Prankster: An AFK Book

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Fazbear Frights #11

by Scott Cawthon, Andrea Waggener, Elley Cooper

Five Nights at Freddy's fans won't want to miss this pulse-pounding collection of three novella-length tales that will keep even the bravest FNAF player up at night...

From twisted toys to gut-wrenching games, this collection of terrifying tales is unsettling enough to mess with even the most hardened Five Nights at Freddy's fans. In this volume, series creator Scott Cawthon spins three sinister novella-length stories from different corners of FNAF's canon.

Readers beware: In this startling world, desperate wishes have an unexpected cost, beautiful trinkets reveal appalling powers, and harmless pranks can go awry in ghastly ways.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Fiction, Video Games, Mystery, Thriller, Horror Thriller

224 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2021

About the author

Scott Cawthon is an American independent video game developer, animator, and writer, best known for his creation of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise.

Reviews

[guille (littlebitmoody) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not quite the ending I was expecting to close up this series but I still enjoyed it :)

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 out of 5 stars.

This book was harrowing in certain aspects.

Prankster:
I genuinely felt bad for the characters in this one. Two of them at the very least. I won't lie, the titular prankster deserved the bad things that came his way (maybe not to the degree the story took his punishment, but something was deserved). I was a little confused by it's ending, because I was expecting something along the lines of Help Wanted (with a character with a name similar to Jeremy building a VR game, it felt like it fit). But what we got instead was Saw Junior.

Kids at Play:
This short story was disturbing. The main character of this one was a difficult one to place - there were moments when I agreed with some of his statements about his parents, and other times where I thought he was being a spoilt brat. But when his dark plot started, that was it. I was waiting for the end to come for him. It was super easy to hate him after a certain part of that story, and the gruesome way he gets his punishment was very well-written. It created such a vivid, gorey visual.

Find Player Two:
The final short story had me on edge throughout. I really liked the main character of this one, and felt truly bad for her. She suffered from survivor's guilt, and really didn't need to put herself through all the things she went through in this story. I do question why certain parts happened (or didn't happen, as the case was without spoilers), and her "punishment" at the end was tragic.

The Stitch-Wraith:
I AM CONCERNED.

[Darca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice set of stories for the last book in the series.

In the title story "Prankster" the main character was a creep, not that he deserved the treatment he got but he wasn't nice as well. When the main action started it was so well delivered. I liked the references and pacing and oh boy, the ending was great, I loved it.

The second story had, as many before it, too long introduction. I didn't like the main character, he was an asshole and totally didn't appreciate the things he had. Then he just became worse and worse and there were so many more reasons to not like him. The ending was unexpected, I was betting on something else happening but still nicely done.

The third story was a rollercoaster. I did not expect the events to go this way but in the end I think this was a very well written story with nice pacing. The main character evokes mixed feelings, on the one hand you can understand some things but on the other hand she was doing bad things as well, I liked it. The ending was perfect for this story. What was most surprising was that there were no animatronics in this part but it still worked and it's not something all stories managed to do.

The after story was great. I thought it would play out differently but it stayed consistent with what we saw till now. Jake, my boy, the words can't described how much I love this character. Also I did not expect to get an answer to one story but I'm so glad I finally did.

The moment all the spirits of killed people got released was so beautiful, truly a great ending to the whole series.
What a ride those books were. They were great addition to the Fnaf world and some of the stories will stay with me for a long time.

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair, I've been reading this series for the better part of a year now so the exact nuances of each novella (3 per book, 11 books, 33 stories in total) have become a bit mixed up. I'd really love a compilation of the 'final' story (the one that spans all eleven novels) so that I can read it in order in one sitting without having to wait months in between each consecutive 'chapter'. I think this might be one of my favorites out of the series, despite the fact that two of the three main characters are patently unlikeable (Jeremiah gives me the certifiable creeps). The last story was so sad, Aimee felt the most sympathetic out of the narrators and the creep factor of the maze in the walls was horrifying.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am going insane.

