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The Stuff of Nightmares
The Stuff of Nightmares Blackman, Malorie
341 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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936 people want to read
About the author
Malorie Blackman
156 books4,514 followersAn award-winning children's author, Malorie Blackman was honoured with an OBE in 2008. Her work has been adapted for TV and stage.
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More information available at:
Myspace
British Council: Contemporary Authors
British Council: Encompass Culture
Channel 4 Learning: Book Box
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
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May 1, 2017
Couldn't finish this book. I'd heard of Malorie Blackman and knew second-hand that she was a very good author, but I just didn't like her style.
The plot, now that I think of it, was quite interesting, but I thought it could have been done better, or in different circumstances. Most of all I just didn't like the way it was narrated. Too much first person, far too much. Most of it wasn't even necessary, though I suppose since all the nightmares were personal then it made sense, but not if Kyle was actually inside their head and watching them. Then the first person nonsense was rather redundant.
I'm actually disappointed that I didn't enjoy this book, and rather confused that I couldn't even make myself finish it. I did make it past half-way, however, and, naughtily, I read the last page. Probably wouldn't have been worth it, anyway.
The plot, now that I think of it, was quite interesting, but I thought it could have been done better, or in different circumstances. Most of all I just didn't like the way it was narrated. Too much first person, far too much. Most of it wasn't even necessary, though I suppose since all the nightmares were personal then it made sense, but not if Kyle was actually inside their head and watching them. Then the first person nonsense was rather redundant.
I'm actually disappointed that I didn't enjoy this book, and rather confused that I couldn't even make myself finish it. I did make it past half-way, however, and, naughtily, I read the last page. Probably wouldn't have been worth it, anyway.
October 12, 2014
Malorie Blackman is one of those highly loved authors by the younger readers and from what I can gather this is one of those books that people either adore or they sit on the side about. I think the latter is mostly due to people comparing it to her highly acclaimed ‘Noughts & Crosses’ series.
Having had only this experience with Malorie Blackman I can say I really enjoyed the book. Her writing style is really engaging, managing to pull the reader into the story easily as well as managing to hold their attention well. I feel as though the title of the book oversells the horror aspect of the story yet it is full of suspense and I would recommend it as a read so long as people are willing to approach it with an open mind and do not compare it to her ‘Noughts & Crosses’ series which seems to muddy the water somewhat when it comes to this book.
Having had only this experience with Malorie Blackman I can say I really enjoyed the book. Her writing style is really engaging, managing to pull the reader into the story easily as well as managing to hold their attention well. I feel as though the title of the book oversells the horror aspect of the story yet it is full of suspense and I would recommend it as a read so long as people are willing to approach it with an open mind and do not compare it to her ‘Noughts & Crosses’ series which seems to muddy the water somewhat when it comes to this book.
March 15, 2017
As they do in John Oliver's hometown in England, I do my Halloween stuff, well mostly read horror themed books in February as well. So keeping up with that impromptu tradition, I picked this up. At first I was liking it well enough. I was like gimme more contemporary diverse authors, no need to Walter Mosley this up. Let's face it, we are not Luke Cage.
But a quarter of way in, it started to go downhill and I suddenly realized this was rather a bland offering. Whenever I read badly written books, I think of Stephen King. I know there is no correlation between those two things. It is just that King has written so much on how not to write badly, that I can't not think of him or his advice when I chance upon horrendous writing. Nicest thing I can say about this novel is that it is properly written and that it's grammatically sound. But that's probably by default.
I was going to give it only one star. Then I bumped it up to three, because some of the stories in it were really great. From any number of them, a better book could have sprung, but those stories did buttress this mess and it is worth a skim because of that. In an odd way, this does remind me of an infinitely better novel; Gargoyle by David Andrews. I hope Andrews has written another book by now. Even though I had loved Gargoyle, for some reason I disliked it immensely too.
And I'll admit, there is something to living through the nightmares of others. That's scarring in a way that even our own rotten dreams are not.
Incidentally, I bought this book with a girl who is more than just a friend and yet she is less than what she could be.
