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melsage1823's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An interesting set of enjoyable spooky stories severely let down by its third entry.
I was so hopeful for this novel especially after adoring Room For One More but then I read the first few pages of The New Kid and my face fell flat. Whilst Room For One More is one of the best of the series so far The New Kid has to be the worst even worse then Count The Ways. Ignoring The New Kid this entry has improved up on a lot from its previous novels and shows that Adult Protagonists are the right way to go.
I'll talk about the negatives then get into the positives. There's so many negatives and positives but these are just some of the main things that bug me.
I wish that 1:35 AM and The New Kid were shortened severely they could have absolutely done with less pages. It felt so dragged out unecessarily, The New Kid as well to the point I had to put the audiobook on higher speed. The middle story was the perfect pace and whilst we did have slice of life parts it didn't take over the story. I feel like fnaf stories work better when their more fast pace, I think that's also why critics couldn't get into the movie. Hoping future stories improve this.
Secondly the repetitiveness. I don't how or why but for some reason each story had to have a repetitive nature and it appalled me. Despite loving Room For One More I have to admit that even falls into this trap despite it being the best story of the collection. Every story beat is so generic where by the time the final story came I was just begging to have the book be over. Repetiveness only works in horror if it's a timeloop or super natural element. I can get what the authors are trying to do but seeing the main characters life routine tons of times slows the beat of the story for me.
Finally, the vagueness. One of the main reasons that The New Kid was so poor is because I had no idea what the hell was going on and I don't think the writers did either. Without any major spoilers, is Devon a target because he's a menacing bully or is it because he's an outcast. I feel like it was Twisty and turny for the sake of it. It was also bizzare and random to the point it feels completely out of place from the other stories. Vauge Horror only works when the up to interpretation narrative is done right. If other people have to ask what happened in the story its not a good story through and through.
With that out of the way let's get onto some of the positives of this collection. From reading this review it may sound like I hate this book but I don't I'm just hugely disappointed in the last story and how it fell back into the tropes of the other Fazbear Frights volumes when the stories before were absolutely amazing.
Now that being said I loved the fact that we had actually likeable protagonists. Minus Devon I actually really sympathised with Deliah and Stanley as they were just down on their luck adults who got caught up in the world of fazbear at the wrong time. We shouldn't be routing for the downfall of the main character we should be sympathising with them, sure they can have flaws but they shouldn't be downright evil. Fazbear Frights is at it's absolute best when it presents us down on your luck characters who tried to turn the life around but Fazbear destroyed everything.
Secondly I love the horror. Finally some of these stories are actually scary and unnerving. Horror should leave you icky and traumatised and I haven't felt this unnerved since I read To Be Beautiful. I absolutely understand that these novels are targeted for a younger audience so some stuff has been downplayed but sometimes horror especially in the fnaf shouldn't be at all especially when it's a story told in the horror format. I get scholastic wanting to appeal to a middle grade audience but its always bugged me. The stories here are not downplayed though and there's actually a true sense of dread.
Finally Room For One More as a whole. It was the best part of the book and what exactly a good Fazbear Frights should be. It uses a setting from the game and utilises very creepy animatronics perfectly. It also keeps the mystery without it feeling cheap and confusing . The length was perfect too as it didn't feel like it dragged on but also didn't feel too quick. Simple but really good. The body horror had me almost nauseous and gagging. I was sat in suspense as I turned the pages and the ending was truly horrifying in the best possible way. This is the story that gives you the most and I hope future installments produce more stories like this.
Overall a really good set of short stories heavily let down by its last one. The horror has been amped up perfectly as well as the stakes.
The Epilogue definitely has me hooked.
My overall rating for this anthology would be 3 stars but my individual rating as followed goes as followed.
