Customer Reviews

Carnival

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

love this book. owned it many years ago, lost it, forgot it, remembered it, obsesed over it, bought it again, read it again... and the circle of life is complete. suprised this was never made into a horror movie. slap KING or KOONTZ on the cover and it would have been another remake by now. if you like stories about what lies beneath the facial facade we all wear to hide our true selves, or if you just like a good scarey story, you'll like this one. also, i'm scared of carnivals, clowns,and bearded ladies. enjoy

If you like this author and his spooky books, then you will like this one, good story and he has a way of making his characters seem so real, He is one of the best in his own unique way, His stories are never drawn out or boring, his endings take about 2-3 chapters so its done right. A lot of authors have'nt figured out how to end a book well, i think this author has figured it out by stretching the ending over a few chapters instead of a big finale in the last few pages. You either love his simplistic style or you don't like his writing at all. It has always been about good vs evil with him and of course the good wins in the end.

As a big fan of William Johnstone I eagerly picked this up. Based on the blurb on the back cover and opening pages it sounded good, and it was...........

....except...

That was ALL this book was, "good", in the most ho-hum kind of way. Here Johnstone starts out with a Great idea, that of a carnival returning to exact revenge for past crimes - then through a confusing and uninspired plot twist, he seeks to try and turn it into some kind of EPIC good (God) vs Evil (Devil) adventure.

Nothing "wrong" with that, exactly, but it REALLY waters down the premise of the story - that of a carnival back for revenge - into a preachy paint by well known numbers show where everything is a little to "Been there Done that" to really satisfy.

Don't get me wrong, there are several really ghastly moments and a couple of plot twists where characters change (mostly for the worse ... in a really vindictive kind of way that makes the story seem sad, if disturbingly realistic) but for the most part the story strays to far from what I expected to what it became.

Its a good time killer if one doesn't go in seeking quite what was promised.

I love this book. It has made me look at people and carnivals in a whole new way. Mr. Johnstone did a great job with this. Good vs. evil is his favorite theme and why not? He does it so well.