August 1, 2021
Malorie Blackman has put together some previously-written short stories and made a novel of them. In my opinion, she has definitely made a success of this endeavour. I found all the separate vignettes interesting, and the overarching story held together very well.
This is the second book I've read by this author, the first being 'Pig-Heart Boy', which I also enjoyed very much. I like this author's style and will be checking for more of her books.
This is the second book I've read by this author, the first being 'Pig-Heart Boy', which I also enjoyed very much. I like this author's style and will be checking for more of her books.
February 12, 2021
This is a book that has the main plot and then short stories.
As Death stalks the carriage, Kyle jumps into classmates and strangers heads and hides within their nightmares, seeing it through their eyes.
To begin with, this was a little slow for me, some of the nightmares didn't grip me, while others were really interesting. It picked up as it got closer to the finish and I enjoyed the ending.
As Death stalks the carriage, Kyle jumps into classmates and strangers heads and hides within their nightmares, seeing it through their eyes.
To begin with, this was a little slow for me, some of the nightmares didn't grip me, while others were really interesting. It picked up as it got closer to the finish and I enjoyed the ending.
August 31, 2017
At first, I didn't really connect with the characters, and I think the dreams may have been too quick to be able to do that, but I enjoyed reading it. Some of the dreams had great endings and were really gripping.
Favourite character: Rachel
Favourite character: Rachel
May 22, 2022
j'ai terminé ce roman et dans l'ensemble j'ai bien aimé. C'est un roman de nouvelles avec une trame principale malgré tout. Certaines m'ont plus plu que d'autres, plus touchée aussi. J'ai passé un bon moment de lecture, même si je ne me suis pas forcément attachée aux personnages.
September 19, 2024
Très déçue, je n'ai pas trouvé dans ce roman de la collection Macadam ce que je recherchais, à savoir des personnages vrais et même parfois sombre. De plus, on découvre en fin d'ouvrage qu'il s'agit d'un recueil de nouvelles que l'autrice a tenté d'articuler entre elles... Un peu raté pour moi.
October 26, 2018
An athletic kid, who runs to shake off his lingering anxieties, faces a horrific event that marks his life permanantly. Kyle, who looks forward to his annual school trip, and another way to escape his monotonous personal life, survives the train wreakage after it is crushed and mangled after the impact. Being the only survivor, he adventures through the carriage, desperately searching for anyone else conscious, when he realises he can slip into the minds of the corpses across the train.
After he is drawn into the minds of his limp classmates, Kyle becomes aware that it is not only him who experiences the consuming terror and fear thats eats on him inside. As death approaches his at the darkening end of the train, his worst nightmare become a blood-curling reality; lonliness and isolation from any human contact.
A must read, but beware of graphic secenarios of murder (‘accidentally’) and other horrific mares to send chills down your spine.
After he is drawn into the minds of his limp classmates, Kyle becomes aware that it is not only him who experiences the consuming terror and fear thats eats on him inside. As death approaches his at the darkening end of the train, his worst nightmare become a blood-curling reality; lonliness and isolation from any human contact.
A must read, but beware of graphic secenarios of murder (‘accidentally’) and other horrific mares to send chills down your spine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2013
Rating clarification: 4.5 stars
Favourite book of the month. Great premise, full review in a few days
FULL REVIEW:
For my pre read thoughts and reasons for reviewing please visit From the Shadows I Review
This is my favourite Malorie Blackman book of the month without a shadow of a doubt. While I didn’t find it scary I did find myself getting drawn into the story and losing hours of my life by just becoming enthralled by the stories. Each nightmare has an individual voice to it but still feels like a part of the overall plan of things, I have to say that I feel like a lot of those nightmares could actually happen in our world. The premise is an interesting one, the ability to hide from your own worst nightmares by jumping into those of others is something I think I’d quite like to do. Knowing people’s deepest, darkest secrets would help make people seem equal to me (we’re all scared of something! The dark’s one of my worst fears. What about you?). The writing is some of Malorie’s best in my opinion, the words flowed together painting beautiful pictures of things no one wants to happen. Her writing is something that just comes with talent and experience and I’m in awe of her.
