Turn the pages if you dare. . . .In this collection of thirteen fabulously chilling stories from thirteen true masters of suspense, including five New York Times bestsellers and a number of Edgar Award nominees, all edited by none other than R. L. Stine, nothing is what it seems. From cannibalistic children, to an unwitting date with a vampire, to a crush on a boy who just might be a werewolf, no scary stone is left unturned. A must-have for all fans of the genre!
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up—Unlucky 13 sets the stage for this collection (Dutton, 2010) of spine-tingling, hair-raising, and heart-stopping short stories written by assorted young adult authors. The introduction, narrated by master of the macabre R. L. Stine, promises a selection of scary, surprising, and supernatural tales ranging from a haunting piece set in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey to the goings on in the home of a "perfect" family whose children's behavior is anything but stellar. Among the stories are "Tuition" by Walter Sorrells, "Suckers" by Suzanne Weyn, "Jeepers Peepers" by Ryan Brown, and "Shadow Children" by Heather Brewer. Each story is expertly narrated by a different voice, lending variety to the listening experience. Although the thrills and chills rating is higher for some stories than others, the overall collection will please listeners.—Cindy Lombardo, Cleveland Public Library, OH
VOYA - Jamie Hansen
Vampires, aliens, mind creepers, demons, sinister swamp people, hungry shadows, or cannibals next door —any one of these would guarantee shivers, chills, and sleepless nights for avid horror fans. R. L. Stein, dean of the creepy-crawlies, has collected stories by thirteen authors to provide thirteen times as much of the right stuff, under the aegis of the International Thriller Writers. In "The Night Hunter," by Meg Cabot, there are no princesses, but rather a teenager with a typically boring job at the mall—boring, that is, until she witnesses a bank robbery and finds herself at the mercy of a strange young man called the Night Hunter. James Rollins's protagonist in "Tagger," Soo-ling Choi dreams of a disaster that destroys her city. Will the Chinese symbols she feels compelled to paint ward off her horrifying visions? Don't move to the strange small town of Entrails, Michigan, the setting for Jennifer Allison's chilling tale, "The Perfects," or you might find yourself with cannibals for next-door neighbors. To most people, geckos are just cute little lizards, but Raymond Gunstein, the hero of Tim Maleeny's story, "Ray Gun," learns that a very nasty alien can disguise itself in a tiny green body. It is rare for a collection of stories to maintain the same quality from beginning to end, but Fear succeeds in delivering all the suspense, terror, irony, and twisted endings that any horror addict could crave. Add this title to all library collections and watch it find its victims, uh, readers. Reviewer: Jamie Hansen
Kirkus Reviews
Thirteen highly suspenseful short stories, well selected by none other than R. L. Stine, who contributes the first tale, have the power to attract and delight many stouthearted young readers. The man behind the Goosebumps and Fear Street megaseries enlists some of the best in the business, such as Meg Cabot and F. Paul Wilson, Walter Sorrells and James Rollins, who offer plenty of heart-throbbing supernatural horror, crime suspense, shockers and sometimes a mixture of all three. Babysitters may want to skip creepy "Jeepers Peepers" from Ryan Brown and a standout chiller from Jennifer Allison, "The Perfects," both of which offer little hope for their victims. Alane Ferguson pens the chilling "Dragonfly Eyes," which follows the feelings of a murdered girl as she strains to offer ghostly help to another endangered girl. Heather Brewer's "Shadow Children" brings to life those monsters that children know really are there in the dark. The editor pitches the collection to either middle- or high-school audiences with inventive but still easily understood stories. It's a winning set—there isn't a dud in the bunch. Fast-paced, shuddery-scary fun. (Horror/short stories. 12 & up)
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