Nightmare Academy (novel)

Nightmare Academy: Charlie's Monsters
Author Dean Lorey
Illustrator Brandon Dorman
Country United States
Language English
Genre Fantasy
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
2007
Media type Print (Hardcover
Pages 310 pp
ISBN 978-0-06-134042-0
OCLC 122337859
LC Class PZ7.L88638 Nig 2007
Followed by Nightmare Academy: Monster Revenge

Nightmare Academy: Charlie's Monsters (2007) is a fantasy novel written by Dean Lorey about a boy named Charlie Benjamin and his best friends Theodore Dagget and Violet Sweet. The story focuses on how Charlie and his friends repel the forces of the Named, the most powerful creatures in the Netherworld.

Plot summary

The novel begins in a small town describing the life of Charlie Benjamin. Charlie has a rare ability to portal monsters from another dimension known as the Nether during his nightmares. His parents are both overprotective and do not want their son bullied because of his early academic history of portaling through creatures during naptime. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin decide to home school their only son and as a result, Charlie becomes an outcast with no friends in his neighborhood. He continues to unknowingly bring Nethercreatures into his room when he has a nightmare. One night, Charlie brings a Silvertongue into his room. Charlie wakes up before the Silvertoungue kills him, and sees a team of three people, Rex, Tabitha, and Pinch attempting to bring the creature back to where it belongs. After the fight, Charlie's parents meet the team. Pinch explains that Charlie has the Gift, which allows him to open portals into the Nether and bring creatures across them. Charlie's gift is too strong, which can become dangerous. Pinch suggests that Charlie follow them to the Nightmare Division, who will decide what should be done with such a dangerous boy. Charlie's mother reluctantly allows him to go.

At the Nightmare Division, the Director instructs Charlie to open a portal. Charlie proceeds to accidentally open a portal to the Named, which are huge powerful beasts. Chaos ensues, and Barakkas, one of the four named creatures of the nether, reaches out his hand and attempts to enter. Charlie quickly closes the portal, which cuts Barakkas's arm off, including his bracer. After a debate about Reducing (a process that removes IQ points in order to lower gifted peoples power) Charlie, the Headmaster brings him to the Nightmare Academy.

There, Charlie meets two classmates, Theodore and Violet. The school trains two different groups, the Banishers and the Nethermancers. Banishers, like Rex, fight and hold off Nethercreatures whereas Nethermancers, like Tabitha, open portals to send them back. Students who lose their Gift are trained as Facilitators, who provide help to the other two. After meeting the Trout of Truth (a creature that determines whether you are a Banisher or a Nethermancer), Charlie finds out that he is a Double Threat, a combination of both a Banisher and Nethermancer.

Charlie is then taken by the Headmaster to Charlie's old house. Verminion, another of the Named who was portalled to Earth some years ago, kidnaps his parents and tells him to exchange his parents for the bracer. Charlie, Rex, Tabitha, and the Headmaster then go to find the Hags of the Void. The Hags of the Void, in return for Rex's memories of his parents, allow Charlie to go through the Gorgon Maze to find the Shadow(a thing which helps find what you want the most). At the end of the maze, the Shadow fills Charlie, allowing him to find his parents. Charlie's shadow now points to his parents' exact location.

The group tries to find his parents, and arrives in a volcano. Verminion tricks Charlie into opening a portal, allowing Barakkas to enter. After the incident, Charlie, Violet, and Theodore steal Barakkas's bracer from the Nightmare Academy to exchange his parents. Brooke, a Facilitator, tags along, and they manage to bring themselves back to the volcano. Charlie tries to trick Barakkas and Verminion by pretending to exchange himself and the bracer for his parents. Verminion doubts Charlie, and exposes his plan. While Violet and Theodore finds his parents and tries to rescue them, Charlie causes the two Named to fight and flees with Brooke. While they are running, Brooke opens a portal, proving that she still has the Gift. The two jump through the portal back to the Academy.

Meanwhile, Barakkas has his bracer back. Both of the Named reminded each other that they both have to be alive to summon the fifth, more powerful Named with their Artifacts. The Headmaster hides Charlie's parents from the Named, and Charlie, with his two best friends, Theodore and Violet goes into the beach and reiterate how they will be together all the way.

Main characters

Netherworld Creatures

Ranks

As said by the lady Headmaster:

"Once students have demonstrated a significant amount of skill, you will be known as Leets, meaning 'elite. '" -The Headmaster

Film adaptation

A movie based on Nightmare Academy was planned to be released in 2008.[1] The rights to the movie were bought by Universal Studios,[2] and the release date may be changed in the future.

References

Universal has purchased the film rights to the book and the producers will be Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay, who worked on movies such as The Mummy.

External links