User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I think this book is about as well-written as the Goosebumps books, but I couldn’t help but notice that this book is horribly negative towards its teen girl protagonists. I would definitely hesitate to give these stories to girls.
The first story has a young boy protagonist and the narrative is sympathetic towards him. The last two stories have teen girl protagonists.
The stories are viciously judgmental towards them for wanting things many girls that age want—to be pretty and to have a boyfriend.
The punishments they face are many, many degrees more violent and extreme than the ones faced by the male protagonist. I hope as this series continues, the writers evaluate the messages they are promoting.
Rating: really liked it
I finally managed to pick up Fazbear Frights after watching so many Game Theory videos listening to MatPat chat about this series. I have loved the video games and lore since the original Five Nights at Freddy's came out (yeah, I'm an OG - it's been a fun and wild ride), so it was a natural fit to pick up this series. It took a while, but I managed to pick up a copy on my Kobo (FINALLY...). And then it took me a while to get into this book.
I'm going to keep my review short and sweet, but will post all of my thoughts on my blog. This book was... not exactly a winner for me.
Into the Pit - Oswald's story - was the best of the three. The start isn't the best, but once you get going it's pretty fun! The lore from the video games made me smile even if they aren't supposed to be directly connected. This story got about a 4/5 from me.
Sarah's story was the middle book with the middle rating. The self esteem issues our new friend Sarah has made me sad and I really wish it wouldn't have been the main plot of the story. The animatronic and creepy nature of the story was SO COOL but was overpowered by the fat phobia and female self esteem issues. Seriously, so sad. 3/5 for story but downgraded to 2/5 for the harsh treatment of female beauty standards.
Millie's story... was super lacking for me. It just didn't sit well with me and I was bored to tears. We should have gone out with a bang, but we didn't. 1/5. I just didn't enjoy the "how can we die" monologue over and over and over... It felt dull, but that's not my type of horror.
And then the epilogue. This is an interesting one because, from my understanding, each book is going to have another piece of this story and keep continuing until the last book of the Fazbear Frights series. Super cool though, but honestly... I'm not going to binge all of these books in a row, so I'd bet some serious money (if I had any...) that I'm going to forget to go back and re-read all of the epilogues. Maybe I will... but I doubt it. Cool marketing technique though. It might get a few more people binging the books. Maybe.
Overall... It's okay. Not the best, but still a pretty good start. I'm going to slowly work my way through this series since I'm a FNAF nerd, but I'm not in a real big rush. But I am impressed we're basically getting a Goosebumps/Fear Street anthology series from FNAF. I LOVED Goosebumps as a kid, so seeing an adult guilty pleasure of mine trying their own spin on the horror anthology? Super cool. I dig it.
Two out of five stars.
Rating: really liked it
(NON SPOILER)
I received an ARC of this book
I'm interested in the FNaF series, and I am really looking forward to the rest of these upcoming short stories.
Fazbear Frights #1 Into The Pit is something you would not expect out of FNaF, the events that occur are almost out of nowhere, and are uh, very confusing confusing, however, in some weird way, it all made sense by the end of the stories, at-least some.
Now, I can say to all the FNaF enthusiasts out there, no; this is clearly not a book that is taking place within the games timeline, I myself am a diehard FNaF theorist, and it's clear here that, it's not supposed to be used as a book to solve the games, disappointingly.
However, there are some references, and POTENTIAL connections you could make to the games that are definitely eye opening, and... certainly VERY disturbing for the average FNaF you're used to, it's clear that Scott wanted to take a more, darker tone; it's also nothing like the old novels, the character's here do have a lot more written into them, and it's quite shocking that you see the situations they end up in... especially the ones that got what was coming.
ts an okay book, and it's certainly not a book used for the games, newcomers will certainly enjoy it, but if you want a darker fnaf route, if you enjoy Stranger Things, Lovecraft, ETC, you will certainly enjoy this book
You're in for an... interesting ride.
EDIT 1:
I've seen some out-lash on another review about a girl with an eating disorder, now this is definitely true but uh, it's there for a reason, every story in this book does have a gimmick, but it relates to them of course, the girl with the eating disorder is there for a reason, I won't say why yet, but yes, there is clearly a reason for this.
