Daniel Stalter's Blog, page 5

BEAST FROM THE EAST

Goosebumps #43: Beast from the East

 

Spoiler-Free Review

I prefer my Goosebumps to be unapologetically weird, and Beast from the East more than delivered on that front. I enjoyed the way it was equal parts silly and scary at times. The kid characters were relatable, the beasts were quirky and unpredictable, and the magical forest setting gave the whole thing a nicely creepy and fantastical ambiance. At its strongest moments, I was reminded of One Day at Horrorland. Its biggest weakness, and th...

STRANGER WITH MY FACE

Stranger with My Face
by Lois Duncan

 

Spoiler-Free Review

Stanger with My Face was more or less exactly what I expected from Lois Duncan. I really appreciate the way that she writes characters. All but one of the characters felt really well-developed. The story itself was a slow burn. There was a really creepy concept at the core of this book. All of these are things I typically love, but I still found myself struggling with this one at times. I was never bored or disengaged, but the slow paci...

EGG MONSTERS FROM MARS

Goosebumps #42: Egg Monsters From Mars

 

Spoiler-Free Review

Egg Monsters from Mars was a refreshingly weird Goosebumps book. It had a good balance of the ridiculous and the grotesque. The pacing was solid and Stine avoided his most familiar tropes. The weakest point was its characters. Dana was a fine protagonist, but the plot relied on a villain with extremely questionable logic. I could also point out a few questionable choices made by Dana’s parents. There was a good steady build-up to the ...

THE PROM QUEEN

Fear Street #15: The Prom Queen

   

Spoiler-Free Review

The Prom Queen was an exceptionally fun and bloody romp through Shadyside. It pulled off having a large cast of characters much better than many of its Fear Street predecessors, at least so far as the five prom queen candidates went. I can’t say the same for the boy characters; they all kinda blended together aside from being suspects. There are also some great examples in this book of how you don’t have to be a killer to be a total fuckin...

THE FACE

Fear Street #35: The Face

   

Spoiler-Free Review

The Face managed to be one of the more enjoyable Fear Street books in spite of a few frustrating flaws. I was immediately drawn in by the premise, and I don’t think I ever could have guessed that ending. The overall concept and pacing were solid. The structure felt like a fresh break from the tried and true Fear Street formula. Martha repeatedly drawing the same face that she didn’t recognize was nice and unsettling. The book’s biggest weakness ...

BAD HARE DAY

Goosebumps #41: Bad Hare Day

 

Spoiler-Free Review

I went into Bad Hare Day with an open mind. For the first half of the book, I thought that maybe this one didn’t deserve its reputation as one of the absolute worst Goosebumps books. That hope unraveled quickly in the second half. It committed the ultimate crime that a Goosebumps book can commit: it got boring. The plot was paced well enough, but it ultimately didn’t go anywhere. More than any other Goosebumps book I’ve read so far, it just fel...

WITCH

Witch
by Christopher Pike

 

Spoiler-Free Review:

Witch had a few things I appreciated. The shift in perspectives from chapter to chapter kept things interesting. I liked the theme of power coming at a great cost. I enjoyed many of the side characters, from Sally the dumb waitress to the station wagon full of creepy old lady witches. In fact, I kinda wanted a story that focused exclusively on the station wagon full of old ladies. Beyond that, Witch bears the unfortunate distinction of being one ...

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY III

Goosebumps #40: Night of the Living Dummy III

 

Spoiler-Free Review

Night of the Living Dummy III turned out to be my favorite of the Living Dummy books so far. That’s a bit of a low bar considering how much I detested the first Night of the Living Dummy. The second book in the series was notably better, but it had a lot of the same problems. This book didn’t reinvent the wheel by any means, but it did manage to become something more. Its greatest success was in its characters. Trina and Danny’...

SWITCHED

Fear Street #31: Switched

   

Spoiler-Free Review

Switched might be the most frustrating Fear Street book I’ve read, in part because it started out with such a wild and engaging premise. For the first half of the book, I was convinced that this was going to become my favorite Fear Street book so far. The first twist that came (after the initial premise laid out on the back cover) really hooked me. It put our main character into such a weird and precarious position. There were so many fantastic ...

HOW I GOT MY SHRUNKEN HEAD

Goosebumps #39: How I Got My Shrunken Head

 

Spoiler-Free Review

How I Got My Shrunken Head was a very middle-of-the-road and largely forgettable Goosebumps book. On the plus side, the plot moved quickly and we didn’t spin our wheels on endless fake scares for half of the book. The elements were there for a good adventure story, but too much of the plot relied on every adult being a complete idiot in some capacity. That’s not an exaggeration. Mark’s mother lets him go with a complete stranger t...