The Betrayal (Fear Street Saga Trilogy, No. 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

R. L. Stine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1993

Through 20 books, R.L. Stine has alluded to the cursed Fear family, whose mansion burned down in a terrible fire. All that remains of the Fears is a legacy of evil. Now Stine takes readers back in time, telling them finally the awful truth of what happened to the Fears . . . and why their evil lives on after 300 years.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

R.L. Stine invented the teen horror genre with Fear Street, the bestselling teen horror series of all time. He also changed the face of children's publishing with the mega-successful Goosebumps series, which Guinness World Records cites as the Best-Selling Children's Books ever, and went on to become a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, and their dog, Nadine.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (August 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671868314
• ISBN-13: 978-0671868314
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Horror
  • #84 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Authors, A-Z

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How the horror all began....., May 14, 2000

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Betrayal (Fear Street Saga Trilogy, No. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Living in 1692 Massachusetts, Susannah Goode was an innocent, naive young girl. Her only mistake: loving the son of her family's bitter rivals, the Fiers. A young man whose angry father sentenced Susannah and her mother to burn at the stake. Leaving Susannah's father so devestated that he turned to the black arts and curses the Fiers for all eternity. Wherever the Fiers go, they taint the very ground with their pressence. No one who crosses their path can escape the curse - no matter how innocent or evil they are. And two hundred years later, innocent Nora Goode, whose like Susannah loved a Fier, pays the price - and now she must record the history of the evil that decimated the Fiers. I always wondered why so many bad things happened on Fear Street, and now I know - and it makes it that much more creepy!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Goode vs. Fier: Part One, November 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Betrayal (Fear Street Saga Trilogy, No. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Betrayal" is the first book in The Fear Street Saga, chronicling the start of the Fear Street curse. The story begins in 1900 with the Fear mansion burning to the ground, killing everyone inside. Nora Goode is the only survivor, but she witnesses a horrible image through the window of the house--a young woman is tied to a stake and burned alive.

The book quickly flashes back to 1692 in Wickham Village, Massachusetts Colony, where the latter young woman lives with her family. She is 16-year-old Susannah Goode, and she's in love with Edward Fier. However, his family forbids him to marry a poor girl like Susannah. To prevent them from eloping, Edward's father accuses Susannah of witchcraft, along with her mother.

Yet before their death sentences are carried out, they're given one last glimmer of hope. Edward's uncle promises to arrange for their release if Susannah's father will pay for their freedom. Of course he does, but when the next day arrives, his daughter and wife are still burned. Apparently, the Fiers had fled the town that night after robbing everybody in it. Vowing to avenge his family's death, he invokes the Evil One (ironically, he was the one practicing black magic, not his daughter and wife) and sets out to create a vendetta between the Goodes and Fiers.

I highly recommend this book to Fear Street fans. Once you've read "The Betrayal", you'll definitely want to finish this saga out with "The Secret" and "The Burning".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HORRIFYING AND DISTURBING...AND THIS IS JUST THE BIGINNING, May 13, 2001

By 

Rebecca (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Betrayal (Fear Street Saga Trilogy, No. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the book where R.L. Stine finally reveals why Fear Street is so haunting and terrifying. THE BETRAYAL starts out in the 1900s in Shadyside, Massachusetts. Nora Goode is a young girl who just lost her lover, Daniel Fear, in a terrible house fire that fire fighters couldn't even put out. Nora knows the terrible secrets of Fear Street and must let everybody know before it's too late.

She's the narrator, and she starts writing a book about the street. Her story starts out during the 1600s in Wickham, Massachusetts - a time when witchcraft is a very dangerous gift to posess. Anyways, a young pretty girl named Susannah Goode lives with her family in the village and soon becomes attracted to Edward Fier the son of Wickham's "governer", Benjamin Fier. When Benjamin learns that Edward wants to marry Susannah because they are in love, Benjamin falsely accuses Susannah and her mother of practicing witchcraft because he believes Susannah is "not a perfect match" for Edward. So he ends up burning Susannah and her mother at stake. Furious, Susannah's father - who really does practice witchcraft - puts an evil spell on the Fier family that they will all die and pay for stealing his innocent family away from him.

The first part in this saga ends when Edward finds out the truth about Susannah - it's several years later and Edward has been married to another woman - and her mother.

THE BETRAYAL is a really great book and a must read for all FEAR STREET fans. It's so good you can't put it down 'til you've finished. I really recommend it, and I also recommend the other two parts in this saga: THE SECRET and THE BURNING. Awesome, fun books to read for a relaxing evening!