Dana Johnson's bratty little sister Brandy wants an egg hunt at her birthday party. And what she wants, she gets. Dana isn't too thrilled, until he finds a strange veined egg. And when it hatches into a yellow blob creature, Dana takes it to the town science lab, which he thinks might be able to help him figure out where it came from... only to find out that the alien egg monster might not be the real threat.
It is one of the nineteen original series books that was not adapted into the 1995 TV series. In 1999, it got a comic strip adapation in FBX magazine. It would later have an event based on it in Goosebumps HorrorTown.
The book provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: After the terrible egg party, the Johnson family meet their grandparents at dinner and discuss it, causing them to laugh. The Johnsons are at first not amused by this, but after dinner they all admitted it was pretty funny, even Dana's father who was furious at Brandy for the fiasco.
- Asshole Victim: Dr. Gray, who's been capturing the eponymous aliens and holding them prisoner. In the end, they tackle and smother him, partially to help their human friend, and also to protect the offspring he's carrying.
- Birthday Party Goes Wrong: At Brandy's egg party, the guests quickly discover that the eggs that they are supposed to be finding and collecting were not hard-boiled, which means they are easily breakable and gooey. Being rambunctious ten-year olds, the guests abandon collecting them and start throwing it all over each other and around the backyard, much to Brandy's distress.
- Bizarre Alien Reproduction: The eponymous egg monsters manage to impregnate a human boy with their offspring.
- Blob Monster: The eponymous characters, yellow glob-like things.
- Body Horror: The egg monsters manage to impregnate a human boy. Who then lays an egg.
- Bowdlerise: The comic strip version has Dana throw up the egg instead of laying it.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot:
- After the terrible party, Brandy chews out her mother for not hard boiling the eggs in the first place, which would have prevented this mess from happening.
- Dana notes later on that if it wasn't for this egg-themed party, he would not have found the Martian egg in the first place.
- Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong: At the end of the book, Dana has just survived being trapped with the other egg creatures, and is out for a relaxing walk. But then he stops on the grass next to the sidewalk, and he lays a massive egg, which presumably was a result of the alien egg creatures in the lab getting too close to him.
- Failed a Spot Check: When Dana discovers the Martian egg at egg search party. Yes, there was an egg party going on and he was in a hurry, but it's very odd that a genius like Dana wouldn't at first notice that the egg he got is not a small, white egg, but is instead an enormous, green veiny egg.
- Foreshadowing: When Dana is trying to show the alien egg to his parents, his exasperated father rhetorically asks if he should sit on it and hatch it. Considering that Dana got impregnated by the egg monsters in the lab, he does end up laying an egg at the end of the book.
- Gender-Blender Name: Dana, the male protagonist (though that was probably done as a censorship measure, given the ending of that book. It... was still gross no matter how you slice it).
- Get Out!: After Dana goes to Anne's house with the egg creature, he accidentally causes a scuffly that makes a mess in her kitchen. This causes Anne's mother to make him take the monster and get out of their house because she was disgusted by it and the ruckus it caused.
- Holiday Episode: The story is set during Easter.
- Hope Spot: While trapped in the lab, Dana realizes that since he told Anne that he was going to there before he left, she could tell his parents that he might be trapped and they can come rescue him. Sure enough, his father arrives at the place trying to find Dana. However, because Dana is concealed in a room that has a one-way mirror and is soundproofed, his father cannot hear him screaming his head off for help, and leaves the place.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: The human scientist, who's willing to keep Dana locked up, is the real villain.
- Idiot Ball: Mrs. Johnson doesn't bother with hardboiling the eggs for a party themed on an egg hunt and it's discovered when the eggs are easily broken and still very much raw. Cue a massive (and very messy) egg throwing fight between several children which not only ruins Brandy's birthday party but leads to Dana finding the Martian egg. For being a scientist, this is a very boneheaded move on her part.
- I'm Cold... So Cold...: While trapped in the cold lab room with the egg monsters, Dana goes on and on about how cold he is and close to dying. He tries thinking warm-related thoughts, curling himself up in a ball, and doing exercise, but none of them work. That is, until the egg monsters converge into one to act as a blanket to keep Dana warm.
- Implausible Deniability: When Dana complains about the American Girl doll prize at Brandy’s birthday, his best friend Anne reminds him that he had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme going on at his parties. When he tries to protest against this, she lists off certain TMNT merchandise that he had, much to his indignation.
- Innocently Insensitive: A case for both sides. When Dana goes to Anne's house to show her the egg creature, he finds that she is having scrambled eggs for breakfast (Dana even lampshades the irony of this). But when he shows it to her, she thinks it looks like rotten eggs that were used as a sick prank to ruin her appetite. Even more so when her mother comes along to grab the egg creature and empty it in the garbage disposal. Luckily, Dana saves it just in time.
- Let Me Get This Straight...: An annoyed Brandy does this when Dana wants to show her the Martian egg the same day after the terrible birthday egg party.Dana: [After waking her up] I want to show you this egg.Brandy: [Narrows her eyes at him] You're serious? After what happened at my party? After the worst birthday party in the history of America, you really want to show me an egg?Dana: Yeah. Here it is.Brandy: (Slams her bedroom door in his face)
- Made of Indestructium: The alien egg's shell is so tough, it doesn't even crack when Dana trips and falls on top of it.
- Mad Scientist: Dr. Gray, who's been studying the titular egg monsters.
- Missing Child: When Dana arrives home after escaping the lab, his mother instantly starts fussing him, saying that she and the rest of the family have been worried sick over his disappearance and the town has been searching.
- Non-Indicative Name: Three of Brandy's friends are the Hair Sisters. None of these girls are siblings, but they hang out a lot at each other's houses and obsess over their hair.
- Non-Malicious Monster: The eponymous Egg Monsters From Mars, who act to save Dana from their captor.
- Not Now, Kiddo: When Dana feels the egg throbbing the night after the party, he tries to show it to his parents and Brandy. His mother, his father, and his sister were all still bitter about the disastrous party and didn't want to hear any of it, even refusing to look at the egg he's trying to show them.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The morning after Dana escaped Dr. Gray's clutches, the normally timid boy wakes up bright and chipper. He races over to Anne's house, and on the way, he hugs Brandy. Brandy, who already thought he was crazy with his egg monster story, looked at him as if he actually was crazy.
- Parental Favoritism: Dana's parents dote on his sister Brandy, even though they both work in the science department and approve of their son's interest in science.
- Product Placement: American Girl dolls are mentioned by name.
- Tempting Fate: While the egg fight is going on, Dana thinks to himself that Anne wouldn't participate in something so disgusting and immature. But then Dana is immediately almost hit by a handful of eggs from her.
- The Un-Favourite: Dana is this; his parents clearly care more about his sister than him.
The comic strip provides examples of:
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: Dana lays an egg at the end of the book, but in the comic strip he violently coughs an egg up.
