Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes

Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes
First edition cover
Authors
Country United States
Series Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre
Publisher
Publication date
  • December 17, 2015 (Kindle)
  • September 27, 2016 (Paperback)
Pages
  • 466 (Kindle)
  • 400 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1338134377
813.6

Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes is a 2015 horror mystery novel written by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley.[1] It is based on Cawthon's bestselling horror video-game series Five Nights at Freddy's, and is considered by Cawthon to be separate-canon to the events that occurred in the game series.

A sequel to The Silver Eyes, entitled Five Nights at Freddy's: The Twisted Ones, was released on June 27, 2017. Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet, a second sequel to the book, was released on June 26, 2018.

Plot

In 1995, 17-year old Charlotte “Charlie” Emily returns to her hometown, Hurricane, Utah, to attend the launch of a scholarship dedicated to her childhood friend Michael Brooks. Michael, and four other children were murdered at a local family restaurant, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Charlie’s father, Henry, designer of the restaurant’s animatronic mascots, was suspected of murder, and consequently committed suicide using another animatronic. Charlie reunites with her friends, John, Jessica, and Carlton, agreeing to revisit the restaurant. They discover it has been surrounded by a partially-built mall, finding the animatronics still in place.

Following the ceremony to honor Michael, John tells Charlie that he remembers seeing a person in a Fredbear costume on the day of Michael’s death, suspecting the stranger murdered him. That night, Charlie and co. return to the restaurant, further accompanied by friends Lamar, Marla, and her younger brother Jason. Charlie encounters one of the animatronics, Foxy the Pirate, who she was terrified of as a child. Charlie recalls how Henry used to own another restaurant in New Harmony, named Fredbear’s Family Diner.

Charlie and John drive to Fredbear’s, where Charlie recalls the day her twin brother, Sammy, was kidnapped by someone wearing a Spring Bonnie costume. This led to her parents divorcing. Charlie suspects Sammy’s abduction and Michael’s murder are connected. Later, the teenagers return to Freddy’s again, accompanied by the mall’s lone security guard Dave (actually William Afton). However, William Afton retrieves a Spring Bonnie costume and kidnaps Carlton, witnessed by Jason. The group flee, informing Carlton’s father, police chief Clay Burke, who suspects it is just another of his son’s pranks. A policeman, Dunn, is sent to investigate but is murdered by William Afton in the Spring Bonnie suit.

Charlie and John research Fredbear’s history, discovering a newspaper article on Sammy’s kidnapping. A photograph depicts Dave, who is identified as William Afton, co-owner of both restaurants. William Afton has placed Carlton in a costume, which can be worn by both humans and animatronics, through a series of spring-loaded mechanisms called “spring locks”. These locks could be lethal if triggered whilst a human is wearing the suit. When Carlton asks William Afton how he know about this, William Afton shows Carlton a pair of half-moon cuts, seen by Charlie earlier in the book.

Jason returns to the restaurant to save Carlton, followed by Charlie and her friends. They rescue Carlton but find that the animatronics – Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy – are aggressive towards intruders. Examples of this are when Charlie is chased by Bonnie, when Marla, Lamar and Jason are hunted by Freddy, and when an unknown animatronic nearly breaks down the security room door that protected both John and Jessica. William Afton claims the suits are haunted by the dead children, and that they don't remember who killed them. He also claims that "He'll walk over the teenager's corpses in the morning" because "They see him as one of them." The group is attacked by the animatronics all at once, fully expecting to die, but are saved by a fifth animatronic, Golden Freddy, haunted by Michael. William Afton attacks Charlie in the Spring Bonnie suit. Charlie activates the costume's spring locks, killing William Afton as everyone thought, his body dragged away by the animatronics, allowing the group to leave with Clay.

Charlie and her friends go their separate ways. Charlie goes to the cemetery to visit her father’s grave, recalling happier times with him.

Background

On December 11, 2015, Scott Cawthon posted a teaser on his website for an upcoming untitled novel. According to him, the novel was written "alongside a professional writer for the last ten months" and "expands the mythos", revealing "a human element never before seen in the games". On December 15, 2015, Cawthon revealed the title of the book. The book was originally called Five Nights at Freddy's: The Untold Story, but was renamed shortly after.[2] It was supposed to be available for Amazon Kindle on December 22, 2015, but because of an error in Amazon's system, it was released slightly earlier on December 17, 2015. The paperback edition of the book was published by Scholastic on September 27, 2016.[3][4][5][6]