Kyle – He’s our main character and nightmare jumper. He’s an interesting character and is difficult for me to pin down. I did like him but he was so filled with pain and guilt but as I read his story I came to see why and I felt for him. I understood. To be honest, if I was him I’d have played my cards in exactly the same way. I felt like I wanted to stage an intervention for him, but he’s more intelligent than most people in the world because he figures out what he needs to do to feel better about himself and life in general. That’s something most people don’t manage in more than a lifetime.
Rachel – Rachel’s a bit special, in the sense that she’s not what she appears to be. That makes it really hard for me to tell you about her without spoilers, but she’s the only other main character. I always felt a bit weird about her. Something felt off about her and I didn’t buy into what she was saying at first. She knew way too much. I’m not sure if I’m making sense, I get what I mean though.
Favourite nightmare: Robby’s – Robby’s nightmare was a highlight, it was a nice edge into dystopia and I think it’d make a fabulous novel. A lot of the others felt like they were all they needed to be but this one has more depth to it and a whole back story that I want to explore. I do feel like having it in here undersells it. I want more. And just as a coincidence, Robby’s nightmare is page 99!! So I’m going to use it as a sly way to promote this: My Page 99 Test of The Stuff of Nightmares.
Overall this is a really good set of stories weave into a bigger story arc. I love the idea and I love how Malorie presented it. The writing was amazing and the pace was incredible. I think it’s a challenge to make short stories the right length and Ms Blackman does it time and time again in this story. The way she’d snap back to the present situation to build up tension and anticipation was a stroke of genius as far as I’m concerned!
Favourite book of the month. Great premise, full review in a few days
FULL REVIEW:
For my pre read thoughts and reasons for reviewing please visit From the Shadows I Review
This is my favourite Malorie Blackman book of the month without a shadow of a doubt. While I didn’t find it scary I did find myself getting drawn into the story and losing hours of my life by just becoming enthralled by the stories. Each nightmare has an individual voice to it but still feels like a part of the overall plan of things, I have to say that I feel like a lot of those nightmares could actually happen in our world. The premise is an interesting one, the ability to hide from your own worst nightmares by jumping into those of others is something I think I’d quite like to do. Knowing people’s deepest, darkest secrets would help make people seem equal to me (we’re all scared of something! The dark’s one of my worst fears. What about you?). The writing is some of Malorie’s best in my opinion, the words flowed together painting beautiful pictures of things no one wants to happen. Her writing is something that just comes with talent and experience and I’m in awe of her.
Kyle – He’s our main character and nightmare jumper. He’s an interesting character and is difficult for me to pin down. I did like him but he was so filled with pain and guilt but as I read his story I came to see why and I felt for him. I understood. To be honest, if I was him I’d have played my cards in exactly the same way. I felt like I wanted to stage an intervention for him, but he’s more intelligent than most people in the world because he figures out what he needs to do to feel better about himself and life in general. That’s something most people don’t manage in more than a lifetime.
Rachel – Rachel’s a bit special, in the sense that she’s not what she appears to be. That makes it really hard for me to tell you about her without spoilers, but she’s the only other main character. I always felt a bit weird about her. Something felt off about her and I didn’t buy into what she was saying at first. She knew way too much. I’m not sure if I’m making sense, I get what I mean though.
Favourite nightmare: Robby’s – Robby’s nightmare was a highlight, it was a nice edge into dystopia and I think it’d make a fabulous novel. A lot of the others felt like they were all they needed to be but this one has more depth to it and a whole back story that I want to explore. I do feel like having it in here undersells it. I want more. And just as a coincidence, Robby’s nightmare is page 99!! So I’m going to use it as a sly way to promote this: My Page 99 Test of The Stuff of Nightmares.
Overall this is a really good set of stories weave into a bigger story arc. I love the idea and I love how Malorie presented it. The writing was amazing and the pace was incredible. I think it’s a challenge to make short stories the right length and Ms Blackman does it time and time again in this story. The way she’d snap back to the present situation to build up tension and anticipation was a stroke of genius as far as I’m concerned!