EDIT 2: Hey reddit :)
EDIT 3: Hey Freddit Discord. :)
Rating: really liked it
“I know you like Poe because he’s dark and spooky, and it’s easy to romanticize death when you’re young and it’s so far away. But Poe didn’t write about death because he thought it was romantic. He wrote about it because he lost so many of the people he loved. You’ve never experienced that kind of loss, Millie. It...changes you.”
“Oh, but that really takes action, doesn’t it?” The voice said. “Changing a life for the better, especially when the world is such a mean, rotten place?”
I loved these FNAF short stories! So well written. I loved getting to see more pieces of the lore start to be revealed. They were quick but with just enough description to make me truly interested in the characters. Haunting! Loved it. Can’t wait for the next ones!
Rating: really liked it
My daughter and I read this collection of three novella aloud together right before bed. She's a big FNAF fan- has read the main trilogy of books and played the games- and she wanted to share these stories with me.
They remind me a bit of Goosebumps books, but all three have some connection to the FNAF world. I was pleasnetly surprised how much I enjoyed reading these stories! A time traveling ball pit in a pizza parlor? I've never seen that before? And the classic themes of wanting to belong and fit in work well with the horror elements in these stories.
Overall, I'd recommend reading this collection if you are familiar with the FNAF world. I think you'd appreciate them much more than if you just approach them blind.
Rating: really liked it
Scott Master
Rating: really liked it
I've only read snippets of this book, which was read to me over the phone by one of my friends, but from what I've heard about the plot and the snippets I've been read, I feel the need to write a review; Don't get me wrong, I've actually heard the majority of the book word-for-word, but I'm sure there're a few things I'm missing here, which is why I won't actually be rating the book, in spirit of fairness.
I'm honestly astonished at how many of these reviews are positive. The book's writing is decent at best, and the plot seems fairly plain; I suppose a younger audience could definitely enjoy it, but I think you would have to be very young to find it scary.
The first story is alright, if you can get past a few plot-holes. It wasn't the best but, again, I could definitely see it being enjoyed by a young audience.
The worst part of this book, in my opinion, is how it handles the last two stories and the very real concerns present there. The second story follows a teen-girl who is constantly wishing she was prettier or more popular and shames her body-image almost every other sentence. The third story follows a teen-girl as well, only this one seems obsessed with the idea of death.
Both of these things are VERY REAL problems that people go through, but the story seems to handle these serious topics like a side-plot, and doesn't address them in a proper, realistic way; Instead the protagonists are treated like villains for having these thoughts, and (spoilers ahead) they both end up dying without this inner-conflict truly being resolved. It seems as though this might've been to appeal to an older audience, but it fails miserably and ends up being another cliche demonstration of very real-world problems.
Overall, the plot is written poorly and the characters are written even worse. The stories also seem to do this weird thing where they decide to //ACTUALLY INCLUDE ELEMENTS OF FNAF// near the very end of the story?? Which ironically feels tacked on, and seems to ruins the original set-up of the plot.
These are just my thoughts and if you genuinely enjoyed this book, that's awesome! I just had to get my opinion out there, seeing as most of these reviews are incredibly positive.
Rating: really liked it
It wasn't as scary as I wanted thought the last story was a little creepy..
Rating: really liked it
First things first: this isn't a book I'd have picked for myself, nor did I even know it existed until I decided to let my library app choose a book for me. I outright hate FNAF as a game, but I enjoy the energy Markiplier brings to playing it and I have a friend who's basically obsessed with MatPat's theories on the lore, so I'm still familiar with it. Not enough to pick a book based on this world, but hey I decided to stick with what the library app chose, so here we are - and I'm one book closer to my 2020 reading goal, so that's a win regardless.
This book, however, is not a win itself. It's average at best, but frankly a bit less due to having a very Knockoff Goosebumps feel to the juvenile writing style... and the disproportionately cruel way the female characters with very common real life problems were treated compared to the male character who had similarly realistic issues yet was a complete brat about them. That just doesn't settle well with me.
Into the Pit - ★★★☆☆ Holy crap, did I ever hate the main character!
The story begins with a sympathetic take on Oswald: he's sad and lonely and miserable now that his family is facing financial hardship and his best friend has moved away. His mother is trying very hard to help him and his father has taken a low-paying job - the only thing available - to make ends meet. Oz being sad makes sense. Even being upset does, because everything is falling apart around him, but by the second third-to-quarter of the story this kid loses all sympathy by turning into an ungrateful, little monster.
