Book Review: FEAR: 13 STORIES OF SUSPENSE AND HORROR by R.L Stine

FEAR: 13 STORIES OF SUSPENSE AND HORROR by R.L Stine


Product Details

ISBN: 9781742750460

Format:Paperback

Imprint:Random House Australia

Published:01/12/10

Subject:Child Fiction : Young Adult

Turn the pages if you dare . . .

DESCRIPTION OF BOOK

In this collection of thirteen fabulously chilling stories - from thirteen true masters of suspense, including five NEW YORK TIMES bestsellers and a number of Edgar Award nominees, all edited by none other than R. L. Stine - nothing is what it seems. From cannibalistic children, to an unwitting date with a vampire, to a crush on a boy who just might be a werewolf, no scary stone is left unturned. A must-have for all fans of the genre!



Includes stories by: R.L. Stine, Meg Cabot, Heather Brewer, F. Paul Wilson, Suzanne Weyn, Jennifer Allison, Peg Kehret, Alane Ferguson, Ryan Brown, Walter Sorrells, James Rollins and Tim Maleeny.



Review

R.L.Stine has been one of my favourite YA authors since I first picked up a copy of Goosebumps Welcome to Dead House in 1992. There is something about an author that can write a horror story aimed at a young audience and achieve the thrills without the range of tools that are available to adult horror fiction writers. Stine has been called the Stephen King for the young audience, a title that the prolific author well and truly deserves. Stine has pumped out over 361 books in the last twenty years, not a bad effort even if they are around the 100 page mark each.

Stories included in this collection are short pieces of fiction from R.L. Stine (widely considered the king of children’s horror writing, who edited and contributed to the collection), Meg Cabot, Heather Brewer, Tim Maleeny, Heather Graham, Alane Ferguson, Jennifer Allison, Walter Sorrells, Peg Kehret, Suzanne Weyn, Jim Rollins, F. Paul Wilson and Ryan Brown.

R.L. Stine's "Welcome to the Club" - A boy is pressured to join a club by killing his mean boss.

Tim Maleeny’s “Ray Gun” – The title says it all.

Jim Rollins’ “Tagged” – The longest story of the collection at 33 pages.

Heather Graham's "She's Different Tonight" - A cruel boy messes with the wrong girl on Halloween.



Suzanne Weyn's "Suckers" - On a distant planet, humans keep disappearing.



Jennifer Allison's "The Perfects" - The Perfect's children are a babysitter's worst nightmare.



Heather Brewer's "Shadow Children" - A portal leads to another realm where shadow versions can replace human children.



Peg Kehret's "The Poison Ring" - The theft of a poison ring sends a girl on a trail of deception and danger.



Alane Ferguson's "Dragonfly Eyes" - A school shooter takes two girls hostage; and one will die.



Ryan Brown's "Jeepers Peepers" - A young boy's worst fears come true.



F. Paul Wilson's "Piney Power" - A mysterious community enacts their own brand of justice on trespassers.



Meg Cabot's "The Night Hunter" - Even heroes needs a little help once in a while.



Walter Sorrells' "Tuition" - A boy pulls one more theft to pay for his college education.

This collection is a must have for an YA thriller/horror fan.

All of the authors involved in this anthology including R.L. Stine have generously donated their stories to this effort. Half of the proceeds from the FEAR anthology go to support RIF (Reading is Fundamental), and the other half go to support ITW. The International Thriller Writers warmly thanks the authors for their time and effort.