Reviews - The Cuckoo Clock of Doom

111 reviews for:

The Cuckoo Clock of Doom

R.L. Stine

3.48 AVERAGE

amyacowan's review

3.5

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

pixey007's review

3.0

funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

collinssar's review

1.5

fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

liamunderwood's review against another edition

2.5

The Cuckoo Clock of Doom is an odd Goosebumps book. It's yet another entry where the 'horror' (and in this example I use that term very loosely) originates from an object, in this case a cuckoo clock, and this trope is rarely my favourite. I've accused these books of being padded before - most recently in A Night in Terror Tower - but it has yet to be more apparent than in The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. We basically read the same series of events twice, and for some unfathomable reason the second time these events play out there is very little done to change the course of action. I know R.L. Stine churns books out at a rapid pace, but the writing here is incredibly lazy.

And yet... I did find myself chuckling on occasion during The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. The protagonist, Michael, has some wry observations, although admittedly it's not clear if these are actually intended to be comical or not. The logic within this book is inconsistent, but once Stine pushes past the repeated events I did find myself more interested in how the plot plays out. At no point is this a particularly spooky Goosebumps book, but I didn't mind it too much overall.

2.5/5

Goosebumps Ranked
1) One Day At Horrorland - 4/5
2) Stay Out of the Basement - 4/5
3) Attack of the Mutant - 3.5/5
4) Welcome to Dead House - 3.5/5
5) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder - 3.5/5
6) Night of the Living Dummy - 3.5/5
7) The Girl Who Cried Monster - 3.5/5
8) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp - 3.5/5
9) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight - 3/5
10) The Haunted Mask - 3/5
11) The Ghost Next Door - 3/5
12) Monster Blood - 3/5
13) Deep Trouble - 3/5
14) Say Cheese and Die! - 3/5
15) A Night in Terror Tower - 2.5/5
16) Why I'm Afraid of Bees - 2.5/5
17) The Cuckoo Clock of Doom - 2.5/5
18) Be Careful What You Wish For... - 2.5/5
19) The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb - 2.5/5
20) Monster Blood II - 2/5
21) My Hairiest Adventure - 2/5
22) Go Eat Worms! - 2/5
23) Return of the Mummy - 2/5
24) Let's Get Invisible! - 2/5
25) Welcome to Camp Nightmare - 2/5
26) You Can't Scare Me - 1/5