This is my least favorite book in the Stanley series, and yet I'm giving it 3 stars anyway, which is saying a lot about Zilpha Keatley Snyder as an author. She really knows how to create fun and interesting characters. I just wish she'd created a plot I could get more into here.Basically, this is a story about a dog. An enormous one, appropriately given the name Nightmare, as initially everyone believes that Blair is not telling the truth when he claims a giant dog visits him every night. Once the other kids find out, however, things change considerably.Almost everything in the story revolves around the dog. The kids feed the dog and take care of him every time he visits. They try to hide the dog from their parents. They try to find out who his former owner is, tend to his wound when he shows up with what appears to be a gunshot wound, and care for the dog, knowing full well they're not allowed to keep him.Even the two subplots get directly involved with the dog. One subplot involves a bully, Pete Garvey, who changes his ways, and actually ends up helping out with the dog. The other involves escaped convicts. Without giving things away, the dog ties into their story as well.The thing is, I'm just not a fan of stories about animals. The fact that I was able to enjoy this anyway says a lot about the author's ability to write characters, because they were the main focus for me. But every scene that involved taking care of the dog just bored me while I read through, hoping that the characters would say or do something interesting. And I feel cheated regarding the subplot involving the convicts. I'd have liked to have seen more danger and more of a mystery, considering that the other 3 books in the Stanley series involve either mystery or danger.Still, it's actually not a bad story for what it is. Might be worth checking out if you're into stories that revolve around a dog.
This is the third installment in the Stanley family series (although I forgot this and read it second this time). The children have aged and seem to have grown out of the magic for the most part, although there is still a sense of mystery. I also thing the characters seem more one dimensional which is a shame since it seems like they would get richer the more time was spent writing about them. One nice thing about the books though are the black and white illustrations. They are nothing at all like the cover art which i think was updated in an attempt to make them more appealing to the average 80's child. But the internal pictures are much moodier and more evocative.
What do You think about Blair's Nightmare (1985)?
Blair gets used more for creepy village-of-the-damned prescience in this outing, which is nice.It's the end of the summer after they've returned from Italy (the 'famous' kidnapping isn't referred to, it really is best forgotten) and David and co. have been trying to convince their parents to let them have another pet, to no avail. David is still our narrator, but Snyder has given him something interesting to think about, that is, a bully. But there's more going on: Amanda's become even more boy crazy ("ye gods"), Janie's convinced she's going to capture the escaped convicts rumored to be in the area and Blair's disattachment from reality is causing trouble at school, a problem only exacerbated (I almost wrote, exasperated...there's probably a review where I did write that) by his new story about a new dog he can only see at night.Though not as good as The Headless Cupid, this book at least works unlike the tepid The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case because the characters are allowed to express themselves, particularly the interactions between David and Pete, his erstwhile bully.
—Myles
