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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My daughter [14] loved this book, and is now reading the sequel , 7 Nov 2008
"Even though Charlie was the first to admit he was more than a little bit different, protecting him from the abuse of other kids by locking him away in the house........ the price was just too high. But from almost the moment he was born, sleep and Charlie Benjamin were an explosive combination". Charlie is a small, bright 13 year old lad, schooled at home, and he feels incredibly lonely as he has no friends at all. Then he gets an invitation to a sleepover from a few kids down the road who feel sorry for him...... This book is a very easy read, and it's impossible not to compare it with Harry Potter and The Worst Witch, from which it clearly draws inspiration. In truth it compares fairly favourably and the introductory pages of Nightmare Academy are quite charming - besides even the superb Harry Potter series got better as it progressed. In fact HP and Worst Witch follow on from the English boarding school literary tradition of classic books like Stalky & Co, Mallory Towers, Jennings, Billy Bunter, How to be topp, and St. Trinians (hi-jinks away from parental control). In this book, school is The Nightmare Academy, "which does for monsters, what Artemis Fowl did for faeries".
Be warned though the book is slightly American, and I know I shouldn't, but I do get irritated with things like a state school being called a 'public school', although most of the time the action could be as much in the UK as in the USA [perhaps thats why the odd American bits seem intrusive, as up until then you were starting to believe you could have been that Charlie]. It's probably aimed at an 8+ audience, and would be ideal for kids about 11/12 just entering the scary world of secondary school (as like big school, 'Nightmare Academy' is "funny, fast paced and ferocious"). But I'm not giving away any more of the plot. Besides even I don't want to know the ending yet - although this book is the 'first in a brilliant new series' so perhaps the Dark Lord isn't despatched that easily in this one either. In fact the story doesn't tie up at the finale, and my daughter's [14] comment was: 'This is a really really great book if there is going to be a sequel very soon, otherwise the ending would be make the book a bit annoying'. Overall easily a 4*+ read for older kids and young minded adults who like slightly dark fantasy stories. This same book has also been released as 'Nightmare Academy, Charlie's Monsters' in the UK. The second book in the series is Monster Madness [US title] and Monster's Revenge [UK title]. But don't expect it to end there, the third book is currently undergoing final revisions. We ordered the sequel Monster Madness from US Amazon resellers. The UK version, Monsters Revenge [identical except for the frontcover] won't be published until January 2009. These US hardcover books are far nicer than the paperbacks, and we picked up a mint 2nd hand copy for under a fiver from Amazon US resellers [the cover art is sealed into the cover and paper/text quality is good].
A few literary reviews [for this book 'Monster Academy: Monster Hunters/Charlie's Monsters']: "Let me sum it up for you in just one word - Fabulous. It could be the natural successor to Harry Potter.", "It's Men in Black for kids. Pure entertainment", "A past-paced, action-packed read, full of twists and turns, fighting with monsters for those in Harry Potter withdrawal." and "Rip-roaring monster slayings. Readers will appreciate the book's cinematic vividness. It's a straightforward thrill ride."
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Renamed copy of Charlies monsters, 24 Sep 2009
Beware This is a renamed copy of Charlies Monsters( and Monster madness is a renamed copy of monster revenge) also the renamed copies i have bought are not as good quality print and paper as the originals .
I'm giving this 1 star due to publishers lack of information re renaming(and listing as newly published) which has cost me the price of 2 books,but must say actual stories are brilliant and my daughter can't put these books down.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A cracking portal into fantasy horror for the older junior reader., 29 Feb 2008
Envisage yourself in a child's bedroom that contains a fiery oval rimmed in crackling electric purple through which you can see another world of jagged sandy crystals, snow topped mountains in the background and extraordinary monsters roaming at will throughout this Netherland. This book takes you on a journey there and beyond into a darker and perilous monster-ridden territory.
I was pulled in and intrigued from the very beginning: why was Charlie home-educated, and why was he different from other children? Very quickly the answers became clear and I felt for Charlie with ever present danger underlying his very existence.
The story is a fast-paced Disney Monsters crossed with Harry Potter, as terrifying creatures enter the human world via nightmares hence the small children who see monsters under their beds ad in wardrobes etc. Charlie, unbeknown to him and his parents, has the very rare and dangerous ability to create giant gateways to the very heart of the Netherworld allowing the most terrifying monsters of all to cross into his bedroom. He must learn to control this "gift" or he endangers himself and all those around him. And if he cannot then his imagination will be numbed for the good of mankind.
Lorey's writing style maintains momentum whilst giving colourful descriptions that evoke vivid pictures in the reader's mind (there are no illustrations) and I loved the variety of the different habitats described from the sandy barren netherworld to the grey concrete fortress of the Nightmare Division, the fresh bright Caribbean setting of the Nightmare Academy and the fiery red of the volcanic final chapters where Charlie is pitted against the largest and most terrifying monster overlords. There's a bit of a US feel at the beginning but not overly so, and certainly not enough to put off children on this side of the Atlantic.
This is a thrilling and consistently fast-paced story with a tight plot and a neat character line-up. Despite the parallels that can be drawn between this book and other popular titles, "Charlie's Monsters" has neither the depth of complexity in the Harry Potter plots nor the techological distractions of Artemis Fowl. The resultant narrative is strong, clear and linear, and refreshingly avoids the use of magic. I think it's a brilliant fantasy horror title for any child of 10+.
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by Dean Lorey
by Dean Lorey
by Dean Lorey
by Dean Lorey
by F. E. Higgins
