Reviews

Three Well Developed Short Stories Written With Heart And Actual Character Development In Mind.

This is definitely the best out of the four Fazbear Frights books I have read. Three was let down by a terrible final story and Two was a mixed bag. If you don't care about the Epilogues this is the one I would recommend the most. The final two short stories definitely struck a core with me. I'm very impressed by how consistent in quality all the short stories are. Step Closer is my least favourite whilst Coming Home was my favourite as explored Grief and Ghosts in a complex way.

Despite being a major improvement from the second and third instalments, there's still a lot of stuff that could have been written better.

Coming Home gets in the mind of a child perfectly whilst Step Closer aims to look at how stressful divorce can be in a way that makes the main character look like an absolute unlikeable spoiled jerk until the ending twist of the story. Pete needed a lot more development throughout Step Closer as in the end I felt pity for him instead of absolutely feeling horrified for him. It continues one of the many pet peeves of having an unlikeable child protagonist without developing them. Chuck was written sweet to the point I routed for him rather than Peter. I'm glad Coming Home wrote Susie and Samantha with complex layers and hope future stories write their child protagonist like this.

Secondly I mentioned this in my review of 1:35 Am but a lot of the beats of these stories are way too repetitive. The pacing and repetitiveness needs improving on big time. In Step Closer and Dance With Me I was begging for the ending to come by the time I got half way through the stories. Coming Home's repetiveness at least had rhyme and reason. It's making all the short stories become predictable and very unoriginal. It's one of the weakest elements of this series and isn't good for readers who like fast paced complex stories. I get that this is suppose to appeal middle grade/ early ya readers but the stories are dumbed down to the point its actually laughable.

Finally the tone. As much as the three stories connected through themes, Step Closer felt very out of place from Dance With Me and Coming Home as Step Closer is about a borderline disturbing curse whilst Dance With Me and Coming Home are none gore stories that have important morals to share. As much as I prefer Step Closer over Into The Pit at least all of those three short stories had a consistent tone that made all the stories feel connected. Here it just feels random to jump from one dark and disturbing story to two sad but uplifting ones. I feel like a good anthology should connect the stories in terms of tone alot better.

Other than that it still completely think this instalment is a huge step up from 1:35 AM and is absolutely worth the read, especially Coming Home. None of these stories despite being repetive are definitely not worth skiping. As a reader you'll get something important from all of them. So let's get onto some of the positives of this instalment.

First I have to say that I absolutely love how all three stories all though not consistent in tone are consistent in terms of themes and messages it wants to give to the reader. Each story in its own way focuses on the the theme of Family and Fixing Mistakes. I feel like it's important for younger readers to learn the importance of trying to fix any mistakes they've made and family even if it's a found one. It's especially present in both Samatha and Kaseys story. Even the Epilogue with Andrew and Jake. It makes every story flow better and feel like they all have a purpose for being in the book.

Secondly I have to praise the horror. Although the horror is mainly present in Step Closer I love how especially in this instalment it's not afraid to hide any gore and dumb down what's happening. The worst kind of middle grade book is the one where it dumbs down any kind of disturbing themes or parts of the story to please Kids but Step Closer as an Anthology doesn't do that at all. Even Coming Home doesn't hide or dumb down the heartbreaking twist of the story. It low key gave me Lovely Bones vibes. 1:35 showcased it's horror very well but Step Closer amplifies it from a ten to an eleven. The physiological horror is also a lot better in Coming Home and Dance With Me as a result making the stories less stale. This is truly an instalment that sticks to its genre.

Finally I have to praise how the stories actually expand the fnaf universe instead of feeling randomly out of place and not connecting to the Fazbear brand. Some of the stories have tried to disconnect from Freddys and as a result it's made the stories feel random and out of place but all three stories this time utilise Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and Circus Baby's Pizza World in fun and interesting ways with Coming Home connecting to the core og lore of the game and what this franchise was originally about. It connects the Anthology in a satisfying way and develops Cawthons vision in an exciting way, Coming Home especially. This entry overall just feels way more immersive in the fnaf multiverse.

Overall whilst the Anthology isn't flawless it's a breath of fresh air and a huge improvement on the other three.

My overall rating for this anthology would be 4 Stars but my individual rating as followed would be...

Step Closer: 4 Stars (Interesting Story, Ruined By Unlikeable Main Character and Rushed Pacing)
Dance With Me: 4 Stars (An Interesting Story That Utilises Ballora Quite Well But Is Also Very Repetitive And Predictable)
Coming Home: 5 Stars (An Emotional Ghost Story That Pulls From The Og Fnaf Lore In A Very Unique Way)
Stitch Wraith Epilogue: 5 Stars (Developed The Souls Possessing The Stitch Wraith Really Well)

Content Warnings

_izzybelle__'s review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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