September 5, 2012
This review has been taken straight from my blog, The Bookmark Girl - http://thebookmarkgirl.blogspot.com/
Summary (jacket flap)
It begins with a ride on a train.
But where it ends is on a precipice of horror - dangling on the border between life and death. It's a moment with Kyle discovers that he's not the only one in his class who knows about fear. Not the only one who has nightmares. And now, as Death stalks the carriages, it's a moment when nightmares become real. Nightmares of wars, and a world devastated by chemical weapons. Of a body being slowly stolen, bit by bit. Of monstrous actions and monstrous creatures from old myths. Of jealousy, obsession and a stalker outside your window. Nightmares of everything imaginable.
What will it take for Kyle to finally face his greatest fear?
Review
I enjoyed The Stuff of Nightmares a lot more than I thought I would! From the summary, I had assumed this book would be a lot less interesting than it actually turned out to be. Judging the book when I shouldn't have, I thought that this book would include silly nightmares (like being scared of the dark and ghosts and whatnot) and, even though it did include one of those ideas, it was used so, so amazingly that I felt really bad for judging it so early.
Malorie Blackman's writing is simple yet wonderful. She knows when her writing needs to be fast paced and when not. Although she is not the writer who would use flowery language in her writing, it is still gripping and keeps you hooked to the book. I think the writing was definitely one of the best points of this book. It kept me engaged the whole time, and it was clear so that, unlike a lot of other books, there was no need to reread a single part because I didn't already understand it fully.
Next, the plot. There wasn't much of a plot to this book - but not in a bad way! This book is basically thirteen nightmares, that change the main character Kyle and help him conquer his nightmare. However, it is more like the thirteen nightmares are just 'surrounded' by a plot, rather than the plot including the nightmares, if that makes sense - sorry if it doesn't. However, you could also say that this book has fourteen plots. I'm really sorry I'm making this sound confusing. Basically, the plot of this book is amazing and you should read it!
Finally, the characters. I loved every single character, and reading this book, I think I've come to believe that you get to know someone much better by their nightmares than by when they're awake. I loved each and every character, even though we knew about some more than others. I even enjoyed the nightmare of The Stranger!
Yep, that's it, guys! My review of The Stuff of Nightmares. I give this book a 5 out of 5 :)
Summary (jacket flap)
It begins with a ride on a train.
But where it ends is on a precipice of horror - dangling on the border between life and death. It's a moment with Kyle discovers that he's not the only one in his class who knows about fear. Not the only one who has nightmares. And now, as Death stalks the carriages, it's a moment when nightmares become real. Nightmares of wars, and a world devastated by chemical weapons. Of a body being slowly stolen, bit by bit. Of monstrous actions and monstrous creatures from old myths. Of jealousy, obsession and a stalker outside your window. Nightmares of everything imaginable.
What will it take for Kyle to finally face his greatest fear?
Review
I enjoyed The Stuff of Nightmares a lot more than I thought I would! From the summary, I had assumed this book would be a lot less interesting than it actually turned out to be. Judging the book when I shouldn't have, I thought that this book would include silly nightmares (like being scared of the dark and ghosts and whatnot) and, even though it did include one of those ideas, it was used so, so amazingly that I felt really bad for judging it so early.
Malorie Blackman's writing is simple yet wonderful. She knows when her writing needs to be fast paced and when not. Although she is not the writer who would use flowery language in her writing, it is still gripping and keeps you hooked to the book. I think the writing was definitely one of the best points of this book. It kept me engaged the whole time, and it was clear so that, unlike a lot of other books, there was no need to reread a single part because I didn't already understand it fully.
Next, the plot. There wasn't much of a plot to this book - but not in a bad way! This book is basically thirteen nightmares, that change the main character Kyle and help him conquer his nightmare. However, it is more like the thirteen nightmares are just 'surrounded' by a plot, rather than the plot including the nightmares, if that makes sense - sorry if it doesn't. However, you could also say that this book has fourteen plots. I'm really sorry I'm making this sound confusing. Basically, the plot of this book is amazing and you should read it!
