Land of Laughs, The [Import] [Paperback]

Jonathan Carroll (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Legend [1989], [London]; New Ed edition (1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099392607
• ISBN-13: 978-0099392606
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Biography,free downloadable stories, screenplays, daily blog and other relevant information available at

www.jonathancarroll.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, October 18, 2000

By 

"mars13" (Elkton, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Land of Laughs (Paperback)

At long last, Jonathan Carroll's masterpiece, THE LAND OF LAUGHS is returning to print. This should be cause for celebration among horror/dark fantasy readers, especially those who haven't yet had the pleasure of reading this classic.

As a previous reviewer stated, the basic plot of THE LAND OF LAUGHS (someone finding out the so-called "fantasy" world of a noted children's book author is real...and deadly) has been well used since this novel was published. But Carroll's remains the best. Most people, upon growing up, seem to forget how truly dark many of those children's fantasy stories were. But Carroll never forgot, which is perhaps what makes THE LAND OF LAUGHS so successful.

This is a "must read" for any fan of horror, fantasy or just plain ole good fiction. And for similar reads, check out William Browning Spencer's ZOD WALLOP and STRANGEWOOD by Christopher Golden.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You are now entering the twilight zone...., March 5, 2001

By 

M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Land of Laughs (Paperback)

I confess outright to being a Carroll devotee - I've even collected all his books and stories and have corresponded with him "live" by email. Many Carroll fans have complained that his early books are impossible to find - I couldn't bare to spend over $200 for his first book, The Land of Laughs, so I was relieved when TOR decided to reissue it in paper back. Oddly enough, that means that I had read all of his books already except this one, his first. The good news is, it's fantastic. In fact, it's so good I don't know how he ever tried again. Many of the familiar Carroll traits are here: a few pit bulls, a small town, a blurred division between reality and fantasy, a wild cast of characters and a great plot. Some readers complain that his endings aren't as good as his beginnings, but this book is a masterpiece in that regard. I loved the plot in this book as well: a "drop out" English teacher with a famous father decides to leave his stodgy prep school and write a biography of Marshall France, his favorite children's author. Naturally Marshall created a fantasy world of characters which gives our narrator a chance to immerse himself in a town with a very strange history. Overall, I think it's the most perfectly conceived of all Carroll's books - the ending is perfect too. If you've never read anything by Carroll, buy the paperback of this one and read it - then follow your addiction by reading all his other great books too. His books are so mind-blowing that I can almost guarantee that you'll raise your IQ a few points just by trying to follow the events!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jonathan Carroll how do you do it?, March 28, 2001

By 

Mark Ellis Iddon (Shipton Under Wychwood, Oxfordshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Land of Laughs (Paperback)

Ok, firstly there isn't a Jonathan Carroll book that isn't good. And I mean that. No, I'm not his publisist, and no, I don't run the Jonathan Carroll web site. I am just a 23 year old avid reader, that once I read one of his books ('The Marriage of Sticks'), I had to go out, and buy all of them, by whatever means neccesary. The fact that people on average haven't heard of him, is to me incomprehendable. He is going to go down in history of one of this centurys greatest writers. The Land Of Laughs, Jonathans first novel, is a story that begins in grounded reality, and slowly slides into the realm of fantasy, just as Alice fell through the looking glass, you will find yourself on a similar journey. If you like books that treat you with respect as a reader, and understand that we the reader like to be taken somewhere new, and origional, then buy this book. If you don't like it, you won't like any other of his novels, If you do like it, get ready to spend hours on e-bay tracking them down. Oh and by the way, when you do start bidding, look out for me, I'll be right behind you. If you are wondering why I'm not giving you a plot rundown, it is because Amazon quite cleverly put it at the top of this page, and I'm not into regurgitation. If you like this book, check out Graham Joyce 'Dreamside', and a writer called China Mieville (could be spelt wrong), he wrote 'Perdido Street Station'. Happy reading.