[Neftalí del Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admito que el libro anterior fue más de mi agrado, las historias estuvieron bien pero para mí dos de tres carecieron de algo más de suspenso y se refugiaron en los típicos clichés de terror, quizás la que más fue de mi agrado fue la segunda historia por su trasfondo oscuro y por su protagonista pero nada más, espero el siguiente libro mejore y no quedarme con un mal sabor de boca.

[Kenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the hell was even that brother

[Armando · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 por la última historia

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final Fazbear Frights collection! I made it!

What a bizarre collection of stories. The middle one stands out as the craziest but the body horror made me gag out loud. The final one was by far the best written, but the series as a whole was a mix-bag so it stands.

[Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though running from your problems sound like a good way to escape in the world of Five Nights at Freddy's something simple can go very wrong. This finale ends the fan-favorite series of "Fazbear Frights".


----------------OVERALL - I personally enjoyed this as a finale book. As a FNaF fan, the epilogue tied the overarching story very nicely though the stories weren't the greatest in the series they were very enjoyable. Some of these stories were very gruesome and disturbing. Overall if you've been a fan of the whole series thus far, you'll really like this book and the new horror it brings to the table.

--------------PRANKSTER (7.5/10) - I really liked this story, very cool and gruesome. The story follows Jeremiah who's always the butt of his co-workers' jokes during work. He starts to develop a crush on his co-worker Hope but that doesn't stop the prankster, Parker! I think the only problem with it would be how short it is. Prankster is the shortest story in all these books and has a very abrupt ending that I felt could've been explored more. The characters are all very cool though and fans might recognize some connections with the characters in the franchise VR game "Help Wanted". I felt the antagonist in the story was very creepy and reminded me of some sort of jigsaw puzzle mastermind. There are some very gruesome moments so be cautious. Overall, a very solid story, just wish it was longer.

-------------KIDS AT PLAY (9/10) - I really enjoyed this story. While the story doesn't have much to do with Freddy's as a whole its very gruesome and terrifying when you think about it. The story follows Joel, a man in charge of looking after his family garden even though he may not want too. Joel isn't very likable for half of the story but what happens at the end is VERY gruesome and makes you feel bad for him. The antagonist of this story is not something you'd expect since it's not really related to Freddy's, but it's an interesting concept to play around with. I can't stress how gruesome the ending is, the way its described and what Joel goes through is like an out of the world body experience and is truly horrifying, which is good since if it scares me the authors are doing something right! Overall, a solid 9 from me.

--------FIND PLAYER TWO! (7/10) - The story itself is decent, but probably my least favorite in this book. For the last story of the series as a whole it's pretty weak and lacking, we do get to spend a good amount of time at Freddy's though which is always nice. The story focuses on Aimee and how she left her friend at Freddy's only for her to go missing. Now years later Aimee wants to solve the mystery of what really happened to her friend and avenge her. The fake out of this book (you'll know once you read) honestly seems like a more interesting story then the actual story. The ending is pretty dark though and is kind of a fitting conclusion for the protagonist, but overall, the story could be better. Aimee is a pretty decent protagonist and makes some good and bad choices which is nice, she's not just perfect. Fazbear monkey appearance too, a big meme in the fandom lol. Overall, the story is decent, but I expected something bigger as the final story of the series.

------------EPILOUGE (10/10) - The final epilogue was an amazing experience to read. We once again follow Jake and Larson as they try to put an end to the madness by taking out the main force controlling everything in this series. A very satisfying conclusion with story reveals, great endings, and potential information and twists readers can theorize on. Although it felt a bit rushed this ending was handled beautifully and who knows - maybe it's not truly the end. We'll just need to find out.

-------Prankster was a fantastic end to the series and a great story that unfolds for any Five Nights at Freddy's fan. Buy your copy today at a local bookstore OR on e-book!

