Oh boy. I've heard many things about this one. Considered by many to be among the worst of the original 62, we may be about to finally be broken. Surprised it took 43 books really. It's The Beast From The East AKA The Dreadliest Game.
COVER STORY
This cover isn't scary, but it is still very appealing to the eye. Almost like Tim Jacobus got really high and spent his time staring at a Lisa Frank sticker book. I get to gust about the really nice foliage, only this time, it's strange, bizarre and unusual trees. I like the big umbrella trees, if not for the fact that it reminds me of Under the Umbrella Tree.
So I guess something good came out of this book.
Then we have the titular beast, which looks like a cross between the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, and a teddy bear. It's visually appealing, it's unique, it's... got nipples... and a creepy looking belly button. Okay, now that I'm concerned about this thing's anatomical correctness, perhaps I was wrong. This cover is scary after all.
STORY
Our protagonist is Ginger Wald. She and her family, which includes mom, dad, and identical twin brothers Nat and Pat, are on a camping trip into the woods. Nat and Pat are both brats (I didn't intend for that rhyme, but thank you Jovial Bob), which as we've covered in this book, is ALWAYS fun to have to follow. They become such a nuisance that dad tells Ginger to take them into the woods, but not to get lost. On one hand, I could say Goosebumps parents, but in this case, I can feel bad for dad as he sets up this perfectly good camping trip just for his sons to suck the enjoyment out of it. The three kids go deep into the woods and, surprise surprise, end up lost.
They end up going much deeper into the forest than expected, eventually finding a place with strange looking trees, much like the cover of the book. They also end up being spotted by a giant gorilla/bear-like monster. The beast that we also see on the cover. But this one's not the only beast in the forest as more of its kind show up. The kids try to escape, but eventually lose sight of Pat. After Ginger trips on a root, she and Nat end up surrounded by the beasts. One then goes up to her and touches Ginger, saying "You're it." You see, they don't just kill their prey, these beasts are a sporting type. They engage in a tag-style game called "Beast From The East".
Two of the beasts, Fleg and Spork, tell the kids about the rules. Ginger is the beast from the east due to being "it". She has until sundown to tag another beast or she and Nat (and presumably Pat) will be eaten. There are rules like you can only tag someone from the east, there are brown "free lunch squares" which means the beasts can eat you anyway, and you must be three feet tall at least to play. With no safe alternative, Ginger and Nat agree to play. Of course, when they get the first chance they can, the two kids try to escape, still on the search of Pat. They hear beasts coming, so they try to use some vines to escape, only for them to be deadly snakes. But this is apparently a good thing and gives them twenty points. After being saved by Fleg, he tells them that they could have tagged him, but too bad, as he vanishes again.
They wind up on a "free lunch square" and try to climb a tree to sneak tag one of the beasts. They didn't figure in that the trees were alive and would grab them both. Thankfully trees are ticklish and that frees both of them. They see some beasts and sneak behind a rock, then go to tag them, but they vanish again. However, the rock then suddenly explodes. See, that was a "penalty rock", and since Nat touched it, they start to take him. But since there's some yellow sap on Ginger's hand, that means fifty points, I guess. They throw Nat into a penalty cage, saying they'll eat him if he can eat a free escape tarantula. Ginger tries to tag Fleg, but since Fleg paused the game, it doesn't count. Yeah, I can see why most people don't like this book.
The beasts scatter again, and with the sun starting to set, Ginger has even less time. She sees a sleeping beast and tries to tag it, but ends up falling in a hole. A hole that also ends up being a free lunch square, which means the beasts go after her. But when they pull her out of the hole, she's now "made in the shade", which means she's in a spot not considered a free lunch square. She finds a baby beast and tries to tag it, but unfortunately it's under three feet tall, so that doesn't fix things either. She finds Spork and tags him, but it was from the west, so that doesn't count either. But she does manage to trick the beast into a game of freeze frame, which allows for her to finally tag him from the east. She's done it! She's home free! Except that she still has to play until sundown. A pity that.
The beast continue to chase Ginger, but in her dash, she finally runs into Pat. Since he hasn't been privy to this whole game, he doesn't believe Ginger and mocks her for a while, until she takes him to go and save Nat. They end up running into a squirrel/dog thing that leads them to the hiding cave. However, the cave is covered in bugs, which freaks the kids out. But the bugs help hide them as the beasts try to investigate. They escape the cave, thinking they're safe, but Spork tags Ginger again, just as the game ends. The beasts take Pat and Ginger to be barbecued, but when they see both Nat and Pat, they consider it a "classic clone". This means that they're considered "level three players" and these beasts are lowly level ones. They let the kids go free.
As Ginger, Nat and Pat make their way back to the campground in hopes of finding their parents, they get confronted by another beast. The kids say that they're level three players. Unfortunately, so is this beast, which tags them. Here we go again!
