#lit review
I first read Road to Nowhere when I was 10, and oh boy was I way too young to handle significant parts of this subject matter. I just remember seeing an awesome book cover on a classmate’s desk and seeking it out at the library. I was thrilled when I came across the (very minor) swearing. All of that context aside, this is a really good book and one of Christopher Pike’s best. It’s a bit of a slow mover, but the ending is more than worth it. I really liked all of the main characters, both the ones in the car and the ones in the stories they were telling. The “campfire” style of the narrative allowed for each story to take its time and resonate. There was also a really powerful message here aimed at the teenage target audience that I think was tastefully done. I appreciated that it wasn’t too heavy-handed with themes that could easily get sappy and sanctimonious. In total, Road to Nowhere scratched my nostalgic itch, turned out better than I had remembered, and made me want to dive even deeper into Christopher Pike’s twisted canon.
Score: 5
My full review and recap with memes, snark, and spoilers can be found on my blog:
https://www.danstalter.com/road-to-nowhere/
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Attack of the Mutant was a lot of fun. It was more of an adventure story than a horror story, but I was perfectly fine with that. I like it when a book succeeds at being the book it’s trying to be. Skipper was an annoying character but was highly believable. I knew that kid in school and so did you. I look forward to him growing up and finding out that his comic collections are likely worth the same amount as his collections of Pogs and Beanie Babies. My biggest beef had to do with the villainous motives of the Masked Mutant. On one hand, I appreciated the silliness of it all and just enjoyed the ride. On the other hand, there were a few too many sloppy and contradictory moments to simply let things slide. This is a common trend I’m finding in these books, and it’s a shame because some of them are just a few minor tweaks away from being great. I suppose that’s one of the downfalls of a massively popular series that churns out so many books in a single year. Flaws and all, I still think this was one of the better and more creative books in the series.
Score: 3
For more thorough analysis on the plot motives of villains in children’s literature, I have a spoiler-filled review up on my blog:
https://www.danstalter.com/attack-of-the-mutant/
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Phantom of the Auditorium is one of the more solid Goosebumps books I’ve read so far, though it is not without significant flaws. It had a few scary moments, but it mostly kept things light-hearted. I would say it was more entertaining than truly scary. It was even surprisingly sweet at times. I liked the character dynamics of the kids, even though it was way too easy for them to break into their Middle School at night. The sloppiest parts of the story revolved around the villain and their motives. Bad guys in Goosebumps books tend to make some really baffling decisions. Phantom is no exception. Ultimately this didn’t detract too much from the story, however. That’s because Phantom’s strength is in the layered storytelling, with multiple plotlines interconnecting. This allows it to succeed on some levels even as it falls flat on others. That’s about as specific as I can get without dropping major spoilers.
Score: 3.5
For more thorough analysis on the plot motives of villains in children’s literature, I have a spoiler-filled review up on my blog:
https://www.danstalter.com/phantom-of-the-auditorium/
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Return of the Mummy picks up one year after the events of Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and sees Gabe returning to Egypt to visit his archeologist Uncle Ben and know-it-all cousin Sari. It’s got some good scares like the first book, and the setting lends itself naturally to a sense of adventure. There were some good comedic bits in there, too. I really liked the fake mummy who was there to shoot a gum commercial. The core characters had a good backstory to build off of from the first book, and no harm was done bringing them back for book two. However, so far as the other characters go… Stine has a tendency to write villains whose motivations are little more than vague notions of world domination. This makes sense to a degree when you consider the strong overlap of Goosebumps readers who religiously watched shows like Power Rangers. Complex villains weren’t exactly something that was sought out by this readership. And yes; I’m counting myself among them. Return of the Mummy felt like a missed opportunity on this front. Without getting into spoilers, the villain(s) had a great setup before stumbling into this vague and predictable cliche. Overall, Return of the Mummy was fine. It was a mild letdown after the first book and lands firmly in the middle of the Goosebumpspack.
Score: 3
For more thorough analysis on the plot motives of villains in children’s literature, I have a spoiler-filled review up on my blog:
https://www.danstalter.com/return-of-the-mummy/
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I was a fan of the first Silent Night, but the sequel was a bit of a letdown. I was annoyed that Reva simply went back to being terrible. It would have been more compelling if she tried really hard to be a better person, had it blow up in her face, and then said “fuck it, why bother?” Instead, Reva’s character just felt like more of the same. I did enjoy the comedic angle of the delusional and incompetent kidnappers. It was the most believable part of this story. I thought the dynamic of Diane’s “just like in the movies” mantra matched with Pres and Danny’s poor planning skills worked out really well. Unfortunately, the overall plot was a bit anti-climatic and predictable. So far as sequels go Silent Night 2 was a solid enough effort. I like that it kept things fun and never took itself too seriously, but it needed an additional twist to pull off something as satisfying as the first book. I guess I just wanted more for the second outing of the Regina George of Shadyside High.
Score: 3
Check out my full spoiler-filled review of Silent Night 2 at the link below:
Ghost Beach was almost as creepy as I remembered it being. It did a great job of making the beach scary, built an excellent atmosphere, and delivered some truly spooky scenes. That being said, the overall concept ended up being half-baked. Jerry and Terri were two strong main characters, but almost every other character had really unclear and contradictory motives. I was reminded of Welcome to Dead House, where I was left wanting a better explanation behind the creepy town and its people. It frustrating because with another round or two of edits I think this could have been one of the best books in the series. It had all the right elements, but it fell apart when it came to actually making any sense. These issues clearly didn’t bother me when I was a child, so maybe it’s less of a problem than I am making it out to be, but I stand by my rating. Ghost Beach falls frustratingly short of the book it could have been.
Score: 3.5
For more frantic questions about the politics of ghost communes and the science of dogs recognizing ghosts, I have a spoiler-filled review up on my blog:
https://www.danstalter.com/ghost-beach/
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Richie Tankersley Cusick’s THE LOCKER is a creepy, atmospheric teen horror novel that hit all of the right notes for me. While not the most original, it’s easily the best I’ve read in the Point Horror series so far.
https://www.danstalter.com/the-locker/
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