[Dylan_O O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Horror Novel Fazbear’s Fright’s: Prankster, Written by Elley Cooper and Andrea Waggener with Scott Cawthon, this story has 3 short stories based on the horror franchises of Five Nights at Freddy’s.

The first story, called Prankster, follows Jeremiah, an employee of a failing video game company. The company had a few popular games but not enough to keep things going. For the past couple of years, the company had to let people go and the income dropped as well. One day Fazbear Entertainment bought the company to try out their new vr game and get some work done on it as well. Jeremiah was thinking about quitting his job, but he decides to stay because he really likes this girl named Hope. He is also extremely excited about the opportunity to work with the vr tech because it has been a dream of his for a while. Once Fazbear Entertainment buys the studio Jeremiah thinks everything for him is going to turn around, but little did he know things would only go down from there in a disturbing way.

In the second story, called Kids at Play, is all about Joel. He’s really looking forward to the day he can quit his family's garden center and move on with his life. Joel’s father runs the business and doesn’t really treat his son well but he’s also very well-liked by the community. Joel’s looking forward to leaving the town he lives in and moving to LA where he can become a model and start a new life. He also wants to have a music career. In the story Joel gets in his pickup truck and leaves, while Joel drives in a rageful mood he hits a kid's alert sign. Joel investigates what he hit, afterwards he brushes it off and goes home just to be yelled at by his mom. One day Joel was eating some cereal and got a small plastic toy, the toy looked exactly like the kids at play sign he hit but just smaller. One day Joel stayed a night at his friend's house and on his way home he saw a kid in the road, he couldn’t slow down, and something happened. For a while after he kept seeing multiple kids at play signs, the more Joel goes on about his life the more things happen until things take a disturbing turn.

The last story in the Prankster story is Find Player Two. The story follows Mary Joe and Amy who are best friends and spend a lot of their time at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. When they are at Freddy’s they come to find a secret arcade game called “Hiding Maze”, the game is hidden behind a vent cover which makes this a little sketchier. When they go to Freddy’s there was a weird man staring at Amy just smiling at her and it really freaks her out so much that she leaves the pizzeria and leaves Mary Joe. The story cuts to 10 years later and the story starts going into more of a detective story but with horror.

These stories were ok, the most disturbing one was defiantly Kids at Play just because the ending was so disturbing. Find Player Two had an ending I didn’t fully expect, and Prankster was ok, but the very last part of the book was an epilogue, and it followed the Stitchwraith. All the stories had an epilogue with the continuation of Stitchwraith and Prankster has finally finished the story. All together this story fills in some of the video game lore which this book is based on and it has some connections to the original books. If you enjoy reading horror books and have a thick stomach for some of the parts this book is good for you. I disliked some of the connections to the games that the books are based on, the games missing parts get filled in with the books but there wasn’t a lot there. I really liked the Stichwraith part but now putting them all together will be a pain since they're so spread out but fun. The other books are good too but if you really want to complete the Stichwraith story you would need to read them.

[Baylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3.3!

I will say, the cover art for this one is a solid D-tier. I suppose there wasn't a whole lot to go off of for this set of stories, but still! Every other cover is so much cooler! This one's kind of meh. /lh

Didn't like the first story. The main character was an absolute simp lol. It was kind of annoying reading some of the thoughts he had. The general idea for the actual horror part was really interesting, though I wouldn't have minded a bit more. I just wish there had been a clearer explanation for what exactly happened at the ending. 2/5 stars.

The second one was good! The main character was interesting, and although he was a total jerk, you could still sympathize with him, in a weird way. The ending didn't make a whole lot of sense in my opinion. 3/5.

The third story was really good! It was interesting, the characters were well-written, it had great build-up, and the ending was tragic. It also features an actual Freddy Fazbear's Pizza as the primary location for the story. A great one to end the series on! (discounting the 12th, non-canon book.) 5/5.