Finally, the characters. I loved every single character, and reading this book, I think I've come to believe that you get to know someone much better by their nightmares than by when they're awake. I loved each and every character, even though we knew about some more than others. I even enjoyed the nightmare of The Stranger!
Yep, that's it, guys! My review of The Stuff of Nightmares. I give this book a 5 out of 5 :)
July 15, 2013
I read this as part of the carnegie longlist 2010? and on balance, having read Noughts & Crosses & was disappointed as I felt that Malorie Blackman wasn't presenting anything new. The title also oversold the horror element. However, having said that I am about to recommend it to a colleague to read aloud to disaffected teenagers on lunchtime detentions, so it can't have been so bad if I think it will hold their attention.
I think for me personally, I was hoping for something new and startling; but that is hard to deliver in a short story. Moreover I thought N&C was so good it could only go downhill from there!
Having said that MB is a very strong author. If you have a shorter attention span and want to try her out this is a solid collection.
If you are a confident reader go straight for Noughts and Crosses if you like dystopia or Boys Don't Cry is you want social realism.
Just been to see her at the 2012 Phillipa Pierce lecture in Cambridge. A lovely lady!
I think for me personally, I was hoping for something new and startling; but that is hard to deliver in a short story. Moreover I thought N&C was so good it could only go downhill from there!
Having said that MB is a very strong author. If you have a shorter attention span and want to try her out this is a solid collection.
If you are a confident reader go straight for Noughts and Crosses if you like dystopia or Boys Don't Cry is you want social realism.
Just been to see her at the 2012 Phillipa Pierce lecture in Cambridge. A lovely lady!
July 23, 2019
It's been a while since I've managed to finish a book with 300+ pages, but this one I was able to. I know that this isn't considered to be Malorie Blackman's best work, and the reviews were usually alright to negative, but for me, I really enjoyed it.
I thought that the nightmares were creative and interesting, and some of them really did scare me! I don't usually read horror, and although this is more of a collection of short horror stories, with multiple ones having being published previously, I thought that everything went together quite well.
Yes, I did predict quite a few things that would happen in the overall story and some of the nightmares but that didn't stop me from freaking out when my suspicions were confirmed.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book, and I know in the future I'll be reading some of her other novels (right now I'm quite interested in Pig Heart Boy...)
I thought that the nightmares were creative and interesting, and some of them really did scare me! I don't usually read horror, and although this is more of a collection of short horror stories, with multiple ones having being published previously, I thought that everything went together quite well.
Yes, I did predict quite a few things that would happen in the overall story and some of the nightmares but that didn't stop me from freaking out when my suspicions were confirmed.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book, and I know in the future I'll be reading some of her other novels (right now I'm quite interested in Pig Heart Boy...)
January 19, 2012
This was such an amazing book!
I am never gonna forget this. I loved each and every word of it.
Malorie Blackman's writing style was so wonderful, the first person-thing throughout the story made me feel what the character was feeling, what the people were feeling, the fear, the emotion, everything. There was so much raw emotion in this book. Amazing! No one writes like Malorie Blackman does. And the plot was just awesome! Loved every bit!
I am never gonna forget this. I loved each and every word of it.
Malorie Blackman's writing style was so wonderful, the first person-thing throughout the story made me feel what the character was feeling, what the people were feeling, the fear, the emotion, everything. There was so much raw emotion in this book. Amazing! No one writes like Malorie Blackman does. And the plot was just awesome! Loved every bit!
November 21, 2023
As a kid I loved her noughts and crosses series so I thought I’d try another one of her books as I was trying to get back into reading.
The writing style was super engaging and towards the end I really felt the panic of what kyle was feeling. just. so. good. I think for me, the plot line itself is what carries this story as the premise of him having to transport himself inside of his classmates (and others) minds in order to escape death is really interesting and created a lot of tension, with my favourite parts of the book being inside of those dreams.