Oh, his parents try to give him movie nights and have fun with him even though they can't afford to go out? Horrible! His friend has vacations at beaches and he should, too! Oh, his parents still let him have a daily slice of takeout pizza? How dare they not give him a dollar more so he can have a different flavour! Oh, his dad wastes fuel and time to drop Oz off at the library and pick him up all the time? Clearly that means his dad is 'throwing him away' every day and expending zero effort! Time to hide in a ball pit and force Dad to come find him to teach that terrible parent a lesson!
It's disgusting and infuriating. The kid's parents are genuinely trying and he doesn't care because he can't have every single thing he wants anymore. So he finds a way out, seemingly magically rewarded for his behaviour... until things go very, very wrong.
And let me tell you: seeing things go wrong for Oswald piqued my interest, even though the events were as crazy and nonsensical as reading a Goosebumps book. Seeing this ingrate learn a valuable lesson the hard way was completely worth the middlegrade level writing and complete absurdity of a magical, giant bunny everyone (except Oz) thinks is a real human. But, y'know. There was still a magical, giant, evil bunny which may very well be Zipper the Bunny Day mascot from Animal Crossing: New Horizons turned evil by the backlash from villagers all around the globe. Actually, that would have been horrifying. This... wasn't.
I did like the time travel element and the general concept of Oz coming to terms with life being unfair while learning to appreciate what he already has, which made this entertaining enough to classify as average. But honestly that's about all I find worth saying about this one.
To Be Beautiful - ★★☆☆☆ Sarah is a pudgy girl with plain hair and a flat chest who dreams of attaining supermodel beauty. Like most average girls her age, she hates her body and feels ugly. And, like many unfortunate girls who are ridiculed for not being supermodels, she starves herself on a 'low carb diet' in hopes of losing weight.
She isn't an ingrate. She isn't a bad person, though of course she's human enough to make bad choices and say things that aren't perfectly nice when she's upset. She's just a sad, young girl who - like many of us did at her age - wants to meet her own goal of ideal beauty and wants to feel good in her own skin. Her best friend berates and judges her for this, and the narrative seems to think her friend is correct - which is made explicitly clear during the horrific outcome of Sarah's tale.
Oz in the previous story was a worse person and he got a happy ending. Sarah did not; she got an ending filled with unfathomable betrayal. As a woman who was once just like Sarah and still suffers self-image issues, I'm disgusted by the ending of this story. I'm infuriated by how the author chose to handle Sarah's tale. And honestly, I also felt a little uncomfortable with some of the wording for Sarah's thoughts about herself.
Also? No, you don't have to bleach hair before using platinum hair "dye" - the whole point is that a platinum kit bleaches and tones it for you. And, no, the smell from hair lightening products doesn't magically become overwhelming only after rinsed, especially in a small, closed space like a bathroom. And, no, you don't follow a botched bleach-and-dye job with a colour removal and more dye the same day, unless you want your hair to fall out by the handfuls. And for good measure? No, it's not okay to call green hair dye ugly and Martian-like, especially when your target audience is very likely to include young girls who want to experiment with hair dye just like the character being shamed and punished for seeking a change of hair.
I just have a lot of grouchy emotions about how this tale seems to have a very vicious moral aimed at teens with self-image issues, eating disorders, and depression. While reading it, I thought perhaps the message would be a positive one about shallow people not being worthwhile and true friends accepting the real you, but nope. Seems to be more about how anyone who tries to change to make themselves feel more attractive is actually a worthless pile of trash who doesn't deserve to live. I sincerely hope that's just my ability to relate to Sarah making me feel disrespected and not the actual moral of this story.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, the magic element makes absolutely zero sense. Even less than a giant, yellow bunny everyone ignores. I'm not surprised, given these are FNAF stories, but I'm still annoyed.
Count the Ways - ★★☆☆☆ Hoo boy, this tale is something else. From the very beginning, it launches into berating a teenage girl for having a goth aesthetic and dark interests. And I don't mean subtly, either. I mean Freddy Freakin' Fazbear is given a human voice, with which he taunts and belittles the girl, Millie, in a cruel and condescending manner, insisting that because she was always so obsessed with death now she must die to "have her dream date with Death."
