tThe 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 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.
Somewhere between 2 and 2.5 starsThe Funhouse isn't exactly FUN, but it's not that boring either. I like it slightly better than Mr. Koontz's Twilight Eyes for the fact that the gore is très yummy-licious. Without a doubt, hanging-out intestine is really my thing.But, it's mighty unfortunate that I've actually read better books demonstrating better goreXploration. Now, let's talk about the plot, the storyline. Ellen was married to a handsome carnie named Conrad Straker, who at first seems gentle, but deep down he's as violent as a bull can be. In the midst of the tumultuous marriage, she gave birth to an 'evil deformed baby' called Victor, which who scared her silly. So, one day when she's alone with the thing her baby, she killed it (while it was trying to kill her too).Conrad went berserk when he found out about this, because clearly he loved his baby so very much even though it was deformed beyond surgical repair. After giving Ellen hell for what she did, he kicked her out and vowed that he would kill her child if she were ever to have one.Then, the story moved to Amy and Joey Harper in New Maple. It's not a surprise when I found that Ellen's their mother. Actually, you can read it in the GR summary, so I don't think it counts as spoiler. By then, Ellen has morphed into an obsessive-compulsive fanatic Christian and also an alcoholic as a form of escapism from her nightmarish past and delusion.At first, I thought I would fall in love for this book, the dilemma undergone by the kids (Amy and Joey) stoutly held my attention since the very beginning of the book. I even - for a brief moment - kind of sympathized with Ellen Straker (later Ellen Harper), having an ultra-religious mother and hating her for her stoicism, but then ironically - tragically - becoming one.Sadly, there are so many things left unaddressed, it significantly degraded my enjoyment. So, in the end, it's just an okay book for me.Note:Loose ends that need to be addressed: the aftermath of the attack, how it will affect Amy and Joey, Ellen's reaction if she were to know that Conrad has tried to murder her children (Will she ever tell her children and her husband about her past? Will she ever change her crappy behaviour toward them? Will she ever stop drinking that annoying vodka and orange juice?), why all Conrad's kids were born as monster-slash-demon-children-slash-devil-spawn (Is he cursed? Do you suppose 'accidentally killing your family on Christmas Eve' could sufficiently explain how every child of yours born as genetically-impaired boy?) - I'm seriously running out of question marks here. I'm sorry I'm born inquisitive, Mr. Koontz.And, Mr. Koontz, why don't you kill that jerk Jerry Galloway? What a big disappointment, Sir, I would love to see him disemboweled, skinned alive, and chopped to death! Leave me a comment if you have better ideas how to torture Jerry the insolent bastard douchebag.
What do You think about The Funhouse (1994)?
I am a HUGE fan of Dean Koontz books, and I've read dozens of them, usually enjoying every page and finding myself unable to put them down. I've lost many hours of sleep because of this, since I sometimes find myself reading long into the night even when I know I'll be tired the next day. With that being said, that was definitely not the case with Funhouse. Admittedly, the only reason I actually finished the entire book was my twisted curiosity for what would actually happen in the end, and which characters would live or die. Even that was a big disappointment, as the book just kind of ends, after much unbelievable hoopla, that is. This is the first book I've ever read by this author that I would NEVER recommend for anyone else to read. Granted, the story wasn't originally Mr. Koontz's, and it shows. BIG time. The characters aren't the richly developed people that I've come to take for granted in his books. I just expect them to be believable, entertaining, and either likable, making me cheer them on, or so despicable I wish someone would hurry up and drop them off a cliff, already. Sadly, no such people were present in this flop of a tale. Even the "good" guys were unlikable and fairly hollow, and made me feel a little slimy. I usually won't even finish a book that is slightly painful or boring to read, as I know there are so many great books out there waiting for me, and honestly, if this one would have had any other name on the cover, I probably wouldn't have made it past page 40 or so. To say I was disappointed in this novel would be the same as calling it a terrible piece of fiction from a tremendously talented author...an extreme understatement. Mr. Koontz, I believe you sold out on this one with the hopes of cashing in on the movie. Apparently that was a flop, as well. The author even (kind of) apologized for it in the book's final pages. Maybe it would have been better to leave this one unpublished, and the film unshot.
—Aaron Thompson
I read this book about 15-20 years ago and I found it terrifying! To this day, I can't go on a ghost ride in a fun fair and not be freaked out by the monster models, wondering if one of them is real and will chop me to bits before I get out the other end! I have not ready many Dean Koontz novels but this one really stuck. It told a grizzly story without going off into the realms of nonsensical weirdness with no satisfying pay off (like some of Stephen King's books tend to do!).I like reading books that leave my heart pounding (with fear, of course!) and stay playing on my mind for years afterwards, making me wonder what the shadows might be hiding...I would recommend this book, but advise you that I am writing this review with the memories of a 15 year old! I would like to revisit this book again to compare my world-weary cynicism with the younger, malleable me!
—Madison Kinsella
This was my first Dean Koontz and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It took me a while to read it and it wasn't because the book itself was slow, you know life gets in the way, stress blah, blah, blah...ANYHOO...What if your mother was like so religious and thought you were like the evilest and to get back at her you run away and take up with carnies? Well, Ellen runs away with a carny and marries him, did you know a carny marriage is sealed by going on the carousel? and to end it you ride it by yourself backwards? that would be a sad sight to see. Anyways, Ellen gets pregnant and gives birth to a monster, a literal monster. She believes that it is payback from running away and ignoring her mother's warning. She later gets a divorce, the carny way...oh, and the child...well, i don't want to ruin it for you.A few years later, Ellen is remarried and has two children but she is still tormented by her devil child. Ironically, she has become her zealot mother, she drinks and torments her children by telling them they are evil and must give themselves to God in order to prevent their doom. Hmm, this reminds me of someone...Ellen's sins come back to haunt her in the form of her husband and his own devil child. What?! another one??Anyways, I think this was such a great book. I saw the movie a long time ago and I liked the movie just fine. Now that I read the book, well, I definitely prefer the book and I will read more Koontz for sure! I mean, where have I been that I have not read his books before??!! Well, big fan here!
—Delmy ┻━┻ ︵ ¯\ (ツ)/¯ ︵ ┻━┻
