Eerie Indiana Book Reviews [Part III]
Mar. 5th, 2008 01:02 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
fairest1.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
eerieindianaEerie Indiana #11: The Dollhouse that Time Forgot by Mike Ford
After Syndi and Mrs. Teller bring home a dollhouse, Marshall notices a doll in the Eerie toy store that seems just perfect for it, and gives it to Syndi for her birthday present. It turns out to be a very special doll -- one that comes to life. The girl's parents, explorers, were so grieved by their daughter's death that they created a doll that, according to the South American tribe they visited, would hold the soul of a departed loved one. They put it in a dollhouse that was built as an exact replica of their home, and one night she opened a door between the houses and came back.
But she never aged, and after a few years her aunt -- who helped make the doll -- felt that her niece should be at rest, so she took the doll away and thought that was the end of it. And then sold the doll in her toy store.
Later, when the girl accidentally turns Syndi into a doll, she gets sold, too.
Er.
It wasn't that bad until it got to the whole part with the woman selling dolls that used to be people. That's rather disturbing, especially considering that she supposedly loves her niece very much.
Eerie Indiana #12: They Say . . . by Mike Ford
While visiting the Eerie Museum's exhibit on meteorites, Simon and Marshall get tied up in a battle between two rival groups -- one fighting to establish order, the other to spread chaos. A mysterious device, an evil clown, and the suggestion that maybe it IS something in the water combine to make an entertaining read. Another of my favourites.
Eerie Indiana #13: Switching Channels by Mike Ford
The final book to include Simon and Marshall, this is basically an extended novelization of the first episode of Eerie Indiana: The Other Dimension. Not bad for what it is, but I'm not fond of EI:TOD.
They tried, but . . . it was a Cargo Cult show. Fox realized how popular that the reruns of Eerie, Indiana were, so they tried to replicate it. The Cargo Cult refers to a tribe that was isolated for centuries, but then an airstrip was built in their jungle during a war. This worked to their advantage -- the pilots would give them lots of neat stuff like metal pots and candy bars. Eventually, the airstrip was dismantled and the pilots left. But the natives wanted them to come back, so they built a new airstrip. Using whatever they had on hand, they made a runway, signals, a wooden control tower and everything needed to look like a real airstrip, but no planes ever came. Some vital element was missing.
The same thing happened with the show. They tried to make a new Simon, a new Marshall, and put them in something that bore a passing resemblance to Eerie, but the part that made it so awesome was missing. It wasn't the same.
Thus, I don't think I'll continue reviewing the rest of the books -- everything set in this dimension just feels off to me, and they're hard to get through.
Also, I get the feeling that no one is really reading these reviews. Ah, well.
After Syndi and Mrs. Teller bring home a dollhouse, Marshall notices a doll in the Eerie toy store that seems just perfect for it, and gives it to Syndi for her birthday present. It turns out to be a very special doll -- one that comes to life. The girl's parents, explorers, were so grieved by their daughter's death that they created a doll that, according to the South American tribe they visited, would hold the soul of a departed loved one. They put it in a dollhouse that was built as an exact replica of their home, and one night she opened a door between the houses and came back.
But she never aged, and after a few years her aunt -- who helped make the doll -- felt that her niece should be at rest, so she took the doll away and thought that was the end of it. And then sold the doll in her toy store.
Later, when the girl accidentally turns Syndi into a doll, she gets sold, too.
Er.
It wasn't that bad until it got to the whole part with the woman selling dolls that used to be people. That's rather disturbing, especially considering that she supposedly loves her niece very much.
Eerie Indiana #12: They Say . . . by Mike Ford
While visiting the Eerie Museum's exhibit on meteorites, Simon and Marshall get tied up in a battle between two rival groups -- one fighting to establish order, the other to spread chaos. A mysterious device, an evil clown, and the suggestion that maybe it IS something in the water combine to make an entertaining read. Another of my favourites.
Eerie Indiana #13: Switching Channels by Mike Ford
The final book to include Simon and Marshall, this is basically an extended novelization of the first episode of Eerie Indiana: The Other Dimension. Not bad for what it is, but I'm not fond of EI:TOD.
They tried, but . . . it was a Cargo Cult show. Fox realized how popular that the reruns of Eerie, Indiana were, so they tried to replicate it. The Cargo Cult refers to a tribe that was isolated for centuries, but then an airstrip was built in their jungle during a war. This worked to their advantage -- the pilots would give them lots of neat stuff like metal pots and candy bars. Eventually, the airstrip was dismantled and the pilots left. But the natives wanted them to come back, so they built a new airstrip. Using whatever they had on hand, they made a runway, signals, a wooden control tower and everything needed to look like a real airstrip, but no planes ever came. Some vital element was missing.
The same thing happened with the show. They tried to make a new Simon, a new Marshall, and put them in something that bore a passing resemblance to Eerie, but the part that made it so awesome was missing. It wasn't the same.
Thus, I don't think I'll continue reviewing the rest of the books -- everything set in this dimension just feels off to me, and they're hard to get through.
Also, I get the feeling that no one is really reading these reviews. Ah, well.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:21 pm (UTC)But I agree- TOD does not, in any way, live up to its predecessor, so I was disappointed when I found out that the last few books were set in that universe instead.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 08:48 pm (UTC)Annoying, but at least they did the first twelve in the old universe -- after all, they were written when TOD was coming out, and Fox's marketing department might've opted to only do Eerie:TOD novels.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-06 12:32 am (UTC)