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Deadtime Stories #12
Welcome to the Terror-Go-Round
Hold on tight--the ride's about to begin!
Alex and Joey are looking for thrills. But there aren't too many to be found in Middletown--the most boring place in the universe. Nothing exciting ever happens in Middletown.
Nothing, that is, until a strange carnival rolls into town late one night, bringing with it the weirdest, most frightening group of people Alex and Joey have ever seen.
Unfortunately, the boys have no idea just how scary the "carny freaks" really are. . .
Until a ride on the merry-go-round spins them back in time, trapping them in a carnival of terrors. . .where the sideshows are a scream. . .and the games are to die for.
Alex and Joey are looking for thrills. But there aren't too many to be found in Middletown--the most boring place in the universe. Nothing exciting ever happens in Middletown.
Nothing, that is, until a strange carnival rolls into town late one night, bringing with it the weirdest, most frightening group of people Alex and Joey have ever seen.
Unfortunately, the boys have no idea just how scary the "carny freaks" really are. . .
Until a ride on the merry-go-round spins them back in time, trapping them in a carnival of terrors. . .where the sideshows are a scream. . .and the games are to die for.
- GenresHorrorMiddle Grade
128 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
A.G. Cascone
27 books23 followersThe team of Annette Cascone and Gina Cascone, sisters.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 26, 2022
Alright, we move on with this cycle with some Deadtime Stories. So when I randomized these, I picked two and picked out from those 2. This time the other choice has an episode but I'm behind on watching a couple and I didn't wanna dd on to that yet. Thus, I went with the other choice...mostly cuz of the cover. I mean, look at it. It's easily my favorite Deadtime cover, it is so goofy yet so metal.
Did it live up the cover? Nothing ever could but it was still good. The thing is, this one is good, but it felt like it was missing to make it special, and push it into being a favorite. It has brothers Alex and Joey Taylor messing around one day when it randomly rains tickets to a carnival that is coming to town. They hadn't heard of it and everything about it seems but of course they go anyway, mostly due to Joey.
It's empty except for the creepy owner Arboc, but again, alarm bells are ignored. They discover the titular Terror Go Round and it sends them on a ride they won't forget. By that I mean it sends them through time and also there's a freak show made up of kidnapped kids that the boys may become part of.
Creepy Carnival are a standard setting but that's for a reason, it's a classic trope I always enjoy. This does it kinda well but it really just focuses on the titular ride and freak show stuff. We deal with the snake man villain Arboc and his plan, with no other rides really being dealt with. Those who want full carnival mania will be let down. It has solid atmosphere at first but not so much when things get going.
That said, Arboc ends up being a decent villain, if a bit standard and not the most amazing. His plan is a fine one and I like the mysterious air, with us not knowing everything about this place. We just know it's been around forever, and pops up sometimes to claim victims. Basically, same deal as Carnevil but not nearly as great.
Still works though. The Freak Show stuff is slightly collar tugging but not terribly so, everyone we see is a kidnapped kid and is sympathetic, so the setup is seen as a bad thing to do, even if the "freak" elements are played up as the scary part even though one is just a "midget man". Lovely.
Anyway, the time travel stuff feels a bit superfluous for most of it. It gives the terror go round a reason to be the title but most of it revolves around Arboc and the freak show, and you could have told the story as it is without moving in time or just visiting the one time. We just get 1969 and 2525. Thankfully the logic doesn't get headache inducing but it does feel underplayed even though there were are plenty of ways it could have been fun.
However, something happens during 1969 that is just forgotten about becomes the twist. It's easily the best twist in the series as the thing that brings it on was far enough back that I forgot about it and assumes it would just be pointless. However, it's done in an odd way. It's an end of book shock yet is drawn out and as much as I like a more drawn out epilogue but it makes this feel more like a mid book shock than an ending twist.
It's weird. Time travel plays a notable part in the climax, the only major part where it feels truly important and it is one of the better climaxes in these, being fairly intense with a cool villain defeat.
As for the protagonists, Alex doesn't have too much to him, don't think he even has a description. He's more cautious while Joey is more of a brute who is impulsive. Joey feels more like an older brother than a younger one, even though he is slightly younger. Their dynamic is annoying at first,although it gets a bit better once the plot kicks in. It's a slight step above some Goosebumps siblings but not as balances the ones in Bone Chillers.
However, there's some mild thematic stuff with them as their cautious and impulsive natures both get them in and out of trouble, as we see the pros and cons of them, each realizing when they need to slow down on their nature to get things done. It's a neat idea, but could have been setup more clearly early on. It plays a decent part in these games they do but we don't get a super solid wrapup that could put a nice bow on them. Plus, something Joey does causes the twist, which undoes what they were building.
Still, they tried. Overall, this is a fairly solid one with decent pacing that doesn't drag, fun spins on classic ideas, and enough suspense and mild character stuff. It just needed an extra push to make it a bigger stand out. Better use of the time travel, better use of the setting, better execution of the mild character stuff. It's tied together well, making one of the better books in the series.
