Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of book: Circle of Fire Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-307-24800-3 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear, House of Whispers, Forbidden Secrets, The Sign of Fear, sequels: Daughters of Silence, Children of Fear, Dance of Death...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1745, 1845, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: February 1998 Summary: Mia Saxton hates Miss Pemberthy's School for Young Ladies. She has no friends there, no one to talk to. Then Mia stumbles across a secret group-a group of girls who practice the dark arts. As she is drawn into their circle, the spells become darker and more dangerous. Mia's worst enemy ends up dead. Will she be next? Or can she escape the evil that has been unleashed? Characters: The characters have a little more depth than in previous books but still very little is explored about them. It also gives an interesting view into the girl clique...

Name of book: Daughters of Silence Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-00293-7 Publisher: Archway Paperback Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear, House of Whispers, Forbidden Secrets, The Sign of Fear, sequels: Daughters of Silence, Children of Fear, Dance of Death...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult,1878 , horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: April 1997 Summary: When Angelica and Simon Fear lost their two daughters, it nearly destroyed them. Now the Fears have only one mission-to summon every ounce of dark power within them, and bring their daughters back from the dead. It is to be their ultimate act of dark magic. And when it calls for the murders of two innocent girls, Simon and Angelica don't hesitate. Their daughters are waiting... Characters: In the sagas the novels aren't character driven, so of course the characters tend to be cardboard and a bit on the flat side. They do have motives but not i...

Name of book: Children of Fear Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-00294-5 Publisher: Archway Paperback Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear, House of Whispers, Forbidden Secrets, The Sign of Fear, sequels: Daughters of Silence, Children of Fear, Dance of Death...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult,1876 , horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: June 1997 Summary: Luke Fier hates hearing the townspeople talk about his younger sister, Leah. They call her evil. They say she has unnatural powers. Leah does have a strange talent-she can communicate with animals. But Luke is sure she would never use this gift for evil. At least he was sure before their parents' horrible accident. Now Leah seems so different. So angry. Luke is almost frightened of her. Could his sister's gift destroy them both? Characters: As I mentioned previously, the characters seem to be wearing masks but there is little depth beyond that. Sti...

Name of book: Heart of the Hunter Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-00296-1 Publisher: Archway paperback Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear, House of Whispers, Forbidden Secrets, The Sign of Fear, sequels: Daughters of Silence, Children of Fear, Dance of Death...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1792, 1795, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: October 1997 Summary: A medicine woman tells Jamie FIer that she knows hot he can win the heart of the girl he loves. But it will cost him. She gives Jamie a potion to drink. And that night, when the moon is full, Jamie finds himself transforming-into a wolf! With each full moon, he transforms again. But if his true love sees him while he is in the form of a wolf, he will remain a wolf...forever. Characters: Although the characters lack dimension, they are not alike and have more dimension to them. That is Laura is the selfish girl, Amanda is the girl that cares fo...

Name of book: The Hidden Evil Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-000292-9 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear, House of Whispers, Forbidden Secrets, The Sign of Fear, sequels: Daughters of Silence, Children of Fear, Dance of Death...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1847,1858, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published:  February 1997 Summary: Timothy has a story to tell. A dangerous story. A story that has power over those who listen to it. The power to awaken creatures best left sleeping. The power to summon the dead. It is a story of evil. The worst evil imaginable-the evil in the heart of a child. Come and listen to Timothy's story-if you are not afraid... Characters: If you read Chamber of Fear, this story is either an experiment or earlier version of it. There is the good guy and the bad guy, and of course let's not forget about the people that are supposed to fill in the...

Name of book: Chamber of Fear Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-307-24801-1 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear...Daughters of Silence...The Awakening Evil, Circle of Fire, sequels: Faces of Terror, One Last Kiss, Door of Death, The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1845, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: May 1998 Summary: Carolyn takes a job as assistant to a famous magician. Carolyn knows her mother died trying to unlock the secrets of the Chamber of Fear, the magician's most dangerous prop. No one has ever entered the Chamber and lived. The spirits of those wo have tried are trapped in the Chamber forever. But Carolyn is determined to take a job with the magician and master the Chamber to free her mother's spirit. Even if it costs her own life! Characters: The characters are slightly more fleshed out and believable instead of using the "twist" so to speak. Still, some thing...

Name of book: The Awakening Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-00297-x Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear...The Hidden Evil...Dance of Death, Heart of the Hunter, Sequels: Circle of Fire, Chamber of Fear, Faces of Terror, all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1898-1899, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: December 1997 Summary: Everyone knows the story of the Evil. The Evil that terrorized Corky Corcoran and the cheerleaders of Shadyside High. The Evil that destroyed Sarah Fear one hundred years ago. Everyone thinks they know the story. But the true story has remained hidden. Only Sarah Fear knows where the Evil began. What it wants. And why it kills. Read Sarah's story...and discover the truth at last. Characters: The characters seem to take much more of an interesting role beyond being killed or maimed. I do think that the relationship between Jason and Sarah is a tad bit...

Name of book: The Sign of Fear Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-00291-0 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear, House of Whispers, Forbidden Secrets Sequels The Hidden Evil, Daughters of Silence, Children of Fear...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1710, 1679, 50 A.D, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published:  December 1996 Summary: Fieran. A young warrior driven by revenge. He created the Fear amulet-and cursed the Fear family for all eternity. Christina. A young servant girl struggling for survival. She found the Fear amulet centuries later-and may be destroyed by its evil. Characters: Although the characters are somewhat interesting, there is not much depth to them and again they seem like caricatures more than anything else. Theme: Revenge is not worth it, and things can go wrong. Plot: This is told from two points of view in third person; from Christina and Fieran. It's ...

Name of book: House of Whispers Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-52953-6 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear,  Sequels Forbidden Secrets, The Sign of Fear, The Hidden Evil...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1863, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published:  June 1996 Summary: Amy Pierce knows nothing of the terrifying Fear history when she arrives for a visit with Simon and Angelica Fear. Their New Orleans mansion is beautiful-but Amy senses something evil there. Something that watches her. Waits for her. Will Amy be strong enough to escape the powers controlled by the Fear family? Characters: Again this is one of the better Fear Street novels because the characters are much more evident and are drawn better than in previous books. Despite this though, they are caricatures once more. It's interesting to see Angelica ruling the nest while her husband Simon is away. (I wouldn't ...

Name of book: Forbidden Secrets Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-52954-4 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: prequels: A New Fear, House of Whispers, Sequels The Sign of Fear, The Hidden Evil, Daughters of Silence...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1861-1865, late 1800s early 1900s?, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published:  September 1996 Summary: The dark power of hte Fear family consumes all those connected with it. The Fears themselves. Those they love-and hate. No one can escape the evil of the family's curse. Savannah Madison (Gentry) doesn't believe that! She marries Tyler-event hough he's a Fear. But then she goes with him to Blackrose Manor. That's when the deaths begin. That's when the horror surrounds her. That's when she learns his terrible secret... Characters: Again, the characters are caricatures of sorts and don't change at all throughout the novel....

Name of book: A New Fear Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-52952-8 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: House of Whispers, Forbidden Secrets, The Sign of Fear...all the way to The Hand of Power Type of book: Young adult, 1900-1901, 1919, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: March 1996 Summary: Nora Goode and Daniel Fear hoped to end the curse of hte Fear family. But on their wedding day, a horrible fire swept through the Fear mansion, taking the life of every member of the doomed family. Except one. A new Fear. The child of Nora and Daniel. Will he be able to live hsi life untouched by the evil of his family? Or will the dark forces claim yet another Fear for their own? Characters: In this book, it's obvious, very obvious, who is the bad guy and the good guy. No hidden motives or memorable characters. This book is a masquerade of modern trying to be historical. Theme: There are times where you cannot escape your destin...

Name of book: Door of Death Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-307-24804-6 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: Hand of Power afterwards. Before: One Last kiss , Faces of Terror, Chamber of Fear, Circle of Fire, etc, all the way to A New Fear Type of book: Young adult, 1853-1854, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: November 1998 Summary: No one belives the Halloween legend about old Jake Fear. But Amy Burke does. In terrifying visions, she saw Jake Fear rise from the grave and kill her two best friends. She know sthis is no tall tale. Jake Fear is coming tomorrow night. But Amy doesn't know that he plans to take her back to his grave...as his ghost bride. Characters: The characters seemed a bit interesting but again not memorable and at least for me, not people I easily sympathized or liked. Theme: As it is repeated, cheaters never prosper. Plot: I think some parts of it were ripped from Christopher Pike's Whisper of...

Name of book: The Hand of Power Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-307-24805-4 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: Before: Door of Death, One Last kiss , Faces of Terror, Chamber of Fear, Circle of Fire, etc, all the way to A New Fear Type of book: Young adult, 1664, 1624-1625, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: January 1999 Summary: Margarete Fier doesn't like using her strange ability to see into the past. BUt when her fiance, Peter Sturdevant, asks her to help him, Margarete agrees. He knows a mysterious source of power is hidden somewhere in his mansion. He's desperate to have it. But then Margarete finds the power-along with its legacy of danger, despair, and death... Characters: In all honesty, I didn't think that the characters were memorable in any way. There were attempts at making them human, but I think the author didn't do a successful job at it. Theme: In all honesty, no matter how I think or try to a...

Name of book: Faces of terror Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-307-24802-x Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: One Last kiss, Door of Death, Hand of Power afterwards. Before: Chamber of Fear, Circle of Fire, etc, all the way to A New Fear Type of book: Young adult, 1867, horror, Fier Saga Year it was published: July 1998 Summary: A nightmare convinces Elizabeth Nelson that something terrible has happened to her brother Thomas. So she travels to Cliff House, the home of Thomas's mysterious employer, Peter Gustavson. But there's something strange about Gustavson. He spends his days creating grotesque wax figures, their faces frozen in terror. Now Elizabeth wonders, is Gustavson evil? Evil enough to lie to her? Evil enough to murder her brother? Characters: The characters are a bit interesting but to me they aren't very memorable unfortunately. They are one dimensional and simplistic, not complex personalities. One can read i...

Name of book: One Last Kiss Author Name: R.L Stine ISBN: 0-307-24803-8 Publisher: Parachute Press Part of a Series: Fear Street Sagas: Door of Death, Hand of Power afterwards. Before: Faces of Terror, Chamber of Fear, Circle of Fire, etc, all the way to A New Fear Type of book: Young adult, 1730, vampires, Fier Year it was published: September 1998 Summary:  Eleanor Rawlins's mother was killed by vampires-now her father is obsessed with killing them. Eleanor jsut wants a normal life-but that's not possible. Even her handsome neighbor Trevor Fier can't protect her from the creatures of the night and their kiss of death... Characters: I think that the characters here are much more on a deeper scale rather than in previous novels. But because the book was not longer, it is impossible to go deeply into their psyches to understand them. Theme: I'm honestly uncertain of what the message is. I think that more than anything, this was written purel...

Name of book:  The Burning Author Name:  R.L Stine ISBN: 0-671-86833-0 Publisher:  Archway Paperback, Parachute Inc Type of book:  Kid to young adult, attempt at being historical, horror Year it was published:  October 1993 Summary: Simon Fear thought changing his name would stop the evil. He was wrong-dead wrong. After generations of unspeakable horror, it is up to Daniel and Nora, brought together by their fateful love, to unite the feuding families. But is their forbidden love strong enough to withstand such awesome evil? Poor Nora-desperate to tell the truth and bury the family curse…before it buries her. Characters: Again the characters are interesting and somewhat fascinating for one dimensional characters. I do have problem with Angelica though. In the novel we get a chance to get a glimpse at her thoughts and actions and behavior. In thoughts, there is no indication that she thought Simon was her soul-mate until later o...

Name of book:  The Secret Author Name:  R.L Stine ISBN:  0-671-86832-2 Publisher:  Archway Paperback, Parachute Inc Type of book:  Kid to young adult, attempt at being historical, horror Year it was published:  September 1993 Part of the series:   The Fear Street Saga Summary:  What is the secret of Fear Street? Why has its horror lasted for so long? Ezra Fier wants to find out. He searches for the answer among the rotting bones in the ghostly town of Wickham. But he finds only betrayal and death. Elizabeth and Kate are in love with the same boy. How can they know that they too are caught by the evil that will haunt this family forever? Characters:  The characters are a little far more unique and entertaining; in beginning two sections of the book you have Jonathan who is good and doesn't desire or want the father's power; then you have the mother who confuses her youngest daughter for her eldest, (the si...

Name of book:  The Betrayal Author Name:  R.L Stine ISBN:  0-671-86831-4 Publisher:  Archway Paperback, Parachute Inc Type of book:  Kid to young adult? Year it was published:  August 1993 Summary: Why do so many horrifying things happen on Fear Street? Nora knows. She knows how the terror began. She knows about the young girl who burned at the stake-and the bloody feud between two families that caused the unspeakable horror that has lasted 300 years!  She knows, and she wants to tell. Are you sure you want to hear it? Characters: The characters are one dimensional and have very little personality distinguishing them from one another. The story is mostly focused from female perspective and supposedly it takes place from witch hunts in Salem until 1725. The characters were also victims of circumstance and although they attempted to stand up for themselves, (as in the case of Susana who tries to deal with the mob that ...

Interesting Ideas Title of Book: Dance of Death Author name: R.L Stine (Cameron Dokey) ISBN: 0-671-00295-3 Publisher: Archway Paperback Original Type of book: Young adult/children, horror, attempt at being historical Year it was published: August 1997 Part of the series: Fear Street Sagas #8   Summary:   After the bizarre deaths of her parents, Madeline never expects to feel happy again. Then she falls in love with Justin FIer, a handsome young doctor. She is warned away from Justin by a young man no one else sees, and an old woman everyone thinks is crazy. They tell her Justin is a man driven by an evil quest that destroys any woman who dares to love him. Is it too late? Can Madeline escape the curse of the Fears? Characters: The main character in this novel is Madeline Simms who lost her family recently and goes on to live with some cousins. Madeline can be described as brave and fearless to do what is need...