I'll be the odd one to say this, but I didn't think this was that bad of a book. Granted, there are problems. The twins are annoying, the game is infuriating, and by the end you're just waiting for the book to finish. But oddly, there were things I liked. As annoying as the game was, it still makes sense when you consider its the beasts traditions. Some people have claimed it to be like Calvinball, but Calvinball was just something that worked with whatever random rules Calvin would make. This is a group of creatures that have done this for their entire lives, and is a tradition to them. Which seems like Stine's strange way of writing the concept of someone being confused to the traditions of others. Only these traditions are far more deadly. Also, Stine does a decent enough job giving us the lay of the land, and makes it sound very original and bewildering. In the end, given some other really bad ones I've covered, this one seems more middle of the road than something as lazy as Monster Blood III or as downright boring as The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb. It's just another mediocre book within one of the worst runs of the original 62. The Beast From The East gets a C-.
They end up going much deeper into the forest than expected, eventually finding a place with strange looking trees, much like the cover of the book. They also end up being spotted by a giant gorilla/bear-like monster. The beast that we also see on the cover. But this one's not the only beast in the forest as more of its kind show up. The kids try to escape, but eventually lose sight of Pat. After Ginger trips on a root, she and Nat end up surrounded by the beasts. One then goes up to her and touches Ginger, saying "You're it." You see, they don't just kill their prey, these beasts are a sporting type. They engage in a tag-style game called "Beast From The East".
Two of the beasts, Fleg and Spork, tell the kids about the rules. Ginger is the beast from the east due to being "it". She has until sundown to tag another beast or she and Nat (and presumably Pat) will be eaten. There are rules like you can only tag someone from the east, there are brown "free lunch squares" which means the beasts can eat you anyway, and you must be three feet tall at least to play. With no safe alternative, Ginger and Nat agree to play. Of course, when they get the first chance they can, the two kids try to escape, still on the search of Pat. They hear beasts coming, so they try to use some vines to escape, only for them to be deadly snakes. But this is apparently a good thing and gives them twenty points. After being saved by Fleg, he tells them that they could have tagged him, but too bad, as he vanishes again.
They wind up on a "free lunch square" and try to climb a tree to sneak tag one of the beasts. They didn't figure in that the trees were alive and would grab them both. Thankfully trees are ticklish and that frees both of them. They see some beasts and sneak behind a rock, then go to tag them, but they vanish again. However, the rock then suddenly explodes. See, that was a "penalty rock", and since Nat touched it, they start to take him. But since there's some yellow sap on Ginger's hand, that means fifty points, I guess. They throw Nat into a penalty cage, saying they'll eat him if he can eat a free escape tarantula. Ginger tries to tag Fleg, but since Fleg paused the game, it doesn't count. Yeah, I can see why most people don't like this book.
The beasts scatter again, and with the sun starting to set, Ginger has even less time. She sees a sleeping beast and tries to tag it, but ends up falling in a hole. A hole that also ends up being a free lunch square, which means the beasts go after her. But when they pull her out of the hole, she's now "made in the shade", which means she's in a spot not considered a free lunch square. She finds a baby beast and tries to tag it, but unfortunately it's under three feet tall, so that doesn't fix things either. She finds Spork and tags him, but it was from the west, so that doesn't count either. But she does manage to trick the beast into a game of freeze frame, which allows for her to finally tag him from the east. She's done it! She's home free! Except that she still has to play until sundown. A pity that.
The beast continue to chase Ginger, but in her dash, she finally runs into Pat. Since he hasn't been privy to this whole game, he doesn't believe Ginger and mocks her for a while, until she takes him to go and save Nat. They end up running into a squirrel/dog thing that leads them to the hiding cave. However, the cave is covered in bugs, which freaks the kids out. But the bugs help hide them as the beasts try to investigate. They escape the cave, thinking they're safe, but Spork tags Ginger again, just as the game ends. The beasts take Pat and Ginger to be barbecued, but when they see both Nat and Pat, they consider it a "classic clone". This means that they're considered "level three players" and these beasts are lowly level ones. They let the kids go free.
TWIST ENDING
As Ginger, Nat and Pat make their way back to the campground in hopes of finding their parents, they get confronted by another beast. The kids say that they're level three players. Unfortunately, so is this beast, which tags them. Here we go again!
CONCLUSION
I'll be the odd one to say this, but I didn't think this was that bad of a book. Granted, there are problems. The twins are annoying, the game is infuriating, and by the end you're just waiting for the book to finish. But oddly, there were things I liked. As annoying as the game was, it still makes sense when you consider its the beasts traditions. Some people have claimed it to be like Calvinball, but Calvinball was just something that worked with whatever random rules Calvin would make. This is a group of creatures that have done this for their entire lives, and is a tradition to them. Which seems like Stine's strange way of writing the concept of someone being confused to the traditions of others. Only these traditions are far more deadly. Also, Stine does a decent enough job giving us the lay of the land, and makes it sound very original and bewildering. In the end, given some other really bad ones I've covered, this one seems more middle of the road than something as lazy as Monster Blood III or as downright boring as The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb. It's just another mediocre book within one of the worst runs of the original 62. The Beast From The East gets a C-.
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