The Funhouse

This is a nice classic Dean Koontz book. I haven't been enjoying his recent books so much, so it was nice to find an older book that I hadn't read. I am a sucker for books that take place at the carnival, so this book was right up my alley.

Ellen starts out a sympathetic character, but then turns into a very unlikable person. The soul searching scene towards the end of the book does nothing to redeem her in my eyes. There are religious themes throughout the book, and except for a scene at the very end, religion is presented in an unflattering light.

There are creepy mutants, and a serial killer lurking in the carnival. Though not as good as the subsequent book [b:Twilight Eyes|693172|Twilight Eyes|Dean show more Koontz|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1223638154s/693172.jpg|442715], this is still an entertaining read. show less

The carnival is always a unique, exciting setting for any horror novel. Amidst all the freaks, gloomy funhouses, maniacally grinning clowns, and … well, candy, there’s a man with a mission. To seek out and destroy his ex-wife’s children, the ex-wife who had taken away his own mutated son. Besides this juicy tidbit, there’s also a misled creature that delights in killing innocent men and raping/shredding apart women in each town it visits.

One thing that really made The Funhouse work was the characterization. Their lives were so rich, so deep, I truly cared and believed. Each one had their own internal struggle going on. Each one with their own personal demons to slay, their unique hurdles to stumble over, and their ultimate show more prices to pay.

The characters are the meat behind The Funhouse.

The atmosphere is a bit hard to explain. Below everything there is a seemingly endless sense of desperation, a struggle to sniff out what is right and what is wrong. To overcome the miserable lives led and make things better for themselves.

In short, the atmosphere is bleak, dark, and at times depressing -- but in the end uplifting and hopeful.

Amy is a strong heroine to latch on to. A typical teenage girl in a chaotic household, she longs for acceptance, excitement, change…but is also afraid of all those things, for she has secrets fears that her mother may be right - she really may be evil. Little Joey is adorable and I felt incredibly bad for him at several moments in the story. He’s a realistic little kid and I loved seeing through his young, impressionable eyes. The mother, Ellen, was just as enjoyable to read through, but unlike some of the others, not quite “fun”. Being in her mind was like walking on a psychological tight rope. Conrad is a unique enough villain of a man, but I would have enjoyed finding out a bit more on him. He was driven purely by hate and the lust for revenge, and that’s all Koontz really allowed him to show.

The pace is heady with it’s strength; just the beginning alone may get you high off the fumes of desperation and depression. It plunges into the abyss of despair immediately, does a few bumps and curves along the way, but never raises high enough so that you can feel the sun shining full force on your face.

Koontz’s style changes a bit from some books; here he writes well, enhances his characters to an amazing degree, describes things with fine detail but not overly so to where it becomes repetitive, and take care to allow terror to shine through when it should.

The Funhouse beams with an incredible array of colors. The ending is a bit of a let down, but that can be overlooked when it‘s all added together. When the last door of the carnival is locked, every last mark has gone home and is now safely snug in their beds, The Funhouse gets the rating of an event akin to sitting on an intense roller coaster that delivers all it originally promised. show less

The carnival is always a unique, exciting setting for any horror novel. Amidst all the freaks, gloomy funhouses, maniacally grinning clowns, and … well, candy, there’s a man with a mission. To seek out and destroy his ex-wife’s children, the ex-wife who had taken away his own mutated son. Besides this juicy tidbit, there’s also a misled creature that delights in killing innocent men and raping/shredding apart women in each town it visits.

One thing that really made The Funhouse work was the characterization. Their lives were so rich, so deep, I truly cared and believed. Each one had their own internal struggle going on. Each one with their own personal demons to slay, their unique hurdles to stumble over, and their ultimate show more prices to pay.

The characters are the meat behind The Funhouse.

The atmosphere is a bit hard to explain. Below everything there is a seemingly endless sense of desperation, a struggle to sniff out what is right and what is wrong. To overcome the miserable lives led and make things better for themselves.

In short, the atmosphere is bleak, dark, and at times depressing -- but in the end uplifting and hopeful.

Amy is a strong heroine to latch on to. A typical teenage girl in a chaotic household, she longs for acceptance, excitement, change…but is also afraid of all those things, for she has secrets fears that her mother may be right - she really may be evil. Little Joey is adorable and I felt incredibly bad for him at several moments in the story. He’s a realistic little kid and I loved seeing through his young, impressionable eyes. The mother, Ellen, was just as enjoyable to read through, but unlike some of the others, not quite “fun”. Being in her mind was like walking on a psychological tight rope. Conrad is a unique enough villain of a man, but I would have enjoyed finding out a bit more on him. He was driven purely by hate and the lust for revenge, and that’s all Koontz really allowed him to show.

The pace is heady with it’s strength; just the beginning alone may get you high off the fumes of desperation and depression. It plunges into the abyss of despair immediately, does a few bumps and curves along the way, but never raises high enough so that you can feel the sun shining full force on your face.

Koontz’s style changes a bit from some books; here he writes well, enhances his characters to an amazing degree, describes things with fine detail but not overly so to where it becomes repetitive, and take care to allow terror to shine through when it should.

The Funhouse beams with an incredible array of colors. The ending is a bit of a let down, but that can be overlooked when it‘s all added together. When the last door of the carnival is locked, every last mark has gone home and is now safely snug in their beds, The Funhouse gets the rating of an event akin to sitting on an intense roller coaster that delivers all it originally promised. show less

A re-read as part of an attempted book clearance, this one was fun to revisit though in the worst way. I’ve said a few times that early Koontz books seem much of a product of the time in which he wrote them. The Funhouse, with its matriarch that would give Carrie’s mother a run for her money, and carnival monstrosities, is the most dated yet. This book is for those who like B-movies so bad they are good…which is exactly what this is as it’s the novelisation of a film of the same name, directed by Tobe Hooper. Never having seen the film I tracked down the trailer and even from the one and a half minutes of excerpts I can tell the book is better. Not a keeper for me but a nostalgic look back at 80s horror. Too much tell rather show more than show but my biggest complaint with the book feels like the lack of payoff. To me the conclusion was less than satisfactory and somewhat abrupt when taking the amount of backstory into account. show less

This book was pretty freaky and gross, which means Koontz did a good job. I would have liked the ending to contain some interactions with the mother. Typically his older books are better in my opinion, and this one held my attention, and I finished it in only a few days. Not his best, but no where near his worst.

Dean Koontz has a way with words... his dark humor, sarcastic comebacks, and clever analogies were as expected, a wonderful tone for this book. This is one of those books that keeps you thinking, oh my, now what!!?? I very much enjoyed the journey of most of this story, however it only got three stars from me because while the story built up quite nicely and the actions in the book were mentally vivid, I feel the closing of the story fell short. It almost seems as if the ending was rushed and incomplete. However with that in mind, it was an all around good book and I will certainly be back for more Dean Koontz.

The carnival is an exciting setting for a horror novel. Makes you wonder why you go to them: it's the freaks, funhouses and grinning clowns. I kept saying to the characters: "Don't do that, you'll be sorry." A bizarre, quick, easy read--creepy read for Halloween time.