City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer
I would like to thank Hodder and Stoughton for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton
Published - Out Now
Price - £16.99 hardback £9.99 Kindle ebook
Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified - terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear.
Whether that means becoming a Nightmare that's monstrous only in appearance, or transforming into a twisted, unrecognizable creature that terrorizes the city, no one is safe. Ness will do anything to avoid becoming another victim, even if that means lying low among the Friends of the Restful Soul, a questionable organization that may or may not be a cult.
But being a member of this maybe-cult has a price. In order to prove herself, Ness cons her way into what's supposed to be a simple job for the organization - only for it to blow up in her face. Literally. Tangled up in the aftermath of an explosive assassination, now Ness and the only other survivor - a Nightmare boy who Ness suspects is planning to eat her - must find their way back to Newham and uncover the sinister truth behind the attack, even as the horrors of her past loom ominously near.
Being a reader of horror for me fear in reading is the roller coaster and also a useful way to examine my reactions to certain topics and situations. Fear in reading is contained but fear outside of a safe place can be devastating - while a suitable response when facing danger but feeling it all the time isn’t likely to have the best response. Sadly while this is a great idea for a story I found in City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaefer don’t really live up to the potential the story was offering.
Ness’ sister fell prone to the worst possible thing in their world. She missed one medication and then became a Nightmare in particular a giant spider that ate her father and caused a rampage. Ness has never felt safe since. She now works for the Friends of the Restful Soul (not a cult) who work focused on the Nightmare prone city of Newham is less important to Ness than offering a place to hide from any sign of danger. But her constant fears make her lose friends and her employer’s patience is wearing thin. A simple mail mission though send in an explosion at sea and Ness is rescued by Cy who appears to be a vampire (another dangerous strand of Nightmare). Ness finds herself having all her beliefs and fears challenged by Cy and a view as to exactly why her world is as dangerous and corrupt as it is felt to be.
For a YA fanatsy tale this story’s dark subject matter and exploring what is really PTSD looked a very promising idea. The start where we see a Nightmare transformation is indeed unsettling and having Ness the kind of character who runs at the first sign of danger is very much contrary to our usual hero. But then the tale rapidly lost me. The first person present tense tale I felt was a little clunky getting us to understand the world’s stranger rules. It quickly also turns into a more humdrum wider conspiracy (no surprise) and Ness’ weaknesses conveniently soon vanish - her acceptance of Cy isn’t that organic. It also has a lot of important messages just heavily handed passed to the reader in character conversations - for this type of YA I did not think it need to talk down to the reader.
Overall a disappointment and I can’t see me returning to the next instalment of this series. Sadly not recommended
