Jack McGuigan

""There's been a lot of that lately. Little things are off. Bushes facing the wrong direction. Doors that open the wrong way. Typos in the signs..." The man took another bite and chewed, lost in his own thoughts. "You must've seen it.""

I think the best way to describe this book would be Jurassic Park/Westworld meets Disney (okay, yes, Disney is probably involved in at least one of those franchises but I mean classic Disney - fairy tales and the like - and Disneyland)

Nanoland is a theme park built using a technology called pixels (essentially nanotechnology that is used largely decoratively, from wigs to dragons and unicorns and even more outside of the park) and run by AI. Although there have been incidents since the start (like mermaid bites), no one was expecting everything to collapse in the way it did. Although most people managed to escape, we follow a small group of guests and staff as they try to find a way out of the locked down (to protect the technology) park as the creations rampage around them. In between the tense chaos, we get to see the founder (whom I very much disliked) and his life and how he got consumed by his desire for power as he rose from a man who made puppet shows about a frog to the media giant that created the multi million dollar franchises that can be found in his park.

I think this book would make a great movie! The action is tense and the author creates a fascinating, ever changing setting. It's essentially an instant post apocalyptic type world, where danger is always near and help far away. The events keep building up as we move towards the end. I was a little scared when I saw how close to the end I was getting and wondered how the author would be able to wrap everything up! But it definitely works well and everything comes together nicely. The bits about the founder provided a bit of a break in the action, which was often appreciated although I did also sometimes find myself wanting to get back to the main story. This setting and characters were very obviously inspired by Disney and his/its own rise to power. The events felt like a bit of a cautionary tale against the present we are rushing through, full of capitalism and our frequent use of technology we don't quite understand.

On the less good side of things (although clearly far from book breaking!), the technology seems way too advanced for when it was developed. I understand that the author wanted to mirror Disney's rise, but this is a unique world and I thin it would have made more sense if the technology had been developed more recently since even with more advanced computers now, we don't have anything this powerful yet (although I'm not sure if anyone has tried!)

If you hate Disney (or love it I guess) or stories about theme park attractions that attack their guests, then this is probably a great book for you!… (plus d'informations)

A huge theme park, Nanoland is Frank Nano’s vision come to life. Alicia, who plays a nano princess, longs for more. When the attractions begin attacking guests, Alicia and a small band of survivors work together to flee the park and uncover the mystery of what is happening.

This book can be summed up in a few words - Mickey mouse meets Jurassic Park. The fact that out of control technology was beloved children’s toys added a fun and twisted element. The characters themselves were a bit stereotypical, I really wanted more from them. However, I enjoyed the story. Overall, 4 out of 5.… (plus d'informations)

If you've had a bad day at a Disney park then this book would totally float your boat.
I enjoyed this book for the most part, the flipping into the book being read did become rather annoying and interupted the flow of the plot. I understand why it was used, and that was cleverly done but I think it was over done too much to explain history of things and became more of an info dump situation.
The characters were good, the whole situation with the little girl thinking the princess is real was cutely done.
I did not read this book as though it was comically done, I dont remember laughing at all in it but still enjoyed the world that had been created.… (plus d'informations)

A high-voltage sci-fi adventure story in a Disneyland-like amusement park of the future. The computer programming starts to glitch increasingly, pixel-holes and a few hushed-up attacks and accidents happen. Soon the AI goes fully awry and the remaining guests and staff of the park have to fight for their lives against attractions turned unpredictable and murderous to find a way out of the madhouse.
As a fan of stories set in derelict/abandoned amusement parks with deranged characters or rides gone wrong, I expected this to be a new personal favourite.
Alas, as the catastrophe happens and things start to go seriously wrong, the whole story derails and turns just bonkers. And no, not bonkers in a good, Alice-in-Wonderland kind of way. I meen bonkers in a way much to silly to bother.
You could feel how much fun the author had with telling the story of the things going, a bit like a kid in a candy shop, but after a while, it was just too goofy and stupid. There were tons of inconsistencies. And sorry, no one, no matter how loyal or brainwashed or partially incorporated by the park you were, would act that way when people are starting to get killed. No. No way.
(Oh, the way Princess Dee reacts on meeting her evil pixel-made counterpart? No. That's how a little boy would react, dear Jack, but no female being would ever, let me tell you that!) There were so many instances where I just rolled my eyes because it just doesn't work that way, at least not on paper.
Maybe this would work better as a Hollywood blockbuster movie where all is action and nothing needs to be serious anymore.
Where were the editors on this one? This book is so promising – it could have been enhanced to a whole another level by a tough round of serious copy editing!
I struggled how to rate this.
The ending with its very sinister twists redeems the goofy middle part a little, and, as I said, it was a fast ride. I received this eARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program - Thanks, LT and author! - in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)