The FNaF series has always had a special place in my heart, and though I'm not as into it as I used to be, reading these stories has been really fun. (Also I love having all eleven lined up neatly on my bookshelf :D)

[Oakbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“prankster” was very nice, especially as it connected to help wanted. i don’t necessarily appreciate the ending, because i feel that it leaves too many questions unanswered, but it was interesting nonetheless. “kids at play” was, admittedly, ridiculous, similar to “sea bonnies” and “he told me everything” from the previous books of the series. it was less enjoyable for sure, but was mostly okay. my favorite story, though, was definitely “fine player two!” the story managed to subvert all of my expectations, while also leaving me feeling scared. it toys with the concept of childhood nostalgia, missing kids, and has a dark twist at the end that i really appreciate. all in all, the book was mostly incredible.

[Galaxi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prankster is fine.
Kids at Play is fine.
Find Player Two is great.

[S. Policar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fazbear Frights is collection of stories. Each book contains 3 short stories that are perfect for middle schoolers. Kind of like Goosebumps, but with FNaF characters. I absolutely intend to start each review with this "disclaimer". The amount of people that low rated these books simply because they failed to read the back covers is just astounding.
Prankster introduces us to Jeremiah, who gets a birthday present he'll never forget. This Fright was absolutely devious. It was set up beautifully and executed almost flawlessly. The only thing about it that didn't really make sense for me was Hope.
Kids At Play brings us Joel, an eighteen year old who learns the hard way that only looking out for yourself gets you nowhere. This Fright was well put together and perfectly executed; even if the plot has been used a few times throughout this series. I like how the reader is given zero chance to like Joel; I honestly feel like he got what he deserved.
Find Player Two! is Aimee's story. Aimee realizes she's no better than everyone else when it came to Mary Jo. This Fright would have been perfect if the timeline for it wasn't modern. Aimee has a hybrid compact car, that alone tells me it's during the cell phone age; so why didn't Aimee have her cell phone? She had her purse, even mace and a taser, But not her cell phone? It's an unrealistic inconsistency despite it being a paranormal horror series.
This book is where the bonus Fright, called Stinger, ends. It's a wild ending with not only Larson but the Stitchwraith both fighting Eleanor from different times. Stinger is left wide open though. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it connects to the bonus story in the Pizzaplex series.
With just one more book to this series to go, I give this book 5 of 5 Paws.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le epic pranks.

Prankster - Wish the ending had gone on just a little bit longer. That being said, it was a fun story with a campy premise. It was short n' sweet, and as yummy as a day-old birthday cake

Kids at Play - The relationship between Joel and his parents was nuanced and felt so real. Good drama. Then, the story became something completely different and went off the deep end. Very weird story.

Find Player Two! - My fave of the three. Loved Aimee and her emotional conflict she was dealing with. Kept me on my toes, and I loved how it developed. Lots of little moments that did a lot.

I'll say here what I thought of the entire Stitchwraith narrative that went through these 11 books. It was freaking weird and started off real slow. It was hard to appreciate on its own if you don't care about the lore. Larson could've been a way more interesting character. A lot of his story was just experiencing weird stuff where he has no idea what happened and doesn't do much to affect it. Jake's side of the story was more palpable, yet he hardly knew what he was doing sometimes either. The two villains fizzle out in the story. I will say it was a bold and wild story, but not the most satisfying one.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

II'm a little lost with Prankster. It's good, super creepy and the right amount of disturbing, but I feel that it's not really a fnaf. I mean, if it never mention the fnaf vr and just said gaming studio, nothing would be different. It had nothing to do with glitchtrap (which is the whole point of the vr game) and it's ending leaves you hanging. Like it a good ending but it doesn't feel satisfying at all. (Did they do it to themselves? Cause that what I got from it)
Kids at Play was boring. Even when the story pick up, it took forever to get to the results. Joel was a horrible person, he fell asleep with no real remorse, and no one else would have be able to sleep. And it was obvious that he was going to turn into a plastic boy (super predictable, lenghty, and boring). And again, had literally nothing to do with fnaf.

