/lit/ - Literature

Where to start with these books

Your problem was not starting with Call of the Arcade

Try this

>>18299271
Because he made paperback versions and announced in the /lit/ magazine he’s making more.

For all these books get talked about, I've seen very little genuine discussion on them. So I decided to give Call of the Arcade a try.

TL;DR: is that this book is a mess. The first half reads like an extremely poorly written Goosebumps rip-off. The second half however, is where things get so comically bad that it felt like a literary version of The Room. My suspicion is that when F. Gardner wrote this, he realized the story was only 50 pages and not long enough to be marketed as a novel. So he decided to double down on the garbage he already shat out

>It's a local holiday (on account of a building being burned down several years ago), and our main characters consequently have a day off.
>They decide to go to an arcade because one of the boys heard a rumor that a copy of Polybius from urban legends might be there.
>Get greeted by a security guard at the entrance of the arcade. Asks them if they saw anybody suspicious.
>They proceed to run into a man named Sam. Who is also looking for Polybius (and totally not suspicious at all).
>Get flashback chapters periodically. They are literally titled “Flashback”, “Second Flashback”, “Third Flashback”, etc
>Flashback chapters are about some kid whose brother committed suicide after playing Polybius
>Parents and teachers get concerned that the brother's suicide is taking a bad toll on the kid's mental health
>The kid is indeed bothered by his brother's sucicide. But (plot twist!), the kid doesn't miss his brother but actually resents him because he envies his brother for getting to play Polybius, and for not sharing the experience with him.
>Inspired by what his brother told him about Polybius, the kid draws a picture so disturbing that it literally causes everyone who looks at it to immediacy commit suicide.
>Our two main characters (Jonny and Mark) travel deeper into the arcade building and get lost, and eventually are separated.
>Mark continues to wander and eventually runs into Sam again, who leads him to Polybius. Sam has purchased Polybius from the darknet, and meets with a man named Bob who sells it to him.
>Sam is (plot twist again!) revealed to be the boy in the flashback chapters. He also reveals his plan to livestream the contents of Polybius to trap everyone who watches it in an eternal hell.
>Sam leaves and Mark chases after him. In his chase he runs into his friend Jonny again. They also inform security that Sam is the creepy guy they were looking for.
>Security attempt to capture Sam, but he swallows a pill which temporarily turns him into the Hulk.
>The power runs out, and he ends up getting captured
>The guy who sold Polybius to Sam (plot twist), was actually law enforcement. He rewards the boys for helping him capture Sam.
>The boys ask to get exclusive access to a mental asylum to visits their friend Pete. Who was responsible for burning down the building mentioned at the beginning of the story.
>The End... or so it should have been. It's actually only the halfway point

For all these books get talked about, I've seen very little genuine discussion on them. So I decided to give Call of the Arcade a try.

TL;DR: The first half reads like an extremely poorly written Goosebumps rip-off. The second half however, is where things get so comically bad that it felt like a literary version of The Room. My suspicion is that when F. Gardner wrote this, he realized the story was only 50 pages and not long enough to be marketed as a novel. So he decided to double down on the garbage he already shat out, and the result was something truly bizarre.

>It's a local holiday (on account of a building being burned down several years ago), and our main characters consequently have a day off.
>They decide to go to an arcade because one of the boys heard a rumor that a copy of Polybius from urban legends might be there.
>Get greeted by a security guard at the entrance of the arcade. Asks them if they saw anybody suspicious.
>They proceed to run into a man named Sam. Who is also looking for Polybius (and totally not suspicious at all).
>Get flashback chapters periodically. They are literally titled “Flashback”, “Second Flashback”, “Third Flashback”, etc
>Flashback chapters are about some kid whose brother committed suicide after playing Polybius
>Parents and teachers get concerned that the brother's suicide is taking a bad toll on the kid's mental health
>The kid is indeed bothered by his brother's suicide. But (plot twist!), the kid doesn't miss his brother but actually resents him because he envies his brother for getting to play Polybius, and for not sharing the experience with him.
>Inspired by what his brother told him about Polybius, the kid draws a picture so disturbing that it literally causes everyone who looks at it to immediacy commit suicide.
>Our two main characters (Jonny and Mark) travel deeper into the arcade building and get lost, and eventually are separated.
>Mark continues to wander and eventually runs into Sam again, who leads him to Polybius. Sam has purchased Polybius from the darknet, and meets with a man named Bob who sells it to him.
>Sam is (plot twist again!) revealed to be the boy in the flashback chapters. He also reveals his plan to livestream the contents of Polybius to trap everyone who watches it in an eternal hell.
>Sam leaves and Mark chases after him. In his chase he runs into his friend Jonny again. They also inform security that Sam is the creepy guy they were looking for.
>Security attempt to capture Sam, but he swallows a pill which temporarily turns him into the Hulk.
>The power runs out, and he ends up getting captured
>The guy who sold Polybius to Sam (plot twist), was actually law enforcement. He rewards the boys for helping him capture Sam.
>The boys ask to get exclusive access to a mental asylum to visits their friend Pete. Who was responsible for burning down the building mentioned at the beginning of the story.
>The End... or so it should have been. It's actually only the halfway point