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Culpepper Adventures #20
Dunc and Amos Meet the Slasher
Dunc worries that Amos has gone too far when the latter dons a leather jacket, slicks back his hair, and adopts a nickname, in order to uncover a stolen stereo racket led by the tough new kid in school. Original.
61 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1993
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About the author
Gary Paulsen
408 books3,977 followersGary James Paulsen was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.
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April 10, 2025
By book twenty of the Culpepper Adventures, we know what to expect. An entry or two along the way managed to surprise, but Dunc and Amos Meet the Slasher isn't one of them. When Amos Binder's parents suffer the misfortune of their car stereo being stolen in the parking lot at Pioneer Mall, his best friend Dunc Culpepper wants to investigate. There's been a rash of stereo thefts at the mall, and Dunc believes he can track down the culprit.
A new school year is rarely fun, but Amos's experience is particularly harrowing with the introduction of Slasher Davis, a kid years older than the rest of class who targets Amos for bullying. Dunc suspects Slasher and his pals are behind the stereo thefts, so he begs Amos to pretend to join their gang. Can Dunc and Amos uncover evidence that Slasher is culpable for the missing stereos? The two boys have fallen in with a rough crowd this time, and their outcome is bleak if they don't get a last-minute assist.
Dunc and Amos Meet the Slasher isn't terrible, but reeks of low effort by the author. Dunc as a character has begun devolving into a Flanderized OCD version of himself. The same tired old jokes are trotted out, and if there weren't a small, peculiar comfort in engaging with a familiar series even when it's not a good one, there'd be no reason to read the Culpepper Adventures. Still, I rate this book one and a half stars; there are worse ones in the series.
A new school year is rarely fun, but Amos's experience is particularly harrowing with the introduction of Slasher Davis, a kid years older than the rest of class who targets Amos for bullying. Dunc suspects Slasher and his pals are behind the stereo thefts, so he begs Amos to pretend to join their gang. Can Dunc and Amos uncover evidence that Slasher is culpable for the missing stereos? The two boys have fallen in with a rough crowd this time, and their outcome is bleak if they don't get a last-minute assist.
Dunc and Amos Meet the Slasher isn't terrible, but reeks of low effort by the author. Dunc as a character has begun devolving into a Flanderized OCD version of himself. The same tired old jokes are trotted out, and if there weren't a small, peculiar comfort in engaging with a familiar series even when it's not a good one, there'd be no reason to read the Culpepper Adventures. Still, I rate this book one and a half stars; there are worse ones in the series.
Displaying 1 of 1 review