It's short at 103 pages and isn't too rushed, thankfully. I could have been stronger in a few ways but for me, it was still fairly good in the end.
That's about it for this one. Next read is the final camp book thing, and after that we will go back to the Galaxy of Fear, for one with a promising idea. See ya then.
Did it live up the cover? Nothing ever could but it was still good. The thing is, this one is good, but it felt like it was missing to make it special, and push it into being a favorite. It has brothers Alex and Joey Taylor messing around one day when it randomly rains tickets to a carnival that is coming to town. They hadn't heard of it and everything about it seems but of course they go anyway, mostly due to Joey.
It's empty except for the creepy owner Arboc, but again, alarm bells are ignored. They discover the titular Terror Go Round and it sends them on a ride they won't forget. By that I mean it sends them through time and also there's a freak show made up of kidnapped kids that the boys may become part of.
Creepy Carnival are a standard setting but that's for a reason, it's a classic trope I always enjoy. This does it kinda well but it really just focuses on the titular ride and freak show stuff. We deal with the snake man villain Arboc and his plan, with no other rides really being dealt with. Those who want full carnival mania will be let down. It has solid atmosphere at first but not so much when things get going.
That said, Arboc ends up being a decent villain, if a bit standard and not the most amazing. His plan is a fine one and I like the mysterious air, with us not knowing everything about this place. We just know it's been around forever, and pops up sometimes to claim victims. Basically, same deal as Carnevil but not nearly as great.
Still works though. The Freak Show stuff is slightly collar tugging but not terribly so, everyone we see is a kidnapped kid and is sympathetic, so the setup is seen as a bad thing to do, even if the "freak" elements are played up as the scary part even though one is just a "midget man". Lovely.
Anyway, the time travel stuff feels a bit superfluous for most of it. It gives the terror go round a reason to be the title but most of it revolves around Arboc and the freak show, and you could have told the story as it is without moving in time or just visiting the one time. We just get 1969 and 2525. Thankfully the logic doesn't get headache inducing but it does feel underplayed even though there were are plenty of ways it could have been fun.
However, something happens during 1969 that is just forgotten about becomes the twist. It's easily the best twist in the series as the thing that brings it on was far enough back that I forgot about it and assumes it would just be pointless. However, it's done in an odd way. It's an end of book shock yet is drawn out and as much as I like a more drawn out epilogue but it makes this feel more like a mid book shock than an ending twist.
It's weird. Time travel plays a notable part in the climax, the only major part where it feels truly important and it is one of the better climaxes in these, being fairly intense with a cool villain defeat.
As for the protagonists, Alex doesn't have too much to him, don't think he even has a description. He's more cautious while Joey is more of a brute who is impulsive. Joey feels more like an older brother than a younger one, even though he is slightly younger. Their dynamic is annoying at first,although it gets a bit better once the plot kicks in. It's a slight step above some Goosebumps siblings but not as balances the ones in Bone Chillers.
However, there's some mild thematic stuff with them as their cautious and impulsive natures both get them in and out of trouble, as we see the pros and cons of them, each realizing when they need to slow down on their nature to get things done. It's a neat idea, but could have been setup more clearly early on. It plays a decent part in these games they do but we don't get a super solid wrapup that could put a nice bow on them. Plus, something Joey does causes the twist, which undoes what they were building.
Still, they tried. Overall, this is a fairly solid one with decent pacing that doesn't drag, fun spins on classic ideas, and enough suspense and mild character stuff. It just needed an extra push to make it a bigger stand out. Better use of the time travel, better use of the setting, better execution of the mild character stuff. It's tied together well, making one of the better books in the series.
It's short at 103 pages and isn't too rushed, thankfully. I could have been stronger in a few ways but for me, it was still fairly good in the end.
That's about it for this one. Next read is the final camp book thing, and after that we will go back to the Galaxy of Fear, for one with a promising idea. See ya then.
September 5, 2025
Strong start to this, but then it peters out—the sequence of events feels random and doesn't give any of the characters a chance to stand out. And the final twist at the end is like...okay? Whatever.
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January 2, 2021I wrote a really long post about these books on my blog and I really like it and don't want to ruin it by breaking it into chunks so please go read it on my blog.
June 18, 2024
3.5 rounded down for GR. A simple but mostly fun vintage Goosebumps knock-off book!
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December 14, 2011I think it was ok.
The book is about two brothers that live in the most boring place on Earth, Middletown. One day they were in a playground when out of nowhere, carnival tickets start to rain down. The same day they saw the carnival pass by their house. They the decide to go see it. Once they get their, they realize they made a mistake. They see that the "rides" are actually ways to die.
The book is about two brothers that live in the most boring place on Earth, Middletown. One day they were in a playground when out of nowhere, carnival tickets start to rain down. The same day they saw the carnival pass by their house. They the decide to go see it. Once they get their, they realize they made a mistake. They see that the "rides" are actually ways to die.
March 10, 2009
i liked it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews