Item - Fright Night

This is a good book. It actually made me think that Packard had read Daredevil Park, and thought it had a lot of potential that wasn't explored, and decided to do his own version.

The book feels like it goes on a lot longer than it does. There are a few choices that make loops where you can take the story in a different sequence, but even without considering those, I have no idea how so much material was squeezed into 119 pages.

The book is legitimately scary, though not in the ways that are intended. A path where you are killed by a guy dressed as a clown, one where you turn into a ghost - these aren't the scary ones. There's a sense of dread in the book, where it's obvious that the park is a deathtrap, and people are getting injured on just about every cycle of every ride.

Come to think of it, I'm surprised there wasn't a sequence involving getting sick from the food.

The biggest weakness might be a goal that is set up early on: a golden key you can try to find. Whenever it's used as a way to keep your character continuing, it just makes you look kind of dumb.

Still, a very good CYOA entry.

More reviews by Jordashebasics

This book, the penultimate appearance of Daredevil Park in this series, is excellent. Although the original story that shares the fictional theme park's name is similar and quite good as well, this version is better. It doesn't share the page flipping that characterized the first book and the darker, more violent plot also makes it more interesting. Fright Night, I think, is among the most enjoyable CYOA books.

More reviews by Stockton

This book was reminiscent of Give Yourself Goosebumps (the first book about the Haunted Carnival) to me, without the randomness. There is good internal cohesion. There are some very scary moments in the book, and not the supernatural kind that you can dismiss with "Well, that's unrealistic." Think getting stuck in a building that's full of rotting pigeon carcasses (a good sign that no one checks the place very often. Or getting mixed up in a bribery scheme with some very nasty players. Or mechanical accidents on rides (there are at least three in the book!). Very fun book with good writing (Edward Packard never disappoints!). It also loops back into itself well so that it's possible to read a full quarter of the book without circling back to the same thing or getting an ending.

There is an error in the book. It's on page 20-something, in the story arc about the roller coaster. It says "Turn to page 57" but you actually need to turn to 52. Otherwise, you will be very confused!

More reviews by yunakitty