This YA’s comparison to Gotham intrigued me, but after reading it, comparing City of Nightmares to the origin stories of the DC universe doesn’t do it justice.
The first few pages come at you fast, leaving you no doubt that you’re in for a ride.
We follow Ness, trying to stay safe in Newham, a city that has learned to live alongside people becoming their nightmares. Nightmares present in many forms, exposing a soul’s deepest fear. The city’s mayor claims a pet pterodactyl, and of course there are vampires.
Fortunately, the water is laced with a protective chemical to prevent nightmares. However, drinking alcohol as it negates the effects. It doesn’t bode well for those who believe ‘one drink won’t hurt.’
Blurb:
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, to 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 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.
We learn very early in the book that Ness’s sister became a nightmare, and the event left Ness with the post-traumatic stress, anxiety and more. This lasting effect marks Ness’s journey throughout the novel.
Friends of the Restful Soul–an outreach program of sorts, provides her with a safe place to sleep every night. They have a reputation for being a cult and are far from well received by most of the city’s patrons.
Ness is presented as a frightened young woman, clearly suffering from the trauma she’s witnessed. She is neither shy nor retiring and her inner courage is revealed on her journey of self-discovery. She can no longer run away from nightmares, where she is supposed to assist victims.
She’s quite willing to venture out into madness and corruption to avoid losing her place at the Friends of the Restful Soul.
Through Ness, Rebecca Schaeffer explores what a person will do to hold on to what they value.
Terrified of nightmares and aware of every danger that might find her, Ness joins forces with Cy, a vampire, to unravel why someone would want to blow up a boat they travelled on.
Keeping in mind this book is for readers unfamiliar with genre tropes, how Cy acts fits the list of woes a troubled vampire must have, but not in the usual ways. Equally, how Schaeffer uses Cy as a lens to explore what a person wants, or must do over what a person can and will do, is an interesting direction. It’s a theme throughout the novel.
Despite its dark, twisted setting, and the intense chaos that Schaeffer builds, Ness and Cy bring a combination of humour and hope into Newham. It’s an encouraging story of dealing with fears and anxieties.
City of Nightmares is book one of a duology and an enjoyable journey through the possibilities of speculative fiction.
ISBN: 1399712101
Available as: Paperback , Hardback, Ebook, Audiobook.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher.
© 2023 Shellie Horst
