Fright Time #10

Fright Time #10

by Rochelle Larkin (Editor), Joshua Hanft (Editor), Eve Marko (Contributor)

THREE COMPLETE STORIES OF HAUNTING AND HORROR!

CREATURES FROM THE ICE - Eve Marko
Vermont is a winter wonderland for Tim, skiing with his cousin Joel. Even his tag-along kid sister can't spoil the fun. That is, until she finds a boombox that only plays its own tune and brings a sinister warning - along with four frightening phantoms from beyond the grave!

DEAD END DRIVE-IN! - T.W. Ayers
Marvin and the rest of the kids are excited that the old drive-in theater is about to reopen. But when the monster movie creatures come off the screen and attack them, there's no place to run, and no place to hide. Even the refreshment stand is stocked with terror!

STRANGE EXCHANGE - Roy Nemerson
Barry's family is hosting an exchange student, and Andy from Australia is an instant hit with Barry's friends. But why are Andy's eyes brown in his photo and blue in person? Why is everything running backwards? And why is Barry the only one to see the strange mist that's suddenly appearing?

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

About the author

Rochelle Larkin, who has written more than two dozen books, lives with her children in New York City.

Reviews

[Austin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I might give up on these Fright Time books; I didn't really enjoy any of the 3 stories in this one.

This is my 3rd Fright Time book I've read and out of all of them one was okay with one of the 3 stories in that one being one I liked. So 1 out of 9 stories I've liked. Lol.

I think part of the problem with these is they're just not that well written and they aren't good at pacing or utilizing that 40-60 page short story/novellete length. So yeah. This might be the last one I read.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This December, I’ve decided to start up my reads for the Fright Time series with something befitting of winter, at least cover-wise. I’ve owned some of these for probably about a decade, but I never bothered to read them—though to be fair, the few I had looked more like YA, and one of them was collection #8, which scared me shitless as a an eight-year-old. Anywho… for being another dollar-store Goosebumps, this entry was pretty good. Translation: it’s fine. Every story had some flaws but I enjoyed each to a degree. Here are my ratings/reviews for each:

#1: Creatures from the Ice (by Eve Marko) - 5/10.
Decent idea with a good character dynamics, but could’ve been both a lot shorter unless it got more to work with. Doesn’t really stick out to me; ‘twas mid. Writing wasn’t too bad but kinda flat compared to the rest.

#2: Dead End Drive-In (by T.W. Ayers) - 6.5/10.
I enjoyed the climax and the reveals this one had with the villains as it was up my lane of interest, however this one has some fallacies and dumb character moments in its writing that were jarringly rough and/or forced in a manner. Quite fun comparatively to the first story in this book, though.

#3: Strange Exchange (by Roy Nemerson) - 7/10 👑.
This one was the least offensive; it had a solid premise that delivered on all accounts, a good twist I had let slip by me when half-teased (and I’m usually good at calling these things), and some great moments in here. Writing was the best here as well. However, the story was a bit repetitive with the whole “reverse” idea, and the defeat of the threat was cheap and didn’t make much sense/would’ve required Einstein to put two-and-two together. Pretty good, though.

Overall, 6/10. I was going to check out more of these in the future either way (some other entries have my eye), and with the variety of authors on board with this series (I assume), this’ll likely be one of the least consistent series’ overall in kids/middle-grade horror. Until then… it’s now bed time. Cover is fire.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the most iconic of the covers for the Fright Time series. "Creatures from the Ice" has some promising imagery but winds up being a little too linear to really get under your skin. "Dead-End Drive-In" has a breathless, adorably clunky style that makes me sincerely believe it was written by a preteen. "Strange Exchange" is pretty repetitive but has a fun premise.

[Lauren]

Read this as a kid, been looking for it for years but all I could remember was parts of the cover. I remember really liking it.

[Zano Msibi · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible.just incredible

[Colton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creatures from the Ice ****

Well-told story in a suitably cold setting. Haunted radios, skiing, and cave ghosts combine for an eerie read. Ghosts are defeated with an old locket.However, there are no levitating skulls busting through ice.

Dead-End Drive-In **

Weird sci-fi tale that doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Monsters invading Earth through movie screens and are defeated by the power of soda machines. Goofy but not awful.


Strange Exchange ***

Decent enough story about an exchange student trying to take over the life of his hosts. The twist? The kid is possessed by a WWI pilot ghost and is defeated by flashlight. Yeah, clearly these authors had some problems bringing these stories to satisfying endings.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creatures From The Ice- Another ghost story, with a twist. Another one with very careing sibling relationships.

Dead End Drive-In- Decent plot and writing. Liked the setting and the small details. What was with the graves though? I thought they were takeing them to the other deminsion?

Strange Exchange- Liked the backwards thing and Andy being from Australia. The ending with the watch cracked me up haha

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one where only the first story is really ringing a bell, and then only faintly. I kind of remember liking it, and the general ice & ghosts bit, but it's pretty faint.