30 review for Point Horror Collection, #8: The Dead Game / The Stranger / Call Waiting

1. 

   4 out of 5

   Allissa – Jan 10, 2019

   I was hankering for a book that would shiver my timbers, something with monsters, ghosts, psychopaths or demons in the dark. Point Horror Collection #8, which promised that I would find “three helpings of horror” in its pages and have my dreams turn into nightmares, seemed like it would do the trick. I couldn’t be more excited; with titles, such as The Dead Game, The Stranger and Call Waiting, I was sure I would be in for a scare or ten. A. Bates’s The Dead Game offered characters I could root fo I was hankering for a book that would shiver my timbers, something with monsters, ghosts, psychopaths or demons in the dark. Point Horror Collection #8, which promised that I would find “three helpings of horror” in its pages and have my dreams turn into nightmares, seemed like it would do the trick. I couldn’t be more excited; with titles, such as The Dead Game, The Stranger and Call Waiting, I was sure I would be in for a scare or ten. A. Bates’s The Dead Game offered characters I could root for. Linnie, Jackson and Ming each had their own distinct personalities, their own motivations for the decisions they made and were, most importantly, not one-dimensional carbon copies of the stereotypical American teenager. Jackson and Ming are especially reasonable, self-reflexive characters who learn from their mistakes and respond rationally to their circumstances (mostly). Caroline B. Cooney’s The Stranger based its scare factor on a monster who resides in a cave. Centuries before the action in the story takes place, men ventured into a cave and never came out. Knowing they were doomed, they cursed the cave, vowing that anybody who entered it would be trapped along with them, forever. One victim of the cave, a teenage boy who gets trapped there years later, manages to finagle his way out, but can only walk amongst normal people during the day. The reason becomes apparent soon enough (you’ve probably already guessed). He soon meets the girl from whose perspective the story is told, and they fall in love (obviously). I enjoyed Cooney’s cursed-cave myth; by itself, it would have made for a great story. Meanwhile, R. L. Stine’s Call Waiting had me questioning the sanity of its main protagonist, Karen, half the time - and I did not mind that at all. Karen has an overwhelming fear of being alone that greatly affects her decision-making and amplifies her obsession with keeping her boyfriend, Ethan, all to herself. She proceeds to think up ridiculous methods of keeping him with her and away from girls she imagines are after him and his luscious locks. She soon lives to regret her antics, of course. Meanwhile, Karen’s brother, Chris, increases the atmosphere of nervous energy that Karen’s growing paranoia creates, by playing practical jokes on her that would, frankly, drive any normal person up the wall. Why, then, did I give all three books a one-star rating? None of the stories encouraged so much as a fart of fear, or even a fear-induced fart. The Dead Game and Call Waiting can barely call themselves thrillers, let alone horrors, while The Stranger stripped the intriguing myth of the cave of all substance. Indeed, The Stranger pelted me with a frustratingly over-the-top romance between the two main characters. I could predict the killer in The Dead Game within the first few chapters, which took a lot of the enjoyment out of my reading experience. Cooney’s story needed more proofreading and editing, as well as fleshed-out characters and a plot that did not force instalove and a disturbingly inept female protagonist down the reader’s throat. And Stine’s contribution to this collection was rather disappointing, especially since I know he is capable of better writing. Karen’s brother, Chris, was supposed to be a funny prankster, but really came off as a cruel bully. Instead of helping Karen navigate through her anxiety, Chris proceeded to torment her with pranks that set her over the edge. Karen’s characterisation was also not without its problems; her frailties were, at times, exaggerated, which made me more annoyed, than sympathetic. All in all, Point Horror Collection #8 was less of “a terrifying trio in one”, and more of a collection of terrifyingly bland tales that had the potential of being mildly interesting.

2. 

   4 out of 5

   Sati Marie Frost – Sep 30, 2012

   4 stars for The Dead Game. 5 stars for The Stranger. 2 stars for Call Waiting.

3. 

   5 out of 5

   Rayne –

4. 

   5 out of 5

   Alexandra Pudge –

5. 

   5 out of 5

   Neeshi –

6. 

   4 out of 5

   Kerry –

7. 

   4 out of 5

   Jessica Peat –

8. 

   4 out of 5

   Sandie –

9. 

   4 out of 5

   Emma –

10. 

    4 out of 5

    Sarah Murden –

11. 

    5 out of 5

    Antoinette West –

12. 

    4 out of 5

    ShelleeBee –

13. 

    5 out of 5

    Sinéad H –

14. 

    4 out of 5

    S –

15. 

    5 out of 5

    Brian Casey –

16. 

    4 out of 5

    Strawberri Mystery –

17. 

    4 out of 5

    Emma –

18. 

    5 out of 5

    OTIS –

19. 

    5 out of 5

    Zakirah –

20. 

    4 out of 5

    Caroline Elwood-Stokes –

21. 

    5 out of 5

    Dee Fisher –

22. 

    5 out of 5

    Natasha –

23. 

    4 out of 5

    Nicola Fantom –

24. 

    5 out of 5

    Beth Shapeero –

25. 

    4 out of 5

    Luvabubble –

26. 

    5 out of 5

    Lynsey –

27. 

    4 out of 5

    Bette –

28. 

    4 out of 5

    Farah –

29. 

    5 out of 5

    Kelly –

30. 

    5 out of 5

    Tesh –