Charlie’s Monsters: Book 1 (Nightmare Academy)

I'm sure that if I told you that I'd just read a book about a boy with unruly hair and a rare talent for magic that he wasn't totally aware of, who finds himself starting his first year at a hidden school to learn how to control said magical ability, then Nightmare Academy would not be the title that first springs to your mind.The obvious comparisons to the Harry Potter series are probably the biggest problem this new series of books has to face. If you are cynical enough it is hard not to see the release of the Nightmare Academy as an obvious attempt at profiteering, aiming to fill the hole left after the Deathly Hallows. This type of thinking might lead you to dismiss this book out of hand as being purely a marketing exercise, bereft of substance. That would be unfair.Despite evident signs of being inspired by Rowling's creation (similar characters, situations and so on), the Nightmare Academy is still a good read and should certainly entertain younger readers unconcerned by such judgemental thinking. It does have its own fair share of original ideas and a healthy selection of fantastic creatures on offer, while the plot contains plenty of fast paced action and hurtles from scene to scene with such rapidity that continuity is thrown aside like a hit and run victim. The overall tone of the book is light and often humorous, though it is not really as comic as some of the blurb would like you to think.The story follows he exploits of a young boy, Charlie Benjamin, who's excess of imagination allows him to open portals to a magical underworld, called the Nether, that is full of nightmare creatures eager to enter our world. Charlie's ability has come to the attention of a secret organisation charged with the expulsion of such creatures back to where they came from, and he is called upon to learn to control his power in order to put it to use in the continuing fight against the Nether's inhabitants. Of course, things don't go as planned and Charlie eventually releases one of four of the worst Nether monsters into our existence.Where Nightmare Academy fails to stand up to the Harry Potter books is in the richness of the world portrayed. It lacks all the little details and amusing asides that Rowling put into her work, making this book feel a little shallow and superficial by comparison. It is also significantly shorter than any of the Potter books.However, taken in isolation and on its own merits, this is a good book - fun and easy to read, imaginative and quite smart. And I'm saying that as an adult. I think the children it is destined for should like it a lot. A promising start to a new series, though not a landmark one.

The main problem with this book is that the Harry Potter and Monsters Inc influences are just too transparent. Charlie's a lonely kid kept at home by his parents (albeit because they genuinely love and care for him) who can open portals to the Nether (a five-ringed land where monsters live) via his dreams and who also has the rare ability to be both a Nethermancer (someone who can open portals to the Nether) and a Banisher (someone who sends monsters there). He goes to a boarding school for similarly gifted children and becomes friends with the mouthy, sexist Theodore (the most interesting character in the book) and the clever Violet who likes to keep to the rules. There's also a Truth Trout that decides whether children are destined to be Banishers or Nethermancers.There are elements that Lorey makes his own, e.g. the evil Barrakas and Verminion are interesting villains, as much devoted to opposing each other as they are to releasing a super-powerful Fifth Named Entity, which will no doubt dominate the story arc of this series. Lorey also forces his characters to constantly confront their worst fears (one of the best scenes involves Theodore confronting his fear that his father will stop loving him because he's not a Banisher). Lorey shows some nice touches of humour (particularly a scene where Theodore is repeatedly dropped into the Nether because he keeps interrupting the Headmaster) and the monsters are wonderfully grotesque creations with individual personalities and some truly hideous attributes (notably the harpies, who dine on people's favourite memories and take them from them forever).There are parts of the story that don't quite make sense e.g. why the female head-teacher insists on being called Headmaster and the fact that the main action is supposed to take place over 2 days does strain credibility. Lorey maintains a break-neck speed that keeps the action coming but there were times when I just wanted to slow down and get some more of an idea about the world he's created and how it operates.There's enough to entertain the target 8 to 12 year old readership and the fact that it shares elements with Harry Potter and Monsters Inc. will make it more attractive to them. However I hope that as the series develops Lorey will play down these elements to make the books feel less derivative than this one does.

Charlie's Monsters is a children's fantasy novel. Charlie is thirteen years old, and has exceptionally vivid nightmares, that invariably lead to monsters invading his bedroom. He discovers that he is one of a number of children whose nightmares open portals into a demon-infested Netherworld. He is given a place at a school to train him to control when and where he opens portals, and to teach him how to fight the demons that lurk within them. But Charlie is exceptionally gifted, even by the standards of his fellow students, and the power of his mind poses great risks as well as opportunities. He opens a portal deep inside the Netherworld and comes face to face with Barrakas, one of a small number of demons of exceptional power. Charlie makes an enemy of him, and will have to deal with the forces he has unleashed.Once I'd read a few chapters of this book, it was hard to put it down. There's lots of action, and the pace barely slows at all right the way up to the final pages. I think most children/teenagers would love this book. Whilst it doesn't have the depth and literary power of Harry Potter, it is an exciting read, and probably a more straightforward one for younger teenagers. The author has apparently written books for television, and it shows - you can easily visualise the action from his descriptions. Some of the characters are a bit thinly drawn (possibly because the fast pace of the novel doesn't allow much time to get to know other aspects of them). There were also a couple of points in the story where I wondered if Charlie's success seemed to come too easily given that he has only just started learning to control his gift. But overall, both these flaws were outweighed by the sheer enjoyment of reading a book that kept the excitement going right to the end.