#62 "This blood is bad to the bone!"
Evan is back with yet another Monster Blood adventure. But this time the Monster Blood isn't green but blue. And this time it doesn't grow, it multiplies! And it's multiplying into little blue monsters. What do you think these little blue monsters eat? ( )

This is it, folks. The final book in the original Goosebumps series. Number 62. It's been a wild ride. Finishing this book marks the completion of a life-long goal of mine. It's crazy that I didn't do this sooner, but now, with pride, I can claim to have read the full of the original series. Do I go on to Goosebumps 2000? Perhaps. But for now, I can rest with my first goal complete.

Evan Ross, Andy, and distressingly Kermit are back. Evan is watching Kermit for ten days while his parents are out of town. Why he needs to babysit/is getting paid to babysit when Aunt Dee is there is uncertain. But for now, he's watching Kermit and responsible for that child's actions. Naturally, Kermit is wrecking havoc once more. When, one night, Kermit dumps the can of Monster Blood that Andy brings over out, disaster strikes. This isn't green Monster Blood, no, this is blue Monster Blood. This one creates creatures, evil creatures with a thirst for water that makes them multiply. Each time they multiply, they get meaner. WHAT DO?

So, yeah, the [book: Monster Blood] books never really did much for me from the start. In this book's favor, the multiplying creatures were a lot more interesting than just making things bigger, which was pretty played out by the end of the first book. This book also had the benefit of making Kermit a bit more mature in its favor, and Evan just a bit less stupid. It was a quick, entertaining read, and with less obnoxious characters not the slog that [book: Monster Blood III] turned out to be.

So, all in all not a terrible end to a generally amusing kid's series. ( )

## This blood is bad to the bone!

Monster Blood IV is what you get when you take the plot of Monster Blood III -- which wasn't good -- and mix it with Star Trek's "the Trouble with Tribbles," and Joe Dante's Gremlins. It's a sour note for the series to go out on, after a total of 62 books. Like many of the series' low points (including other Monster Blood stories), Monster Blood IV is just uninspired and bland.

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

Evan, Kermit, Andy, and even Conan the Barbarian all return from Monster Blood III to take part in more of Kermit's obnoxious science experiments. By chance, Andy finds a container identical to the green Monster Blood containers of the past books, with the only differences being it's not labeled as Monster Blood, and it's blue instead of green.

This isn't creative or interesting so far, but just seems like an excuse to take Monster Blood in a slightly-different-but-also-quite-similar direction. As our heroes lose control of the Monster Blood, it takes the shape of a blobby chipmunk. Unlike the green Monster Blood of past books, the blue goo is cute and playful, and loves to bounce around chirping at our heroes. The second the blue cutie gets a taste of water, however, it changes: It starts multiplying at an alarming rate, and each generation of blue blood critters is increasingly more hostile and threatening than the last, growing teeth and eventually (slimy) hair.

The population of Monster Blood tribbles quickly spirals out of control, and, as in Monster Blood III, our heroes are unable to keep it a secret for long before the monsters threaten the entire town.

And like the immediate prequel, most of the plot takes place in a single, boring location, and most of the dialogue revolves around the characters' traits (Kermit's obnoxious; Evan's boring; Conan's a jerk). Andy's barely there this time, which is kind of a bummer as she's the only genuine personality in the group. The story ends with a deus ex machina similar to the first two Monster Blood stories, as well as an unnecessary explanation for the story's Monster Blood being blue instead of green. (No surprise: It's because of evil scientists wearing space suits.)

Monster Blood IV is a boring, by-the-numbers entry -- doubly hurt by being a retread of the first three Monster Blood books -- and a bummer ending to the Goosebumps series. It's not the worst Goosebumps story, but it's pretty close.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#61 I Live in Your Basement! | Special: It Came From Ohio!: My Life as a Writer ( )

Goosebumps. This is the series that kept me reading through my childhood. More than any other series, Goosebumps kept me interested in reading, and R.L. Stein is a wonderful children's writer. I applaud his efforts, and can't express enough my gratitude for the series. ( )