Customer Reviews

Dreamworld

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love mysteries with a twist, and the idea of horrible things happening beneath the flawless exterior of a theme park intrigued me from the moment I read the blurb on the back of this book. The fact that the "Dreamworld" theme park is nearly a carbon copy of Disney World, from the costumed characters to the themed lands and resorts to the "It's a Small World"-like ride where the novel's climactic moments occur, adds a strange level of realism to the story-- as if you're reading a shameful secret exposé rather than a novel. It's not just the unique setting that makes this such a wonderful mystery novel, though. The characters are great, particularly the tough and witty star Sylvia Avery. The plot builds up quite a bit of suspense as pieces of the intricate puzzle are revealed one by one, and most of the twists were very surprising. I suppose it would be wishful thinking to hope for a sequel, but as a standalone novel "Dreamworld" stands above most other mysteries I've read.

MTV scores with this ambitious novel. I found Goldman's prose a little tough to follow at times (I think this might be due to her being a Brit writing for an American audience) but the story was fast and funny. A good read for the summer.

the real reason i loved this book as much as i did was because jane goldman's descriptions of everything about dreamworld (from procedure, right down to uniforms and park layout) was complete walt disney world. she even mentions disney SEVERAL times in the book. also, her descriptions of the orlando/kissimee area are insanely accurate (disney world cast members *do* hang out at a bar on state road 192 called the big bamboo lounge). i enjoyed reading a novel that was basically ABOUT the place that i work. if you're looking for a taste of behind-the-scenes at disney world, read this book.

When I first bought the book, I must admit, it was only because it was an MTV book. But as soon as I had read the first chapter, I was hooked. Goldman's detailed descriptions of Avery, Trey,Hayes,Perdue, and all the other characters make you feel as if you really knew them. It's exciting,action-packed, a great mystery, has an amazing sex-appeal, and is suited for teenaged to adult readers. After I had finished it, my friends got in line to borrow it because it was an amazing read!

I bought this book because I heard a good review about it. As it turns out the book was predictable and sometimes confusing. I had to force my self to finish it. It does have it's exciting and suspenseful points, but not enough. I couldn't get used to the way she wrote- like using the first and last name all the time and explaining the same point over again in each chapter. In the end, I was like "that's it?!", but I was also glad to get it over with.

This book almost jumped off the shelf at the bookstore and into my arms. I immediately fell in love with the crazy adorable stuffed animal on the cover and knew this book had to join my collection. And I'm so glad it did.

Growing up in Southern California, we always heard rumors about underground tunnels to whisk the "bad people" away from Disneyland. At one point my brother tried convince me there was even a jail in the Magic Kingdom. I never believed him, until I read Dreamworld, that is!

"Dreamworld" exposes the underbelly of a huge theme park in Florida. Sylvia Avery's job at Dreamworld is to make sure that the public doesn't see any of the bad people, the drunks, disorderlies, etc. She simply whisks them away from sight! But when a suicide-murder takes place in the park, the reader is taken on a ride of a lifetime.

"Dreamworld" has murder, suspense, and plot twists. This book is hard to put down. I've already recommended it to many friends and will continue to do so.

I purchased this book thinking it was somewhat of a behind the scenes look at the underside of Disney, but was pleasantly suprised when I realised it wasn't. It's actually a riveting mystery, involving a murder-suicide that takes place on the grounds of "ImagiNation," a Disney-esque themepark in Florida. The Dreamworld authorities are desperate to cover it up in order to maintain the utopian image of their empire, and Sylvia Avery (an ImagiNation law enforcement official) is torn between doing the morally right thing, and helping uphold the image of the place she's come to think of as home.

The beginning of the book moves rather slowly, and I initially had a hard time getting into it. I think that was partially due to Goldman's elaborate writing style, but her attention to detail pays off later in the story. Nonetheless, this book took me a couple days to get through, whereas I usually like to finish a novel in one sitting.

Aside from the sometimes slow-moving plot, I thought this book was excellent. It's filled with unexpected twists and turns, and I have to disagree with the reviewer who called the story "predictable." It has it's obvious parts, but the final outcome left me shocked. Goldman definitely researched this book carefully, and the result is a wonderfully crafted must read for fans of Disney lore, murder mysteries, or just plain exciting reading.

Combine a heavy dose of pop-culture, fantasy, sex appeal, and a twisting plot, and you have Dreamworld in a nutshell. Exciting and animate, Dreamworld reads like a well written movie. It's filled with exciting characters, intriguing story lines, and little details that go unoticed until the book is finished. It's the kind of book you can barely put down, yet still reads beautifully. In short, it's an awesome example of modern fiction. Definately worth picking up.

I loved this book! Goldman's use of dialogue (inlcuding the cursing we all use) and suspenseful plots made the book realistic and exciting. Plus, the cover is cool! Feel it!

Two of my greatest loves are amusement parks and mystery novels. So I had rather high hopes for this novel. Unfortunately, it was not interesting enough for me to actually finish it. The mystery felt extremely empty, and there were far too many times when the writing felt akin to an annoying co-worker's incessant babbling. I wound up skimming through to the end to see what was going to happen. Once I'd done that, I gave the book to my sister.
It's not often that I am unable to finish a book. But I just couldn't do it with this one.