Item - The Deadly Experiments of Dr. Eeek

Maybe it's just my unusually high tolerance for R.L. Stine's work, but the over-the-top goofiness inherent to the series actually works in this book's favor (such as giant toads that can sing, and your friend being hooked up to glowing jars of pickles), and I consider it a fairly accurate representation of both the best and worst this series has to offer. It is somewhat of a guilty pleasure, though, since a lot of it is just awful. Then again, that's Stine for you; most of his works are pretty bad, with good bits thrown in here and there, and if you find it for a buck or two, and were already interested in the series, it's probably worth picking up.

More reviews by Darth Rabbitt

As a gamebook, this book is a failure. However, I do think that the book's value is a fascinating look into the author's mind. How did the author come up with these bizarre ideas? If this was expanded into a full game system with the same author but in a different series with a few hundred references, I think this adventure would be particularly memorable and entertaining. That is of course, if the author was willing to put enough into it to make it as high quality as possible.

More reviews by deleted-user-12219

This book is considerably weaker than the previous three. The plot is fairly aimless, the internal consistency is poor, and there's nothing particularly unusual about the gameplay.

More reviews by Demian

This book is much weaker than the previous three. Not only did the plot fail to fully capture my attention, the story and subsequent choices both feel directionless, rushed, and at many times, aloof. I know that many critics of the Give Yourself Goosebumps series are quick to point out the randomness and trippy-ness that plagues many of these books. While I do not necessarily mind some of the random, trippy scenarios found in these books, it bothers me in this instance because it takes away focus from the main storyline. I believe that this book would have been more successful had it gone for less silly endings; in my opinion, more work on the book's core focus would have provided a more enjoyable read.

More reviews by Enigmatic Synergy

To this point in Give Yourself Goosebumps, each book had branched into two distinct halves near the start, but The Deadly Experiments of Dr. Eeek rejects that convention…and it isn't the last eccentricity you'll see. You and your friend Sam stop by Eeek Laboratories to wait for your mother to get out of work. She promised to take you to a movie, but as you wait for her, Sam becomes restless. He's a fun kid, but gets into mischief easily. He wants to sneak into the labs and poke around; will you go along with that, or insist on waiting here for your mom?

Agree to Sam's plan, and you're nabbed by a chimpanzee named Oscar. He's being experimented on by a Dr. Yzark, who may not be the principled man of science he seems. If you and Sam waited for your mom in the lobby, you are solicited to participate in the mysterious Raster experiment, conducted by Dr. Eeek himself. Say no, and he gives you and Sam a green glob to play with. When the goo spreads over your whole body, can you save yourselves? Dr. Eeek will help, if you agree to the Raster experiment. It's a virtual reality test, one that projects you into a South Seas paradise. Survive a run-in with a Komodo dragon and Dr. Eeek summons you back to reality, but you're actually injured from the nasty lizard, and Sam is fighting for his life in the VR realm. Go back under to save him, and you see Sam fighting a freak octopus. Can you prevent Dr. Eeek from killing your friend? Play your cards right and he'll be carted off to jail in real life. If you don't go back into the VR to save Sam and instead run to get help, you might accidentally telephone for pizza and then trigger the office sprinkler system, but as long as the cops apprehend Dr. Eeek, it's a win.

Did you volunteer for the Raster experiment from the start? Once you meet Dr. Eeek you may wish to renege on that, but Sam stays behind, wanting to be paid. On your own in the lab's corridors, you might find a kid whose body is partly canine. He hands you a silver whistle and says you'll need it. By the time you trace your path back to Sam he's gone, but left a trail of gum wrappers. Dr. Eeek has him strapped to electrodes, but vows to free him if you answer a trivia question about My Hairiest Adventure from the original Goosebumps series. Get it right and Dr. Eeek still locks you in the Canine Maze. Encounter a pack of snarling dogs and you'll be glad to have the silver whistle, which makes them docile. If you don't meet the dogs you might come across a vending machine, but eat too much of its food and you and Sam transform into dogs. If the pack of real dogs finds you now, will they rip you apart? Maybe you’ll cross paths with Dr. Eeek; threaten to bite him and he'll give you a pill to turn human again. Maybe you saved Sam from Dr. Eeek earlier and were never banished to the Canine Maze. The doctor is baffled by your resistance, but when he learns who your mom is, things change. Has she fallen afoul of Dr. Eeek, and he's experimenting on her? If you defeat the madman, then you, Sam, and your mom may exit the building alive and in time to enjoy the cinema.

Nothing is wrong with the concept, but The Deadly Experiments of Dr. Eeek mostly fails. With a few brief exceptions, the lab settings aren’t as unnerving as I hoped for. Internal continuity from one story branch to the next is unreliable; I've seen worse in other gamebooks, but this one would be better had the author prioritized plot cohesion. R. L. Stine's roots are comedy, so I understand his impulse to go for the joke, but The Deadly Experiments of Dr. Eeek would have benefited from the simple, eerie vibe of early entries in original Goosebumps like Stay Out of the Basement and Night of the Living Dummy. This book is the first Give Yourself Goosebumps failure, which is regrettable because it held much promise.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

No book in this series has a plot that could be considered 'good' by any measure. Give Yourself Goosebumps is not about the scares or solving goal-oriented mysteries. Mainly, the series is enjoyable for its off-the-wall (but by no means original) sense of humour. The bar for judging these books is not very high to say the least. At times they seem vaguely similar to the worst "work" of R. A. Montgomery.

Dr. Eeek is no exception. It consists entirely of random, silly and often bizarre events strung together haphazardly. It is far from the best book in the series. Whoever wrote this took the whole 'top secret lab' setting and stretched it as far as it would go - and that's pretty far. I won't say this is something to be avoided like the plague, but one should definitely not expect to be horrified while reading or to find a highbrow, good quality gamebook between the covers.

More reviews by Stockton