I also think idea of death actually being this seemingly innocent passenger (rachel) trying to help him rather than some entity with a scythe is pretty cool - although the plot twist was pretty predictable (not bad though). It’s an easy read so i’d recommend this if you’re also trying to get back into reading <3
The writing style was super engaging and towards the end I really felt the panic of what kyle was feeling. just. so. good. I think for me, the plot line itself is what carries this story as the premise of him having to transport himself inside of his classmates (and others) minds in order to escape death is really interesting and created a lot of tension, with my favourite parts of the book being inside of those dreams.
I also think idea of death actually being this seemingly innocent passenger (rachel) trying to help him rather than some entity with a scythe is pretty cool - although the plot twist was pretty predictable (not bad though). It’s an easy read so i’d recommend this if you’re also trying to get back into reading <3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2022
This book was very intriguing. The premise was very unique and the way the narrative jumped between the different characters really kept me on my toes and helped to mimic the unsettled feelings experienced by the protagonist.
It is very dark and contains themes of suicide, psychiatric hospitalisation, murder and violence. But this makes it a gripping read and is a fascinating perspective into the subconscious.
However, I found the last chapter or so to be quite a let down as it ended in a fairly pithy and trite message. Although this book is marketed at young adults so I'm probably slightly above the target audience anyway.
Overall I did enjoy it but felt that the ending didn't do justice to the rest of the book.
It is very dark and contains themes of suicide, psychiatric hospitalisation, murder and violence. But this makes it a gripping read and is a fascinating perspective into the subconscious.
However, I found the last chapter or so to be quite a let down as it ended in a fairly pithy and trite message. Although this book is marketed at young adults so I'm probably slightly above the target audience anyway.
Overall I did enjoy it but felt that the ending didn't do justice to the rest of the book.
October 5, 2019
This book started a little slow for me but got really intrigued about 30 pages in.
The novel was constructed around short stories previously published by the author. In the novel these short stories become the nightmares of the characters in the book. I found that some nightmares were better than others.
My main criticism of the book was that I didn’t really know what age it was pitched at. The main protagonist & a lot of the language was very ‘teenage’ but some of the content of the nightmares was very adult (I’m not sure it would be appropriate for teenagers).
Overall I enjoyed the book with some reservations.
The novel was constructed around short stories previously published by the author. In the novel these short stories become the nightmares of the characters in the book. I found that some nightmares were better than others.
My main criticism of the book was that I didn’t really know what age it was pitched at. The main protagonist & a lot of the language was very ‘teenage’ but some of the content of the nightmares was very adult (I’m not sure it would be appropriate for teenagers).
Overall I enjoyed the book with some reservations.
February 5, 2020
I found this book most enjoyable when reading the nightmares themselves and wished they would go on further. I thought the ending was good and the main characters storyline very interesting bit for me the nightmares were the most interesting part.
I think the moral of the story in the end was also quite lovely and I will admit i whizzed through the book eating it right up. But again it was more so i could read through the nightmares. I really enjoyed Robbys nightmare on the dystopian style world with the acid rain and kind of wish there was a full book about that.
Malorie Blackman is an exceptional.author this book of hers just wasn't for me very much.
I think the moral of the story in the end was also quite lovely and I will admit i whizzed through the book eating it right up. But again it was more so i could read through the nightmares. I really enjoyed Robbys nightmare on the dystopian style world with the acid rain and kind of wish there was a full book about that.
Malorie Blackman is an exceptional.author this book of hers just wasn't for me very much.
February 20, 2022
Really enjoyed this!! The beginning was a bit confusing with too many characters to keep track of but once the nightmares started… a very unique proposition for a book and the author says based on nightmares she’s actually said. I’m actually jealous because I’m sure I have many books in me if I can actually remember my dreams! So it’s like a collection of 13 short stories. This is YA but with some quite disturbing themes in the nightmares - evil murderous children, suicide, murdering jilted lovers, fratricide, genocide, ghost of a battered wife returning to warn a young woman in the same position…I had no expectations as I have no read Noughts and Crosses but I enjoyed this tremendously.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2023
The book was good, there's nothing bad about it.
