Reviews

La Nuit des Pantins by R.L. Stine

Only show reviews with written explanations

alifromkc1907's review against another edition

5.0

Gut Instinct Rating: 4
Characters: 4.25
Believability: 5
Uniqueness: 5
Writing Style: 5
Excitement Factor: 4.5
Story Line: 5
Title Relevance: 5
Artwork Relevance: 5
Overall: 4.75

jeanbigurra's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

grandpas_farts's review against another edition

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3.0

When I was a wee person in the 90s my brother collected Goosebumps. Since he was so overprotective of his books as I am now, he'd never let me even lookat his Goosebumps collection, well, look at any butNight of the Living Dummy. Why? Look at that older cover. Pictured is a beautiful brown skin dummy with black hair, an open mouth and eerie green eyed glow stare. Seeing only the cover gave my goosebumps goosebumps (had to do the lame joke). As I got older, as in yesterday, I decided to see if my digital library had a copy of the book cover that gave me nightmares, well they did, so I read.

I regret not reading this as a wee 90s child because there is no doubt that I would have enjoyed this book more back then. Constantly throughout the book I had to remind myself this is literature written for 9-12 year olds, not 25 year old teachers.

I loved the way R.L. Stine sets the scene in his novel. Although he writes for younger readers, he does not use kiddy language! No, there is no cursing or SAT words but he doesn't just say "Lindy was scared," he'd set the mood by describing "Lindy felt a chill roll up her spine." I appreciate that, just because they are young does not mean pre-teens have to suffer through basic language.

I would suggest this novel for younger reader wanting to switch up their reading genre or just a fan of horror. Going through the Goosebumps list on Goodreads I laughed remembering all the ones my brother had and being so curious on what they were about. I may rent a few more to cure my childhood's curiosity, plus, I feel that Stine is one of those "everyone in the 90s read this" author kind of like Blume or the Animorphs books.

connorjdaley's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

5.0

Grabbed the audio for a long car ride with my fiancée. This one was one of the scariest episodes in the show and haunted me for years! This one has definitely been read multiple times.

It’s funny reading it now, as I happened to get through Revenge of the Living Dummy and Slappy, Beware! before this one, and I have to say there is clearly a very formulaic way that Stine writes the Slappy stories. At least in the examples giving, it’s one kid get doll, the other gets jealous, another doll gets bought, and then Slappy mayhem ensues. Most of them have little twists and changes that would keep them fresh for kids, but as an adult I clearly caught on.

Regardless, this one was THE beginning for Slappy and it’s obvious why so much was built around him within the world of Goosebumps. Fantastic and classic cliffhanger. Personally will remain a 5/5* for what it achieves and for haunting my dreams for years.