Review: imaginative horror sprung from the nutshell of infinite space...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 24, 2011
Glenn Krisch's The Nightmare Within is about damaged people, their dreams and sufferings and what happens when dreams cross the line from imagined to actual. When Maury Bennett was small, a fire in his apartment building resulted in severe damage to his ear and left arm. Not long after he returned from the hospital, he discovered he had an unusual ability; he could draw dreams into reality, ridding the dreamers of at least part of their torment. Years later, Maury is a psychiatrist embarked on a new project utilizing this skill, backed by a very wealthy and desperate man. Together they plan on opening a sort of dream zoo, and are seeking a "star" for their Nightmare exhibit. Kevin is a young man who has suffered a recent severe trauma, spawning a hideous and terrifying dream figure he calls Mr. Freakshow*. Kevin is tormented and afraid to sleep, and his mother eventually takes him to see Maury, thus bringing together all the elements for terror and disaster.The characters are well developed; clues to personalities double as subtle foreshadowing - Maury's opening scene in his regular practice for example, reveals much about his personality** which impacts the story in a variety of ways. Descriptions are well executed - not nauseating, but disgusting and horrifying or disturbing enough to get the point clearly across. Kevin's dream sequences are laid into the story seamlessly, and are not disruptive to the pace. The use of the two way connection between dream and dreamer is both an excellent detail and a practical device. The dreams themselves are excellent, and wonderfully (or horrifyingly) described. Glenn Krisch's writing throughout was excellent, focused and not confusing even during action sequences.I couldn't quite shake the feeling of disbelief during some parts of this book; Kevin's dream of the funeral and Mr Freakshow's revelations/insinuations therein didn't feel natural***; the aura bits felt too obvious a plot device, Kevin's interaction with Reid was pretty brief for him to be important. I felt that Reid either needed more development or to be pruned. I would have liked more exploration into Mr. Freakshow himself, and from where his abilities stemmed - he didn't have the feel of being grown entirely in Kevin's head. As a side note, one thing I noted in the reading feel of this was that this felt like this was written with a cinematic framing than simply as a book. (And honestly, it would make a good horror film!)This was fast paced and dark horror read - any horror involving damaged people has to be dark by definition; we are, after all, our own worst enemies. While the dreams infringing on reality aspect has notes of Freddy Krueger, I'd place it closer to Clive Barker's Books of Blood with dashes of King's It and/or Koontz's Hideaway.Overall rating: 4 of 5 stars.* Every time the name came up, I thought of Bart Simpson shivering in his clown bed, repeating endlessly, "Can't sleep, clown will eat me."** Selfish, self absorbed and interested in the quick fix rather than truly healing. Possibly sociopathic.***That was one of the more horrible moments in the book, and it just never sat right for me.