1:35 AM: 4 Stars (amazing but let down by its repetitive and show don't tell nature)
Room For One More: 5 Stars (Incredible with perfect body horror and a devastating ending)
The New Kid: 2 Stars (An abizmal terrible story full of typical tropes)
Stitch Wraith Epilogue 3: 4 Stars (Developed the story further but a bit too slow paced for my liking)
I was so hopeful for this novel especially after adoring Room For One More but then I read the first few pages of The New Kid and my face fell flat. Whilst Room For One More is one of the best of the series so far The New Kid has to be the worst even worse then Count The Ways. Ignoring The New Kid this entry has improved up on a lot from its previous novels and shows that Adult Protagonists are the right way to go.
I'll talk about the negatives then get into the positives. There's so many negatives and positives but these are just some of the main things that bug me.
I wish that 1:35 AM and The New Kid were shortened severely they could have absolutely done with less pages. It felt so dragged out unecessarily, The New Kid as well to the point I had to put the audiobook on higher speed. The middle story was the perfect pace and whilst we did have slice of life parts it didn't take over the story. I feel like fnaf stories work better when their more fast pace, I think that's also why critics couldn't get into the movie. Hoping future stories improve this.
Secondly the repetitiveness. I don't how or why but for some reason each story had to have a repetitive nature and it appalled me. Despite loving Room For One More I have to admit that even falls into this trap despite it being the best story of the collection. Every story beat is so generic where by the time the final story came I was just begging to have the book be over. Repetiveness only works in horror if it's a timeloop or super natural element. I can get what the authors are trying to do but seeing the main characters life routine tons of times slows the beat of the story for me.
Finally, the vagueness. One of the main reasons that The New Kid was so poor is because I had no idea what the hell was going on and I don't think the writers did either. Without any major spoilers, is Devon a target because he's a menacing bully or is it because he's an outcast. I feel like it was Twisty and turny for the sake of it. It was also bizzare and random to the point it feels completely out of place from the other stories. Vauge Horror only works when the up to interpretation narrative is done right. If other people have to ask what happened in the story its not a good story through and through.
With that out of the way let's get onto some of the positives of this collection. From reading this review it may sound like I hate this book but I don't I'm just hugely disappointed in the last story and how it fell back into the tropes of the other Fazbear Frights volumes when the stories before were absolutely amazing.
Now that being said I loved the fact that we had actually likeable protagonists. Minus Devon I actually really sympathised with Deliah and Stanley as they were just down on their luck adults who got caught up in the world of fazbear at the wrong time. We shouldn't be routing for the downfall of the main character we should be sympathising with them, sure they can have flaws but they shouldn't be downright evil. Fazbear Frights is at it's absolute best when it presents us down on your luck characters who tried to turn the life around but Fazbear destroyed everything.
Secondly I love the horror. Finally some of these stories are actually scary and unnerving. Horror should leave you icky and traumatised and I haven't felt this unnerved since I read To Be Beautiful. I absolutely understand that these novels are targeted for a younger audience so some stuff has been downplayed but sometimes horror especially in the fnaf shouldn't be at all especially when it's a story told in the horror format. I get scholastic wanting to appeal to a middle grade audience but its always bugged me. The stories here are not downplayed though and there's actually a true sense of dread.
Finally Room For One More as a whole. It was the best part of the book and what exactly a good Fazbear Frights should be. It uses a setting from the game and utilises very creepy animatronics perfectly. It also keeps the mystery without it feeling cheap and confusing . The length was perfect too as it didn't feel like it dragged on but also didn't feel too quick. Simple but really good. The body horror had me almost nauseous and gagging. I was sat in suspense as I turned the pages and the ending was truly horrifying in the best possible way. This is the story that gives you the most and I hope future installments produce more stories like this.
Overall a really good set of short stories heavily let down by its last one. The horror has been amped up perfectly as well as the stakes.
The Epilogue definitely has me hooked.
My overall rating for this anthology would be 3 stars but my individual rating as followed goes as followed.
1:35 AM: 4 Stars (amazing but let down by its repetitive and show don't tell nature)
Room For One More: 5 Stars (Incredible with perfect body horror and a devastating ending)
The New Kid: 2 Stars (An abizmal terrible story full of typical tropes)
Stitch Wraith Epilogue 3: 4 Stars (Developed the story further but a bit too slow paced for my liking)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Room for one more is absolutely gorey be prepared.
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