So 2.5. I remembered by the end of the book why i kept returning to the Fear Street books time and again. At some point the action begins and its easy to get lost in it.



I'll be honest...while I devoured Fear Street novels as a kid (12/13 or so) they are not what you'd call tightly written grand works. They are enjoyable cotton candy that while didn't often frighten me (by the time I was reading Fear Street I had been watching Slasher/Horror films for nearly a decade, Fear Street paled in comparison to some of them) they did leave me guessing as to whether it would be a mundane reason or a supernatural one. And just how ridiculous the wrap up could get.

So to that PARTY GAMES perfectly excels. I wasn't sure, even as the book wrapped up, whether this was a supernatural story or a whacked out mundane one and while it had shades of my favorite show Harper's Island it wasn't an out and out similar situation.

Where Stine excels, where he has always excelled in my opinion, is his ability to draw a reader in. Sometimes it takes a little while, but by the time he starts the ball rolling towards the ridiculous conclusion you'll be eagerly turning the pages like I do.

Here's the thing - Rachel is not likable. Brendan, his friends, his cousins...they're not really likable. They're not well developed beyond some traits to hang off them. His best friend for instance was basically a class clown sort, who hit on everything and made off color jokes. Rachel endlessly calls him "cute" and "adorable in his own way". And despite what the summary may lead you to believe Brendan Fear is not apparently the most popular kid ever. He's gamer chic - that is he's a hardcore gamer (in every sense of the word), but he's not your typical gamer. He's more hipster really.

Rachel is also firmly of the "too stupid to live" category of heroines--but that's par for the course in Fear Street novels so I would have been surprised if she had any sort of survival instinct. Throughout the novel she makes countless newbie Scream Queen errors that if not for the grace of God (Stine that is) things would have gone much differently.

Which leads me to a weird sort of complaint but...[spoiler]no one dies. I mean literally, no one dies. Those who do "die" aren't dead, they're part of an elaborate prank and when the real bad guys pop around they're basically all talk[/spoiler] I'll give Stine credit, he managed to one up himself with the story of Brendan's great aunt the Taxidermist who well taxidermied (is that the word?) herself alive. That story was all kinds of creepy. As was the pit of human bones (yeah I can see the Fears playing "The Most Dangerous Game" with their servants...creeps). Plus he tossed in a few red herrings that weren't very obvious as being decoys.

Still the ending is kind of bland and just like every other Fear Street book I'm left wondering about the parents of this town. Seriously--even if this one had a low body count (compared to older books) I'm still surprised any of them choose to remain in a town with such a dark, gory and murderous past. And Rachel's parents! Oh my shiny stars - she never makes mention of them being concerned about her wellfare. She just decides to run off to a remote nie on unreachable island owned by a family who's last name is basically a by word for "creepy", overnight with a group of friends she maybe mentioned in passing. This doesn't ring any bells at all?

I'm happy to return to Shadyside, and while it wasn't quite what I was expecting given some of the lead up and events that occurred, I did enjoy the absurdity of it all. Here's hoping there's more planned that bring back the creep factor!
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As a teen, I read almost all of the Fear Street books (and owned most of them as well). When I found that Stine had started writing the series again, I got a bit excited (even as an adult). This book was rather tame compared to some of the others that I have read in the past. And actually, kind of redundant, because he has done the horror party a few times before. Kind of disappointed. ( )

Like everyone who has read the new Fear Street novels, I am a huge fan of R. L. Stine’s work. The books he has written have been a great part of my childhood. I was excited to relive my childhood through this thrilling adventure. His stories have kept me hooked and engaged for many years. Whenever I read a Fear Street novel, I’m taken away to a completely different world. I'm excited to read the new books and see what else is in store.

Party Games failed to capture my attention, unfortunately. It wasn’t the writing that bothered me - I didn’t mind it at all. Despite passaging time, his writing remained true to the essence of his older books. The storyline itself was what bothered me. This differs from I thought. Some characters were the lamest and most boring I have ever seen, especially Rachel, our protagonist.

I hate the ending, because it’s nauseatingly cheesy, illogical, and half-assed. The fake police save Brendan and Rachel. Really, that’s your only idea? Within seconds, the fake police solved everything. Rachel returns to the island to search for a jacket for no apparent reason, despite being scarred for life. Besides returning to the island, she also walks around by herself. Exactly why? Then at the end, she sees a ghost... really? Wow, what a waste of time.

I read this quick read in one sitting, but the ending was disappointing. This book isn’t my style and is unrealistic, but I can see its appeal. The author's previous books are better. ( )

Rachel is thrilled to receive an invitation to popular guy, Brendan Fear's birthday party. It's on a deserted island and when the staff hired for the party take off leaving the party stranded, the murders start to happen.

I grew up reading Point Horror books, many of which were written by R L Stine so I was interested to see if there had been any development in the interim years. It was all pretty much the same: the pretty-but-she-can't-see-it main character, the annoying goofball, the attractive guy who may be a deranged killer, etc. It was all kind of entertaining , if you can suspend your disbelief, but lacks substance or character development. ( )

Not as creepy as I was hopping for. It started out swell but then the swelling went down.
This was part of my October reads list. I love my Goosebumps collection, maybe the Fear Street books just aren't my thing.
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