This series has been around for decades now, in and out of publication, on the tv screen, and even in a movie or two. The books are great fun for kids, if a little slow and predictable for adults. They’re sort of hit and miss in the entertainment department, though. Some of them are genuinely horrific, some are real thrillers, some are adventurous fun, and some are really boring. The sequels in particular tend to be rehashes with nothing new to add. But even some of the original stories are dull. The twist endings, like the Twilight Zone tv series, are where these books shine, but even those are sometimes unimaginative and can become boring. Read too many in a row, and you’ll easily predict what’s coming next. Character development is largely missing, as well. The protagonists and their friends and siblings tend to rise from the same stock. They’re mostly there just to propel the plot forward, which works well enough as long as you’re not expecting more. The writing itself isn’t unique, original, or stylistic, and sometimes you can really see where the author, RL Stine, was phoning it in. Go into one or two of these books with the expectation of basic fun and a few groans and chuckles, and you won’t be disappointed. But if you think there’s much more than that, you’ll be bored in no time.
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