MONSTER BLOOD IV
Goosebumps #62: Monster Blood IV © 1997 by Parachute Press. Cover Art by Tim Jacobus. Sequel to: Monster Blood, Monster Blood II & Monster Blood III Spoiler-Free Review Monster Blood IV surpassed my expectations. I thought it was going to be...
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MONSTER BLOOD IV
Goosebumps #62: Monster Blood IV managed to surpass my basement low expectations and become my favorite of the Monster Blood books, but that still wasn’t enough to make it good. This is also the final book in the original Goosebumps series, and will therefore be my final Goosebumps review. It’s been real but I’m glad to be done!
THE BEST FRIEND
Fear Street #17: The Best Friend has a reputation for being the most controversial Fear Street book back in its day, but I thought it was one of the series best. I love me a complex and nuanced villain.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY II
Goosebumps #31: Night of the Living Dummy II was a fun read and a significant improvement on the first book. It still suffers from a lack of depth for the living dummy itself, but it was all-around a more enjoyable read.
NEW YORK COMIC CON 2021
My first big convention since 2019, and my eighth return to NYCC. I didn't have a table, but I reconnected with friends, bought too many books, fought off imposter syndrome, and made it home with some new ideas.
TRICK OR TREAT
Richie Tankersley Cusick's Trick or Treat builds a creepy atmosphere from the first page and never relents. It follows familiar patterns and doesn't quite sell the twist ending, but it's still a really fun and spooky read.
99 FEAR STREET: THE THIRD HORROR
99 Fear Street #3: The Third Horror brings the trilogy to an explosive conclusion. While I appreciated its different approach, it still left behind a lot of questions and suspicious motives.
99 FEAR STREET: THE SECOND HORROR
99 Fear Street #2: The Second Horror was saved from mediocrity by an out-of-left-filed twist ending, but that didn't do enough to make up for the largely uninspired plot.
99 FEAR STREET: THE FIRST HORROR
99 Fear Street #1: The First Horror kicks off the trilogy on a strong note. It's nothing new so far as haunted houses go, but it's a solid story and pushes the envelope for scares we might expect in a typical Fear Street novel. It also works fairly well as a stand-alone.
REMEMBER ME 2: THE RETURN
Christopher Pike's Remember Me 2 was a problematic mess. It's an argument for avoiding sequels altogether unless you're James Cameron. On the plus side, it gave me a lot to write about.
IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SINK
Goosebumps #30: It Came From Beneath the Sink was a great title with all of the elements needed to make a great Goosebumps book, but it failed to raise the stakes high enough and ended up being forgettable.
MEET ME IN OUTER SPACE
I've been making Blair a new mix every year since 2014. What started as a means of processing my grief has become a tradition I look forward to. Today would have been his 54th birthday.
THE BABYSITTER II
R.L Stine's The Babysitter II is a competent but uninspired sequel. I guessed the twist early and got bored with the dream sequences. The only thing that saved it was its cast of characters.
MONSTER BLOOD III
Goosebumps #29: Monster Blood III is a case of diminishing returns. At three books in, we still haven't seen any bleeding monsters or a monster blood bank. I feel cheated by the promise of the title.