Daniel Stalter's Blog, page 14

GO EAT WORMS

Goosebumps #21: Go Eat Worms

Spoiler-Free Review

I realize that I have 41 more Goosebumps books to go, but I think Go Eat Worms might be the worst of them. The main character is the most horrifying part of the story. He’s awful to his sister and his best friend. He doesn’t face any significant consequences for his pranks. He’s a selfish budding serial killer with no redeeming qualities. He collects and kills worms now; it’s only a matter of time before he graduates up to mammals. Aside from To...

ROLL ME AWAY

This past year has been difficult in a lot of ways for almost everyone I know. From the canceled travel plans and comic conventions to lost jobs and careers put on hold, there’s been no shortage of shitty news to go around. It’s been too easy to feel defeated. I consider myself luckier than most, I have job security and I can work from home. I have a supportive partner who looks out for me, and an apartment large enough to spread out when space is needed. I even try to look on the bright side of...

THE HALLOWEEN PARTY

Fear Street #8: The Halloween Party

Spoiler-Free Review

The Halloween Party had a few scary scenes and a compelling main character in Niki, but it ended up being too convoluted for its own good. It was refreshing to have good representation of characters with disabilities. I just wish her character was featured in a better story. Aside from Niki, there were just way too many characters for a book this short. Half of them could have easily been cut and the story would have been better for it. T...

FEAR STREET SAGA: THE BURNING

Fear Street Saga #3: The Burning

 

Spoiler-Free Review

The Burning brought the epic Fear Street Saga to a fiery conclusion, and I was not disappointed. The Secret had started getting a bit repetitive with its “love at first sight” narratives and forgettable characters, but The Burning successfully shook up the formula. The characters felt more complex, and the love stories were more compelling. There were some truly gruesome and creative death scenes, and I really appreciated the ties to Sarah ...

FEAR STREET SAGA: THE SECRET

Fear Street Saga #2: The Secret

 

Spoiler-Free Review

The Secret continues the bloody rampage of the Fier family curse into a new century, but it starts to suffer from some classic middle-book problems. In fact, the 100-year jump in the middle of the book made it seem like maybe the saga was planned as two books and later got cut up into three. There were plenty of gruesome moments to enjoy, even though I was continuously frustrated by the motives of the characters. The love stories started to ...

FEAR STREET SAGA: THE BETRAYAL

Fear Street Saga #1: The Betrayal

 

Spoiler-Free Review

The Fear Street Saga really leveled up the Fear Street franchise as a whole. It gave the town of Shadyside a depth that it didn’t have before, and used the historical setting of colonial America to its advantage. I remember The Betrayal better than most of the books I read as a kid, and I think that is because of how shockingly violent it is at turns. I really liked how Stine leaned into the grisly nature of life 300 years ago. There are h...

THE BABYSITTER

The Babysitter

by R.L. Stine

Spoiler-Free Review:

The Babysitter remains one of R.L. Stine’s most notorious books outside of his Goosebumps and Fear Street titles, and rightly so. Jenny was a relatable and endearing protagonist. Stine did an excellent job with the pacing, slowly building the tension with some genuinely unnerving scenes. On the downside, I had some problems with the motives of the villain and there was some really shoddy police work that was presented as exceptional. I was also...

THE SCARECROW WALKS AT MIDNIGHT

Goosebumps #20: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight

Spoiler-Free Review

This was a mixed bag overall. The book started out strong with a great creepy atmosphere, but never really took off in a way that was remarkable or interesting. I wanted the scarecrows to do more than just walk. I wanted them to have and motives of their own. I wanted a less obvious climax. The characters were fairly strong all around, but the stakes never quite felt high enough to justify some of their actions. The twist at t...

FALL INTO DARKNESS

Fall Into Darkness

by Christopher Pike

 

Spoiler-Free Review:

Christopher Pike is great at twisted plots, and Fall Into Darkness more than delivers on that front. It kept me guessing until about halfway through. I was indifferent to the courtroom drama and creepy lawyer aspect of it. My favorite scenes were the ones from Ann’s perspective. I think he really nailed an archetype with Chad’s “nice guy” character. There was nothing too supernatural or weird about it, which I suppose is what made i...

DEEP TROUBLE

Goosebumps #19: Deep Trouble

 

Spoiler-Free Review

Deep Trouble was a fun read but it ultimately fell short of being something better. I appreciated the misleading nature of the book cover, and I liked the messaging and the themes. It gave me some serious Free Willy vibes (intended as a compliment based on my childhood memory of the movie). That being said, I think the Goosebumps books are thor best when they lean into their weird, and I wanted Deep Trouble to take it to another level. It got p...