It's brutal. "Goth girl taunted and forced to choose her own method of being murdered while being gaslighted about how it's what she always wanted when she's clearly saying she wants to live" level brutal. What is this, Saw installment one thousand?! I know FNAF can be brutal itself, but it feels a lot different in this context than in a silly game with subpar graphics.
I felt physically ill reading this one. It made me uneasy. The way the bear spoke to Millie felt very much like real life bullies who abuse teens or tell depressed and suicidal victims to just go ahead and kill themselves etc. All this, and her only "crime" is being a melodramatic teenager who's a little creepy and unhappy with her lot in life. Ouch. Why so cruel to the female characters?!
Anyway, Millie isn't the nicest of kids, but she has reasons when she acts out. Her parents went to a completely different country for the sake of 'adventure' and she was left behind with her grandfather. He's a loving and accepting person who is a magnificent gem, but that doesn't stop Millie from feeling unhappy. She has her heart broken, so she acts mean toward the other girl incolved. Her fascination with death and the goth aesthetic is a bit intense, but... well, who can't relate to the goth phase, really? I know I had one that spanned from late elementary school into sophomore year of high school.
There isn't much more to this one, either. It just shows flashbacks to explain how Millie came to be in the animatronic bear's clutches and the problems which led to her emotional low, interspersed with the 'present time' wherein she's being forced to choose a method of death. I think it's trying to be profound, but it very much isn't.
In fact, the voice taunting Millie sounds more like a deranged, adult man than... well, a sentiment animatronic bear. He has the kind of knowledge only a human should and taunts her in a very human-sounding way. Maybe I'm just missing something from the lore and it's a demon or other humanoid spirit, but I can't imagine if I were watching Markiplier sit there while one of the game characters gave long-winded monologues about how the player character deserved to die. It would not be fun to watch, just as this was not fun to read.
If the obnoxious demon-bear Jigsaw stand-in were removed and this were a story about a teenage girl coming to terms with life and realizing she wanted to live and treat others better, I'd have enjoyed it. Grandpa is a delight and Dylan is a great character. Millie, while flawed, feels realistic and likable due to the empathy she inspires. But nope, gotta have the awkward FNAF angle...
... and an infuriatingly open-ended conclusion.
Untitled Epilogue - ★☆☆☆☆ A brief, overly dense, and boring foray into what appears to be setting up the next book. It details a detective being handed what amounts to an X-File case over the strange demise of Sarah from story two. Also, his family life sucks, apparently.
Nothing more to say about this one.
Overall ★★★☆☆ These stories feel very much like middlegrade writing, as I've already mentioned, but I cannot fathom handing this book to a child between 11 and 14 years of age - especially if they're a girl. It's uncomfortable that I can relate to having been like both of the female characters in this collection and they both get brutally murdered as twisted punishment for being like me. How will actual kids who read this feel, especially when they see themselves in Sarah or Millie?
I'm not saying that horror which makes readers uncomfortable is inherently bad. I'm just saying: the implied target audience based on the writing style is too young for this content. But, hey, if a kid is already into FNAF, perhaps they're used to stuff like this. Who knows?
While glad this was a quick read, I also am very glad to be through with it. I highly doubt I'll read any more of the books in this series.
Rating: really liked it
This was a great book. It has 3 story's in it. The first one is about a kid named Oswald who just wants a funner summer. I think the lesson for that one is be grateful for what you have. He gets into some trouble on his way through summer. The second one, is about a girl named Sarah who wants to be pretty. She finds a doll, fixes it up, and it grants her wishes. I think the lesson for this one is always be yourself. The last one, is about a girl named Millie. She wishes to dissapear off the Earth. I think the lesson for this one is be careful for what you wish for. There is a voice who offers to grant her wish, but she then realizes; she doesn't want to leave, she wants to live her life. It kind of leaves you at a cliff hanger at the end if she lives or not.
Rating: really liked it
I see why my students like this book! Overall it was fast paced, had important lessons, and definitely was creepy! I wasn’t totally thrilled with some of the characterization of our female leads compared to the male. Our female protagonists were very centered on beauty, thinness, and impressing boys. Not to mention both of them died while the male didn’t. It’s a good read for middle school, but perhaps not my first recommendation.
