The Betrayal (The Fear Street Saga Trilogy #1) by R.L. Stine
Release: August 1st 1993
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Amazon
Fear Street Saga #1: The Betrayal Synopsis:
The Secret is Out!
Why do so many horrifying things happen on Fear Street? Nora knows.
She knows how the terror began. Nora knows about the young girl who burned at the stake–and the bloody feud between two families that caused the unspeakable horror that has lasted 300 years!
She knows, and she wants to tell.
Are you sure you want to hear it?
Review:
I remember reading the Fear Street Saga trilogy when I was a teenager and getting scared from its creepiness. I decided to re-read them along with the continuing “Sagas” series to see if they still had that effect on me now.
While this book did not have the same effect on me this time, I still enjoyed reading it. The main highlight of “The Betrayal” is in its plot. The overall pacing is fast and consistent and never gets boring at any time. I didn’t care for the character’s love stories because it just went by way too quickly. Instead, the story of revenge, malice and betrayal made this book an enjoyable read. The story spans across generations and it was interesting to read how the feud between the Fiers and the Goodes started. There are still some eerier elements like when the skeleton falls on Ezra, and when Edward sees Susannah’s ghost in the forest. More than Susannah, I felt sorry for Mary and hoped that she got somewhat of a happy ending.
There were a few minor problems with this book though. Firstly, there are a lot of characters involved, and the pacing is also very fast, so it takes time to a hang of who’s who. There are also a few sexist remarks which are uncomfortable to read, with dialogues like ‘a woman’s place is in the kitchen’. However, I guess that was true for that time so really can’t complain about that. I would have liked to see more details on how William practiced his magic to get revenge on the Fiers. It would have been fun to also get a backstory on Benjamin and how the trials got started.
Overall, “The Betrayal” is still a fun book to read and I think those reading it for the first time will still find it intriguing and suspenseful.