Player Two was awesome. The hidden maze was really cool and unique idea. I think it parallels the puppets story, being abandoned in the alley, and this point out that a exits lead to the alley way. And she, Aimee abandons her friend. It was just really good and it was an actually fnaf story!

[Abby Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weak ending to an overall fun series.

Prankster: This was just bad. It felt impossibly short, leaving the reader feeling careless about it's little cast of characters.

Kids at Play: It was better. However, I think the exposition was just way too long. Had the conflict come earlier with more buildup to Joel's spiral, it would've been really good. Sadly, when compared to the other great Fazbear Frights that have set the standard, Kids at Play comes off as dull.

Find Player Two!: I really liked the concept of this story, and it brought me back to the intrigue and mystery of the first games. The pacing made sense, and it's idea of exploiting the human desire to always be right into a quick read worked in its favor. Some elements towards the end could've been elaborated on more, but besides that, it was a nice read.

Overall, Prankster was okay at best. Unlike HAPPS of Tales From the Pizzaplex, the third story hardly makes up for the disappointment that is Kids at Play and Prankster.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Spoiler Free*

This is the eleventh and technically last instalment in the "Fazbear Frights" collection. Just like the previous books, this book features 3 independent stories. "Prankster", "Kids At Play" and "Find Player Two". Now the first story, named "Prankster" is more like a mystery story rather than a horror story, albeit it gets more horror/horrific towards the end. This story is theorized to be correlated or at least a reference to FNAF VR. Take that as you will. The second story, named "Kids At Play", is a pretty scary one. The main character does something bad, regrets it and tries to atone for it. But this is a Fazbear Frights book, so you can assume what happens. The last story "Find Player Two" is not only my favorite story in this book, but it's also the scariest. The way they went about this story was amazing! It easily carries this book to a 5 star. Since this is the last book in the mainline series, it would be a shame to stop your collection at 10.

[Tarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

another good story. I like when they have a couple of author’s writing the stories because it seems to have more variety.

prankster- this was an intense story, once you get past the main character being a lame simp. but the tie in with the game Help Wanted is so cool, and I really enjoyed the sense of losing oneself so much, just like we saw in Sergio’s Lucky Day.

kids at play- I’m not sure why this story gets so much hate? i really enjoyed it. sure the main character was a spoiled shit, but that made his outcome that much more enjoyable.

find player two!: yipes, this one was sad. i definitely felt for both of the main characters, Mary Jo for being abandoned and Aimee for just wanting to find out what happened to her friend. the overall mood of the story was very sad and you could tell Aimee was full of so much regret in her life. and her ending was also very sad and unfair.

[Bailin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have owned this book for two years, and this has been my first time reading it. "Prankster", nothing that I thought I was going to get based off the cover art, could possibly compare to what I was given. Reading that ending made my stomach curl, and left me with a question. Who was the person speaking, because I don't believe it was Parker like the story wants us to think in beginning. "Kids at Play", I'll say it straight up, Joel deserved it. Even if reading the description of what happened to him made me feel sick, he deserved it. And at least Caleb was found in the end. "Find Player Two!", jeez, I feel really bad for Aimee, survivors' guilt is a bitch. But I don't blame her for running, Emmett was creepy as shit in the beginning. But Mary Jo didn't deserve that, she was a good friend to Aimee. Not saying that Aimee deserved what happened to her either.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very weak installment in the Fazbear Frights collection and it's evident this is the penultimate volume. I bypassed the first two stories and only focuses on the last novella, Find Player Two! The first two books were boring and barely tied to FNAF. All i want is stories with animatronics and heavy connections to the pizzeria. Hopefully the next series, Tales from the Pizzaplex, will give me what I want. Find Player Two! was very grim, but it was tense and actually took place in the arcade. I only have one book left in the Fazbear Frights collection. Hopefully it's a big sendoff or most likely a fizzled out firework. I love FNAF and I'm also anticipating the next film this winter. It looks like they listened to the fans and cleaned up the mess from the first film. As long as there's less montages of Mike's missing brother, I wont have to go sicko mode on their ass.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this set of stories was pretty good. The first story was basically body horror with no real morality tale that I can gather. The ending was left ambiguous but that's the norm for these books.

