read the book.