There was a lot of symbolosm towards many things that I found to be so meaningful and deep that it made the story that much better.
At first I will admit it was boring but once the nightmare chapters started i absolutely loved the book and was in deep.
The nightmares were amazing and tired into the story well enough though not perfect.
The ending of the story was quite weird but hey what's a good book without being weird.
I problem won't read it again and if I do just for the nightmare chapters they were really fun to read thought the storyline with the train crash etc was alright
There was a lot of symbolosm towards many things that I found to be so meaningful and deep that it made the story that much better.
At first I will admit it was boring but once the nightmare chapters started i absolutely loved the book and was in deep.
The nightmares were amazing and tired into the story well enough though not perfect.
The ending of the story was quite weird but hey what's a good book without being weird.
I problem won't read it again and if I do just for the nightmare chapters they were really fun to read thought the storyline with the train crash etc was alright
February 4, 2024
I picked up this book, because I read Noughts and Crosses earlier in the year and loved it, not realising it was really a short story collection. I’m not the best with short story collection books as it takes me a while to get into the rhythm and by the time I do I’m at the end so reading them back to back I always seem to struggle to enjoy them. And this was no exception. I did find some of the “dreams” in the second half of the book far more engaging and interesting. I will definitely be read more Malorie Blackman in the future.
January 11, 2018
Its like a collection of short horror stories based on a backdrop with a really good concept. However, some of the stories just didn't cut it....and the writing style does seem to have scope for improvement by removing redundancies. However, that wouldn't stop me from recommending it to someone as a light read.
October 9, 2019
Not the target audience for this book, really evident because this book drove me nuts. It needed to be edited before publishing, so many sentences that are long and pointless. Words should be have been cut left, right and centre to help this. But this book was painful to read couldn’t get pass halfway.
October 17, 2021
I enjoyed reading this novel. It's incredible seeing Malorie Blackman's imagination in this. Every nightmare, every mini story was so intriguing, so unique, so quick to accomplish the tension and the scaryness. I mean, yeah, I wasn't terrified out of my mind, but I was spooked just a little, just enough, for me to love this and the experience of reading it just before Halloween.
February 9, 2024
It’s just too scary. My 20 year old daughter read this book before and had nightmare for weeks. There’s no real plot or storyline and no real conclusion. It’s just laid out pretty bad and the structure could’ve been a whole lot better. Most of Blackman’s other books are very well written though. She’s a great author.
October 17, 2024
I really liked the different nightmares in here where some were really creepy and others weren't as bad but showed how everyone has different fears in life.
I thought also having death as a character and facing up to your fears after hiding from them was something that gave this book more meaning and I really enjoyed each moment.
I thought also having death as a character and facing up to your fears after hiding from them was something that gave this book more meaning and I really enjoyed each moment.
October 21, 2017
Malorie Blackman is such a talented writer. From a lot of other authors, this story may seem entirely unbelievable, but with Malorie, you are transported to every single nightmare! This is a very scary book - I have a feeling I might have a few nightmares soon! Overall an outstanding read
April 3, 2020
This book was gripping and refreshing!!
I loved the plot line of being chased by death as a concept. As well as this I liked how Blackman uses change of chapters to flick between different stories to create a fast flowing but tense atmosphere.
I loved the plot line of being chased by death as a concept. As well as this I liked how Blackman uses change of chapters to flick between different stories to create a fast flowing but tense atmosphere.
February 4, 2024
I mean it wasn't awful, but it wasn't good either.
The idea of having a series of short stories within a story was interesting. Although I think I would have preferred if one of the short stories (the rain) was the actual story
The idea of having a series of short stories within a story was interesting. Although I think I would have preferred if one of the short stories (the rain) was the actual story
July 11, 2024
I thought this was a great book - really unique in its premise, with really varied dreams featured within a mysterious framework which became clearer as the book went on. Suspenseful, exciting, scary and with psychological insights which were both moving and compelling.
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