R. L. Stine

After Connor Buckley and his friends start playing a new role-playing card game called Be Afraid, they soon realize that everything they do in the game is coming true in real life. Original.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Colton Ray

Wow, this book. I'd heard a lot of bad things about this book, saying it's the worst of the series. Usually, I tend to like the books other people hate, though. It's the only Goosebumps 2000 book left in our entire library system, so I checked it out and read it, and while it's not the trainwreck everyone says it is, it has a lot of major flaws. First off, I wanted to like the premise. Three kids steal a card game from their neighbor and when they play it, the characters in the game appear in real life. This is not a new idea, but it's cool in that it's basically Jumanji in Goosebumps form. [The next few sentences are spoilers] After the neighbor finds out they stole his cards, he sends them into the world of the game. This world is kind of dumb, but at least Stine bothered to create a few new creatures instead of sticking to dwarves and elves. However, a little after halfway through the book, the story literally stops and takes up with a new set of characters. These characters have been reading the same book as us (yes, you) and are pissed that the story has no ending (so was I). Then THEY get sucked into the story. Now, I love meta-fictional stuff like this; when done well, it can be really fun and mind-screwy. However, R.L. Stine fumbles it. [End of spoilers] There's really no logic to the way this happens. In fact, there's really no logic to the story at all. A couple events happen that make no sense and are never mentioned again. Also, I think these characters might actually be the dumbest ones in the Goosebumps legacy, and maybe in children's literature in general. The dialogue here is just so off-the-wall ridiculous. None of the sentences are merely spoken, they're shrieked or whispered or gasped. Everything that happens in the book is just so melodramatic it's cheesy. However, for all that, I don't hate the book. It actually kept me entertained; it was never boring. I'm partial to fantasy, card games, and the Jumanji story, so that may be why I like it a good deal more than other people. I'm glad Stine took a risk with the fantasy setting and the metafiction twist - even if the story wasn't so successful - but I can't wholeheartedly recommend this book. If you're at all interested, give it a whirl - results may vary.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

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