And now we enter a book I really wasn't fond of last time. A book that had so much potential, but Stine wasted it by changing the focus mid-story. Has time melted away that anger? Let's see with The Abominable Showman of Pasadena.
THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF PASADENA
RELEASE MONTH: December, 1995
FRONT TAGLINE: He's no fun in the sun!
COVER STORY
I like this cover. A good mixture of the warm and sunny Pasadena environment with the abominable snowman who looks to have just waked up and is on a rampage. The downside being, obviously, that we never get any of this in the book, which would have made for such a strong climax. Regardless, a quality piece of work, even if the nipples creep me out in all the wrong ways.
FORGET FROSTY!
Jordan Blake and his sister, Nicole, are sick of the hot weather in Pasadena. Just once they'd like to have a real winter. A real winter with real snow.
And then it happens. The Blakes are off to Alaska! Seems that Mr. Blake has been asked to photograph a mysterious snow creature there.
Poor Jordan and Nicole. They just wanted to see snow. But now they're being chased by a mysterious creature. A big furry-faced creature...Known as the Abominable Snowman!
STORY
Jordan Blake isn't fond of his sister Nicole. Wishes she was never born. Like, not in a Tara Webster issue where she's a terror, but just because she's a know-it-all type. Also he's a prankster which already makes me less interested in following his adventures. They're living with their dad in Pasadena, giving us the first confirmed divorced family in Goosebumps. Their dad is Garry Blake, an explorer, often taking plenty of pictures of his travels. In this case, he visited the Grand Tetons and got pictures of bears. But when he develops them, he just gets pictures of teddy bears. Oh that Jordan. Such a wonderful protagonist.
The kids are also really interested in seeing snow for the first time as the hot California weather is driving them nuts. But what is also driving them nuts are Kyle and Kara Miller. A pair of twin bullies that always bother them. Either by squirting them with Super Soakers, stabbing them with Popsicles or more technically sound tricks like switching the handlebars around on their bikes. The latter is enough to send Jordan into a fit of rage, beating down on Kyle. Kara then hits Jordan with a giant rock a la Ken Patera at a McDonald's. But don't worry, it's a... sponge rock? They just have a movie prop rock lying around for some reason? Oh now I remember why I don't like this one.
As all of that goes down, Mr. Blake shows up to tell the kids that he's going to Alaska to take pictures of the Abominable Snowman that has yet to be of Pasadena. And with no caretaker to watch them, he's taking the kids on this journey to see a mythical giant snow ape. Somehow this is one of the better Goosebumps parents. They go to the fictional Alaskan town of Iknek because that sounds vague enough. Jordan thinks a polar bear is coming towards them, but it's actually a man named Arthur Maxwell, their guide.
Arthur tells the Blakes that the stories of the Abominable Snowman are real. That the townsfolk have claimed to see it, but anyone who has gone looking for it has never returned. So, being a logical Goosebumps parent, like actually, Mr. Blake lets the kids tag along. But when the kids start a snowball fight, Jordan falls into a crevice. After being freed, that's enough hunting for the day. This gives Jordan a chance to prank them with Snowman footprints he makes at night because this kid is a freaking riot. The next day they continue their trek, though Arthur is more concerned about actually finding this Abominable Snowman, but Mr. Blake is intent on finding any signs of it. And, sure enough, that night, Arthur speeds off on their dogsled with their supplies.
The kids head back to the cabin where they set up camp, but the snow gives way under them. Nicole, showing her know-it-all-ness, decides to yell for their father, which causes an avalanche that snows them in. They search around until they find a shimmer of light. And the Abominable Snowman who is still not of Pasadena. But he is frozen solid. Suddenly, the ape breaks free from his icy prison and is about to attack, only to be calmed down by some trail mix the kids brought. This act of kindness is enough for the Abominable Snowman to help them escape. They get their dad to the Snowman, but he's frozen solid. Mr. Blake is ecstatic, then decides on a wonderful idea. Let's take the Abominable Snowman to Pasadena. As well as some strange snowballs they find in the dwelling. And with that, this book falls down a larger crevice.
Jordan and Nicole return to Pasadena and all seems to go pretty well for a while, despite having a frozen Abominable Snowman in their dark room, since like many grave robbers-I mean explorers, Mr. Blake wants to give the Snowman to somewhere good. The Snowballs are also there and somehow haven't melted, which should set off red flags, but you know, dumb kids. They throw a snowball at a palm tree which freezes it solid. Then, stupidly, Lauren hits Nicole with a snowball that freezes her solid. Panicked, the kids decide to free the Abominable Snowman, hoping it can somehow fix this.
They use the trail mix again and the Abominable Snowman wakes up. It then hugs Nicole, which is enough to fix that, then hugs the tree, fixing that. And then, the Abominable Snowman just leaves. Like, nobody goes after this giant ape that can likely cause a lot of havoc. And even worse, we don't see any of that havoc because we're at the end of the book already. For real.
TWIST ENDING
This book is three quarters decent. Three. The strength of the book comes from that Alaskan expedition. Mostly thanks to giving us a new setting for a Goosebumps book, and some fun build to get us to the Abominable Snowman. And then we get the Snowman and we get a decent scene that wraps up just as quick when he gets the trail mix. And then we get the final quarter and good lord did Stine lose all interest in a book about an Abominable Snowman. Instead of building on the cool cover, or really giving us an adventure involving a rampaging ape in California, he changes course and focuses on magic snowballs. This reminds me of The Barking Ghost which suffered a similar fate. A strong first bit, but Stine wrote himself into a corner and just went a different direction.
And as such, we have what isn't the worst book of the original 62, but easily my most disappointing. The cover is so great and the whole concept of the story is one of the most interesting ones in Goosebumps. But somehow Stine just couldn't make it to the finish line and gives us an Abominable Snowman who likes warm hugs, predating Olaf by about 15+ years. Doesn't help that Jordan isn't that likable a protagonist and the twist is super mediocre. In the end, I want so bad to be more fair to The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, but I think I should have known what I was getting myself into. The word Abominable is in the title after all.
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