Pre-synopsis commentary
Troy occasionally makes comments or jokes prior to the "Brief Synopsis" section. Most often, it's in the form of parenthetical comments. (Like this.)
Why does this warrant a page? Put simply, people frequently skip over the Front Tagline, Back Tagline, and Official Book Description sections. In Troy's own words, "Sometimes I wonder how many readers of the blog bother to look at the Official Book Description".
Parenthetical comments[edit | edit source]
- Egg Monsters from Mars:
Back Tagline: Which Came First, the Monster or the Egg? (which makes no sense but let's be with them on the pun)
- Piano Lessons Can Be Murder:
Front Tagline: Play it again, hands!
(Is the target audience even going to get this pun?)[1] - Beware, the Snowman:
Official Book Description:
Jaclyn used to lived with her aunt Greta in Chicago. But not anymore. They've moved to a place called Sherpia. [...] Jaclyn can't believe she's stuck out in Nowheresville. No movie theaters. No malls. No nothing. [...] (Sometimes I wonder how many readers of the blog bother to look at the Official Book Description, which is transcribed from the back of the book. If you don't usually, treat yourself for this book. It contains two amazing errors, which will be revealed at the end of the entry.) - Monster Blood IV:
Front Tagline: This blood is bad to the bone! (What.)
- Triple Header: Book 2:
Back Tagline: It's One, Two, Three Times The Scares!
(Judges? *buzzer sound*) - Night of the Living Dummy:
Official Book Description:
[...] Kris decides to get a dummy of her own. She'll show Kris.
[...] (That's not a typo up there, Kris is gonna show Kris) - Night of the Living Dummy III:
Front Tagline: Every dummy has his day-- and his night!
(What, no He's walking a third time, he's stalking a third time...?)[2] - Deep Trouble:
Front Tagline: Just when you thought it was safe...
(If that tagline were one word longer, Scholastic would be cutting Universal a check)[3] - Don't Go to Sleep!:
Front Tagline! Rise and shine. Forever. (What does that even mean?)
- The Curse of Camp Cold Lake:
Front Tagline: Last one in is a rotten...ghost! (Are you kidding me)
- Brain Juice:
Front Tagline: A mind is a terrible thing to drink.
(What, no Juice your own adventure?)[4] - Jekyll and Heidi:
Front Tagline: Half human. Half beast.
(That tagline is Half-assed) - Scream School:
Front Tagline: Student body stalker... (What.)
- The Haunted Car:
Front Tagline: Ghosts, start your engines! (What.)
Miscellaneous comments[edit | edit source]
- Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes (at the very start of the review):
Phantasm XXXIV: Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes[5]
- There are several reviews that break Troy's typical reviewing structure:
- Quiz entries (Fright Camp, Monster Blood III, and The Werewolf in the Living Room) all have unlabeled introduction sections.
- Similarly, the Tales to Give You Goosebumps books feature background descriptions prior to the summaries. Book #1 labels this as Brief Background. All subsequent entries (#2, #3, #4, #5, #6) have unlabeled background sections.
- Goosebumps Live on Stage: Screams in the Night and Earth Geeks Must Go! deserve honorable mentions, as neither labels a Brief Synopsis section.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The pun is a Casablanca (1942) reference. "Play it again, Sam" is a notoriously common misquote, with the correct line being "Play it once, Sam."
- ↑ The tagline of the first book was, "He walks. He stalks..." The tagline of the sequel was, "He's still walking. He's still stalking."
- ↑ The tagline for Jaws II was "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water..."
- ↑ A reference to the Choose Your Own Adventure books. (Like Goosebumps, it was a successful series of paperbacks for kids.)
- ↑ A long-running horror film series about a supernatural undertaker who reanimates the dead as dwarf zombies.
