Jake
This one was pretty good, though I predicted a plot twist when I was first reading the beginning of Chapter 2 in the preview at the end of the previous book. And I was right.
Still, this book was fun. It builds up to it well, and I do like the different ways R. L. Stine is experimenting with how these books are told. That's cool. Plus, there's one part toward the end that is just REALLY cleverly done.
Though, as with the rest of this particular new series, each chapter has a chapter title, and many of them spoil their chapters, with some being named after the ENDING of the chapter.
Also, weirdly, the “sneak peek” at the end was for House of Shivers #1 and not the next book. Strange.
Still, I thought this book was good fun.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
This is a novelization of Season 1 of the Disney+ Goosebumps series. It also features an epilogue extending beyond the season's ending. That epilogue is great, easily, and makes me wish there was more story following it.
The rest of the book, though... varies.
Sometimes, the book does a good job of being a novelization, adapting scenes well. But a lot of the time, it just rushes through scenes and feels like a summary someone wrote of them. These parts end up rather tedious. There's also one part in the adaptation of episode 2 where important context is left out that explains something, even though it could've been put in there with a single sentence, easily.
Kate Howard had previously written photonovelizations for younger readers for both Goosebumps movies, and this kinda feels like that at times. Not QUITE that far, but still, similar.
Honestly, it might have just been too much to ask her to try to adapt the whole season into a reasonably sized book.
It was the longest Goosebumps book published upon release, only now beaten by the novelization of Season 2 by a few pages. (Confusingly, the actual season was SHORTER than Season 1.) But adapting 10 whole episodes is still a lot for this.
I can't really recommend this book overall, but if you liked Season 1 of the series (which I did), the epilogue's pretty cool. It's a shame a lot of the book prior to it struggles so much...
Finally, the first one of these to not be a direct adaptation of a film.
This was pretty good!
This was a YA novel, so no heavy swearing, but sex and gore was still here.
This follows from Jason Goes To Hell, though it doesn't share any characters, save Jason, kinda...
You don't HAVE to have seen that movie, but it adds to certain bits.
It's probably contradicted by the later films now, but oh well.
I was surprised at how little killing there is for most of the book, but I was still engrossed in these characters and their potential couplings along the way.
The fake-out chapter cliffhangers along the way did get kinda annoying, though.
One even had the text outright LIE to accomplish it.
I mean, I know it's YA, but still, I wasn't expecting that from Friday the 13th. I'd expect it in Goosebumps, but not here.
Still, overall, I enjoyed this book as a nice sequel to Jason Goes To Hell. It was a good book.
A standard light activity book for children with an original Weeping Angel story at each end. Both of them are really good. Justin Richards did a really good job on them.
The one at the beginning, just after the stickers, is called Living History, and though it may not feature the Doctor, it is SPECTACULAR. Easily worth a read for that alone if you already have access to this book.
The one at the end, entitled Suddenly in a Graveyard, is also pretty good, and features both the Doctor and Amy.
It's kind of a shame these stories are only in this obscure, easily overlooked activity book. Justin Richards clearly put plenty of effort into both stories, when they easily could have been simple throwaway stories.
I wouldn't say it's worth shilling out a lot of money for, but if you already have access to this book, it's worth a look. Even if it's already had its activities completed, it's worth checking out for the stories by themselves.
So, yeah, this was a fun read.
