Charlie’s Monsters: Book 1 (Nightmare Academy) - Softcover

Lorey, Dean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007257198 ISBN 13: 9780007257195

Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks, 2008

Synopsis

Hogwarts meets Men in Black in a thrilling comic adventure about a very gifted boy who joins a monster fighting academy.

Charlie Benjamin is not like other children – when he sleeps he has terrible nightmares, and when he wakes it is to find his room has been wrecked. Then one day he wakes up to find a monster by his bed. Luckily, a band of monster-hunting strangers arrives and saves him, only to whisk him away for interrogation by the mysterious "Nightmare Division".

It turns out that Charlie has the "Gift" – a rare ability to open portals into the dimension where monsters lurk, and the explanation for the devastating force of his nightmares. But his gift makes him a danger to himself and others: when he is made to open a portal his power is so great that he inadvertently wakes Barakkas, one of the most powerful and evil of all monsters.

Threatened with "Reduction" (a lobotomy that would remove his imagination) Charlie is saved by the wise Headmaster of the Nightmare Academy, where he is taken to explore his talents – and prepare for the coming showdown with Barakkas...

About this title

Review:

‘Men in Black for kids. Pure entertainment.’ Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher:

THE NIGHTMARE DIVISION'S GUIDE TO THE NETHER: Drake Edition
A message from Director Drake

Welcome Facilitators, Banishers and Nethermancers. My edition - the Drake edition -- is to be considered the only definitive version of this guide, replacing all others, and is restricted to those Rank 3 and above. If you have not yet attained Rank 3, STOP READING IMMEDIATELY and turn yourself in to the authorities for punishment. To succeed in our endeavours, RULES MUST BE FOLLOWED and CHAOS AVOIDED!
Now that we have removed the unqualified from reading this extremely confidential document, I'd like to address a few common questions. First of all, what is the purpose of the Nightmare Division? Quite simply, our mission is to protect the citizens of Earth from the monsters of the Nether. We do this in several ways:

* We banish Nethercreatures back to the Netherworld.
* We train people who have shown an aptitude for the "Gift" to use it wisely or not at all, thereby preventing them from portalling monsters in the first place.
* We Reduce those who have an uncommonly powerful "Gift" - to stop them from mistakenly bringing the very worst of the Nethercreatures into our world (see pg. 212: "The Unfortunate Case of (name removed) and the Portalling of Verminion").

By utilising these techniques, we seek to control the flow of monsters to our planet. Many people ask me if I am uncomfortable heading a division filled with employees who have the "Gift" when I do not have it myself. To them I say - how ridiculous! Does a football coach need to be on the field, getting tackled by 1000 kilos of sweaty men in order to decide on the team's formation? Of course not!
The truth is that my lack of the "Gift" puts me in a perfect position to be objective. Unlike certain former Directors, I do not allow myself to be swayed from the task at hand by empathising with your difficulties. This has led some of you to accuse me of being insensitive. You claim I don't understand how hard and, often, deadly your jobs are.
To that I say - NONSENSE!
I'm sure it's very tough to do the work you do... but do you know what else is tough? LOTS OF THINGS! Touching your nose with your tongue, for instance. Don't believe me? Try it.
My point is that the world is full of challenges that we must ALL overcome. Just because many of you have to summon your deepest, darkest fears in order to do battle with the monsters of our nightmares, please do not think that you're any stronger or better than the rest of us. Do you see me crying whenever I have to put on a tuxedo to attend a champagne dinner or write an order to have someone Reduced? Of course not!
Now that we're all on the same page, I invite you to dive into this extensively researched and incredibly useful guidebook. Inside, you will find a Map of the Nether; a Beastiary of many of the Monsters of the Nether (see pg. 86 for detailed information on the greatly overrated "Trout of Truth"); a glossary to help you understand commonly used terms (i.e. "Wetwash", "Portal Barricade"); a history of our Allies in the Nether (see pgs. 147-154 for great detail about our special relationship with the "Guardian" and pgs. 182-189 to learn much about the NetherForge and its ruler, the "Smith").
And that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Keep this guidebook handy.
Keep it safe.
Keep it away from those who would do us harm.

Sincerely,

Reginald Drake
Director of the Nightmare Division

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0007257198
• ISBN 13: 9780007257195
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 335