#47 "Finders keepers!"
Squealing mice, silver dogs, Vikings??? Justin and Marissa's dad has taken them to Brovania in search of a good story. Their father is after one in particular called The Lost Legend. When Marissa and Justin try to help to find it they end up getting lost in the woods. And then the real story begins! ( )

[b: Legend of the Lost Legend|460496|Legend of the Lost Legend (Goosebumps, #47)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387734622s/460496.jpg|2811873] is such a terrible title. It vies with [b: A Shocker on Shock Street|125615|A Shocker on Shock Street (Goosebumps, #35)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867796s/125615.jpg|120980] for worst ever Goosebumps title, and even then... [b: Legend of the Lost Legend|460496|Legend of the Lost Legend (Goosebumps, #47)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387734622s/460496.jpg|2811873]. A title like that just shouldn't exist, even if it does have an amazing stereotyped Viking woman on the cover. Which this book does. Moving on.

A father has taken his children deep into the Brovarian forest in hopes of finding the Lost Legend. Nobody knows who wrote the Lost Legend, nor what its contents are. All they know is that apparently it exists and it is worth a great deal of money since people are so curious about it. Naturally, the two kids end up following Silverdog, the potentially worst named creature since Shaggydog, to his owners house and meet Luka the wildman and Viking Woman. Then they learn if they survive the test they can get the Lost Legend. Enter the weird fantastical world where almost everything is a wind-up toy or styrofoam and nothing is as it seems.

[b: Legend of the Lost Legend|460496|Legend of the Lost Legend (Goosebumps, #47)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387734622s/460496.jpg|2811873] wasn't a terrible book, but it also wasn't great. The imaginative world of giant cats and wind-up mice was pretty cool, though I think it would likely have made a better comic book or TV show than chapter book. It entertained in much the way old 80s movies did. Plenty of opportunity for expansion and fun, but ultimately little substance. Given, that is perfectly all right for a kid's book. ( )

## Finders keepers!

Legend of the Lost Legend was received poorly, and helped signal the impending end of the series. It's one of the only Goosebumps stories to never be republished. It's also a straight fantasy, with no horror in sight.

& it's not that bad. It's a fun setup, hampered by a second act of random events that have nothing to do with the defined setting or story.

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

The best Goosebumps stories rarely leave suburbia, and for good reason. When we get stories out in the woods, or island jungles, or arctic tundra -- anywhere remotely exotic from the Midwestern United States -- the stories never make any use or even understanding of the settings. This one, set in the forests of the make-believe country of Brovania, is no different.

Siblings Justin and Marissa are on a quest with their father -- a professor who collects and publishes folklore from around the world -- to find the Lost Legend. The story's title refers to stories of a lost folktale, written and buried deep in the area's forests. It's a fun setup, I think, and the first third of the book is solid Goosebumps. The kids get lost following a dog, and stumble upon an unusual woman (dressed as a viking!) who offers them what they seek if they pass a test.

Unfortunately, the test is where the story loses itself. The creepy woods are replaced with papier-mâché models pretending to be a forest (literally: The Fantasy Forest). Native life is replaced by animatronic mice and giant cats. And then the test is over. It doesn't make any sense, nor is it interesting.

The tale concludes with a humorous twist that does the series justice, at least: The Lost Legend of the title isn't quite what the heroes expected -- or wanted. While the story's not as bad as some of the preceding stinkers (I'm looking at you, Beast from the East), it's hurt by the cascade of random events driving the plot, and by not taking advantage of the great setting.

The idea of being eaten alive by a giant cat with a giant, scratchy tongue that likes to play with its food is pretty awful, though.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#46 How to Kill a Monster | #48 Attack of the Jack O'Lanterns ( )

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. ( )

Justin and Marissa are with their dad in search of "The Legend of the Lost Legend," which they believe will win their father fame and fortune. In the middle of the night, they are led by a dog to a woman who says they can have the legend if they survive a test. The test is full of danger- until they realize that everything is fake. When they figure it out, they are told how the (and their dad with whom they have been reunited) can get the legend of the lost legend- which they get and discover it just involves them being eternally lost. ( )