The second story was basically don't be a dick and appreciate what you have already, patents, friends.... etc. The body horror in this was used well given the fact that the man guy, Joel, was always told he was pretty and thought he deserved things for being pretty.

The third story was just sad. The main girl, Amy, couldn't get over her involvement in her friends disappearance. I guess the moral is; kids make dumb mistakes and it's best to tell the truth even if it gets you in trouble.

The epilogue was good. Nice ending to the stitch wraith.

[Triss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fazbear lore complete! Yes I read 12 before I got to 11 and the others. Story one where to start my god what was with the pranks I hate people who oh don’t worry you’ll get it later. Ugh. Not my fav story and I was disappointed with how it ended. Story 2 spoiled brat. Kid struggles and wants to blame the world and not try to change it for himself so it gets better. Not a half bad story but not super strong entry. Find player 2, it was a wild ride. I do wish there would have been a **** at a certain part as it confused me for a few moments until I realized what happened. Freddy you guys love locking people in don’t ya. Stitch-wraith and Larson, yay you guys made it to 6am!!!

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

Featuring some of the weirder stories in the series, Prankster doesn't feel satisfying as a conclusion to the Fazbear Frights series. The title story is a decent tale that seemingly ends to quickly, leaving readers confused. The second story, Kids at Play, includes bad characters and a strange new antagonist that offers no explanation beyond the name Fazbear Entertainment. The final story, Find Player Two!, features the most conflicting attitudes towards a character that ultimately doesn't deserve it, along with a plot that just makes the reader feel as if they're running in circles.

[Wyatt Montague · Rating 2 out of 5]

Third story was the only one worth a damn. The first story is confusing unless you're totally familiar with FNAF lore (and while I realize the book is marketed to those people, it still shouldn't leave less-versed readers scratching their heads). The second story has noxious characters and an ending that makes absolutely no sense. The third story, I've seen people complain about it, but in the context that it didn't fit into the lore as they wished. The third story is a gem here, the rest could be tossed.

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prankster: The best one of this volume but still not that great, the premise is pretty generic as it is basically about a prank going to far and it is left ambiguous about what is going on and the implications are creepy but just kind of boring.
Kids at Play: Good set up that is just ruined by it's ending as it really does not make much sense but still up until then it was good as it becomes like a FNAF version of "I know what you did last summer".
Find Player Two!: An ok story with a nice ending but just kind of boring until that point.

[Callie LaBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
Plotline: 3.5/5
World-Building: NA
Audiobook: 4/5

Themes: 3.5/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Enjoyment Factor: 3/5
Review: These stories keep getting increasingly gory with these books, and I am unsure how they keep topping each other. The first two stories had nothing to do with Freddy's, which was quite strange, but that last one was so creepy and sad. Listening to that story was quite harrowing. The final piece seems to be ramping up and is taking some wild twists I was unprepared for.

[Ellasayn · Rating 3 out of 5]

That first story was easy forgettable. I didn't like the main character and the ending was vague. Normally I don't mind vague since this is horror but this one was just a bit too much to the point I'm unsure what to make of it.

The second story was a lot better. The main character was a jerk but that ending makes me quite happy. It was statisfying.

The third story takes the cake that one was really solid and I enjoyed it the most out of all of them.

The first two stories just kinda didn't feel like part of the rest of the series imo. Also the Stitchwraith ending felt messy...

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving this one only 3 stars. The first two short stories are not that good. And honestly they seem hardly tied to FNAf except for quick mentions here and there. Most of the scary parts in these two were from gross, gory descriptions, which this series has not really used alot.

The last story was the best and most creepy. Definitely felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up at times. It was great.