Rating: really liked it
I had mild expectations for this book, my coworker recommended it to me so I decided to buy it. This review is going to be split into three different sections for all three mini stories and a conclusion at the end.
Into the pit: the atmosphere for this one was really good. It managed to be unsettling in a way that made great world building and didn’t seem like it was trying too hard. A lot of horror authors try so hard to make their world creepy that it isn’t anymore, but Scott and Elley made the town our protagonist Oswald lives in feel the perfect balance of realistic and unsettling. But things started to fall apart with the time traveling. You see, Oswald goes to this pizza diner every day and one day he decided to hide in a closed off ball pit to prank his dad, but when he comes back up he’s in the 80s. It sounds interesting but Oswald’s reaction to it is confusing and doesn’t feel real at all. Anyway bla bla bla Oswald survives and has a happy ending yay.
To be beautiful: our protagonist, Sarah wants to be beautiful, she finds an old rundown animatronic and takes it home and cleans it up. The doll, named Elanour comes to life and wants to grant her a wish in thanks. Sarah wishes to be pretty. Elanour slowly grants her this wish every day, but Sarah has to wear the necklace Elanour made for her and can never take it off. Sarah is clearly mentally ill with the way she treats beauty and most definitely has body dysmorphia and an eating disorder of some kind. My problem is that the story treats her problem like they’re ridiculous and silly and ungrateful. And as someone with bdd myself it was really sad to see how they punished her character for her struggles.
Count the ways: the last story is about a goth girl named millie. She’s ungrateful and the most rude representation of a teenage girl I’ve ever seen. It seems the authors have never met a goth person before because she was painfully cliche. She constantly talked about death and wanted to die, would tear down “basic girls,” she goes on rants about things like how Christmas is just a distraction to hide the pain and death of the world several times and it made me want to tear my own eyes out. Not only that but she’s so painfully ungrateful and rude to everyone around her it was impossible to sympathise with her.
Conclusion: I don’t like the way they wrote the girls. You may be thinking, but isn’t is so feminist of them to make two of the protagonists girls? Not really. Millie and Sarah are both punished for the things they wish for and are written to be horrible ungrateful people when Oswald’s wishes and problems are treated like they’re fair and valid. Not only that it’s weird to me that Millie and Sarah are both punished for the things they want while Oswald is the only one who survives and has a happy ending. He’s never taught to be more grateful or anything like what Millie and Sarah were told. If the authors wanted to be seen as woke for having two female protagonists they should have written them to be likeable and not brutally murder them while Oswald and his ugly cowlick get off scot free.
Rating: really liked it
3.5
That was actually better than I expected tbh (even tho I’ve heard that these are better than the main saga, the opinions about the saga are so abismal that I was kinda scared, but I was actually pleasantly surprised). It kinda felt like reading Goosebumps again, I can see these books becoming big in the middle grade horror genre.
Into the pit (3 stars)
This was the one that felt very fnafy. It connected well with the lore of the games (the whole afton getting into the bunny suit and being creepy) but was it’s own story at the same time. Not bad, but not the best either (and also the whole time traveling ball pit was kinda hilarious, and I would have liked it if the kid he befriends in the past was his father, although he might have been a victim maybe?)
To be beautiful (3.5 stars)
This one was... kinda better?? But it also really showed that it was written by a man. Idk, the whole self-negative thinking about being ugly was putting me off a bit, and it ended up being such a sad story in the end. Idk, kinda confused about how I feel about this story.
Count the ways (3.5 stars)
This one was the saddest one by far. The ending was so heartbreaking (no spoilers, I promise). But I kinda didn’t like the whole girls judging other girls just because they like being pretty (I guess we’re back at the whole I’m not like the other girls trope huh?) Its the kind of negativity we don’t need to keep in seeing in media (again, it really felt like it was written by a man, especially when you think about the difference in themes in Into the pit vs the other two stories, it makes you think, doesn’t it?).
Rating: really liked it
chilling 3 story novel!
Rating: really liked it
3.5/5
All three of the stories had both parts that I liked and parts that I didn't fully get into, but I enjoyed the horror elements a lot. And well, I'm always ready for some more FNAF content. What got me excited the most, though, was the promise of what's to come next at the very end. I'm really looking forward to more of Fazbear Frights right now.