Reception

Although it was released to resounding success, Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes has drawn in a lot of criticism from fans. According to Design and Trend, it all started when a fan got the Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes novel with the hope that the novel will have the answers to the mysteries on the game franchise. However, he was then disappointed because as for him, the novel doesn’t have anything to do with the game at all.[7]

Therefore, as fans had claims of the book's lore conflicting with that of the games' lore, Cawthon replied that:

"The games and the books should be considered to be separate continuities, even if they do share many familiar elements. So yes, the book is canon, just as the games are. That doesn't mean that they are intended to fit together like two puzzle pieces. [...] The book is a re-imagining of the Five Nights at Freddy's story, and if you go into it with that mindset, I think you will really enjoy it."[8]

Design & Trend surmised that based on Cawthon's statements, both the book and games are meant to be enjoyed separately, meaning that those who have not yet played the titles under the Five Nights at Freddy's games series can still cope with the events that happen in The Silver Eyes.[9]

Quoting on how The Silver Eyes could be improved, Latin Post stated, "Perhaps, it is better if Cawthon will give in to the request of the fans and reveal some clues in the book. Five Nights at Freddy's is a game that one won't be able to finish easily. Filled with challenges and puzzles, it tests one's strategy to play hard and survive. Its difficulty level is something one should not undermine. That is why many are hoping to find the answers between the book's pages. Cawthon will be doing his gamers a favor if the book will explain some of the mysteries of the game. If he does, for sure his fans will love it."[10]

On the positive side, Kevin Anderson & Associates complimented Cawthon and their very own associate, Breed-Wrisley on writing the novel. They commented that it had a "rousing narrative and animated pace" that "brings you into the main character, Charlie's world as she returns to her home on the tenth anniversary of Hurricane, Utah’s most gruesome homicide." Ending the quote, they said, "The first in a three-book series, Five Night’s at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes has fans hungry for more. We are so proud of Scott and Kira’s amazing accomplishment and look forward to celebrating many more in the near future."[11]

The book spent four weeks at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list in Young Adult Paperbacks.[12]

Sequels

Five Nights at Freddy's: The Twisted Ones is the second novel written by Cawthon and Breed-Wrisley. The direct sequel to The Silver Eyes, its events take place one year after. It was first discovered on Amazon in early 2017, sparking controversy on the legitimacy of the product. Later, Cawthon confirmed that the novel was in fact official.[13] The book was released early in some bookstores[14], but was released publicly on June 27, 2017.[15] It depicts about the main character, Charlie, who "had a new fresh start", but finds herself "drawn back into the world of her father's frightening creations" as she tried to move on.[16]

The third and final book in the trilogy, Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet, was released on June 26, 2018.[17] The novel takes a focus on Charlie's friends, who discover the truth behind Charlie's fate in The Twisted Ones, while mysterious events unfold after the opening of a new Freddy-themed restaurant.

References

  1. ↑ "Meet the Team". Kevin Anderson & Associates. March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ "The Next 'Five Nights at Freddy's' Will be...a Novel Called 'Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes'?". TouchArcade. December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ Frank Allegra (December 14, 2015). "Five Nights at Freddy's novel hits stores next year". Polygon. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Scott Cawthon+ release dates= impossible". Steam. December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ "'Five Nights At Freddy's' Movie In Full Swing, New 'FNAF' Novel 'The Silver Eyes' Released". Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Scholastic Signs on for 'Five Nights at Freddy's'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Scott Cawthon Addresses Negative Comments About 'Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes'". www.movienewsguide.com. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  8. ↑ Scott Cawthon (December 18, 2015). "Is the book canon?". Steam. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  9. ↑ "'Five Nights at Freddy's': Cawthon addresses backlash against 'FNAF' novel". Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  10. ↑ "'Five Nights At Freddy's: The Silver Eyes' Disappoints Fans: How it can be Improved". Latin Post. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  11. ↑ "New York Times #1 Bestseller, Five Nights at Freddy's". Kevin Anderson & Associates. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  12. ↑ "Young Adult Paperback Books - Best Sellers - The New York Times". Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  13. ↑ News, Auto World. "'Five Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location' Still Missing? Scott Cawthon Only Promoted 'The Twisted Ones' Book; Characters Fans Want To See". Auto World News. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  14. ↑ "Five Nights at Freddy's: Twisted Ones Novel Early Copy Out, Story Details Leaked (Spoilers)". www.thebitbag.com. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  15. ↑ "The Twisted Ones Release Date, Price, and Plot Premise". www.thebitbag.com. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  16. ↑ "'Five Nights at Freddy's': New Book Set for Release as Movie Development Starts Over". christianpost. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  17. ↑ Five Nights at Freddy's: Book 3. amazon. ASIN 1338139320.
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