Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes

Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes

File:Silver Eyes cover.jpg First edition cover
Authors	Scott Cawthon Kira Breed-Wrisley
Series	Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre	Horror Mystery
Publisher	CreateSpace (Kindle) Scholastic (Paperback)
Publication date	December 17, 2015 (Kindle) September 27, 2016 (Paperback)
Publication place	United States
Pages	466 (Kindle) 400 (Paperback)
ISBN	978-1338134377
Dewey Decimal	813.6

Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes is a 2015 horror mystery novel written by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley. 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, as well as his and her debut novel.

Two sequels to The Silver Eyes, entitled Five Nights at Freddy's: The Twisted Ones and Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet were released on June 27, 2017, and June 26, 2018, respectively.

Plot

In 1995, 17-year-old Charlotte Emily (known as “Charlie”) 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, 10 years ago. Charlie's father, Henry, designer of the restaurant's animatronic mascots, was suspected of murder, and consequently committed suicide using an unknown animatronic later used in the final novel. Charlie reunites with her friends, Carlton Burke, John, and Jessica, to revisit the restaurant. They discover it has been surrounded by a partially-built mall; they discover a back route into the pizzeria, finding all the animatronics still in place.

Following the ceremony to honor Michael, John tells Charlie that he remembers seeing a person in a yellow Freddy Fazbear costume on the day of Michael's death, suspecting that this stranger was the murderer. That night, Charlie and her friends return to the restaurant, further accompanied by friends Marla, Lamar, and Marla's younger half-brother Jason, who was only one at the time of Michael's murder. While playing an impulsive game of hide-and-seek with John, Charlie encounters one of the animatronics, Foxy the Pirate, who she was terrified of as a child. Recalling suppressed details of her childhood, Charlie remembers that Henry used to own another restaurant in New Harmony, named Fredbear's Family Diner, featuring two animatronics: yellow versions of Freddy and Bonnie.

Charlie and John drive to New Harmony, where Charlie recalls the day her twin brother, Sammy, was kidnapped by someone wearing a distinct yellow Bonnie costume. This led to her parents divorcing and leaving the original restaurant. Charlie suspects Sammy's abduction and Michael's murder are connected. Later, the teenagers return to Freddy's once again, only to encounter the mall's lone security guard Dave. He had blocked their entrance and in their eagerness to see Freddy's again, they asked him to join them. Upon entering however, Dave unexpectedly 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. He invites the group to stay the night in his home until his son returns from his prank in the morning. In the meanwhile, police officer Dunn, is sent to investigate the abandoned restaurant alone but is murdered by Dave in the Spring Bonnie suit.

Meanwhile, John and Charlie research Fredbear's history in the library, discovering a newspaper article on Sammy's kidnapping. A background check that Clay discovers reveals "Dave Miller", truly identified as William Afton, was co-owner of both restaurants. Separate scenes with Clay reveal that Afton was the primary suspect in the murders, but no direct evidence could be found against him. Back at the restaurant, 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 Afton how he knows about this, Afton deliberately reveals unnaturally symmetrical pairs of half-moon cuts, first noticed by Charlie when they met "Dave". William Afton was the true creator of these horrible reminders of hell.

Jason returns to the restaurant to save Carlton, followed by Charlie and her friends. They rescue Carlton - Charlie using her memories with her dad to release him from the spring-lock suit - and promptly knock out and tie up "Dave". They force him awake with a water bucket and question him about the murders. He coldly refuses to speak until Charlie notices he's staring at the yellow Bonnie head. Annoyed, she places it over his head, where he begins to speak fluidly. He claims the suits are haunted by the souls of the dead children, and that they don't remember who killed them. He also claims that he will "walk over their corpses in the morning" - referring to the group - because the dead children see him as "one of them" while in his suit. Shaken by his answer, they attempt to leave the place, only to swiftly find that the animatronics – Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy – are aggressive towards them. This becomes obvious as Charlie is chased by Bonnie, Jason is taken by Foxy, and is later hunted by Freddy, along with Marla and Lamar, all are chased by Chica, and an unknown animatronic nearly breaks down the security room door that protected both John and Jessica. The group eventually gets surrounded by the animatronics all at once, fully expecting they will be killed by them, but are saved when a fifth animatronic, the yellow Freddy suit (a.k.a. Golden Freddy) shows up. All the animatronics freeze on place. They all hear whispers from the empty suit; Michael's gentle spirit revealing itself. Clay then bursts through the brick walls with a sledgehammer, finding the group standing together and the animatronics frozen in place nearby. He begins to lead the group out to safety, but in a last attempt to do harm, Afton attacks Charlie in the Spring Bonnie suit. Charlie then activates the costume's spring locks, apparently killing Afton, and his body is dragged away by the animatronics, allowing the group to leave safely with Clay. The Golden Freddy suit disappears.

The group quietly goes their separate ways, the book leaving off with Charlie going to a cemetery to visit two unknown graves, recalling happier times with her father.

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. 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.

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.

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."

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.

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."

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."

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

Sequels

Five Nights at Freddy's: The Twisted Ones is the second novel written by Cawthon and Breed-Wrisley and is the direct sequel to The Silver Eyes. 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. The book was released early in some bookstores, but was released publicly on June 27, 2017. It portrays 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 tries to move on from the events of The Silver Eyes, which takes place a year earlier.

The third and final book in the trilogy, Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet, was released on June 26, 2018. 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.

Both of the sequels to The Silver Eyes received praise from Kevin Anderson and Associates for being listed as number one Amazon bestsellers during their respective releases.