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A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street: Suffer the Children
After volunteering to test an anti-insomnia drug, six teenagers from Elm Street suddenly find themselves trapped in the dream realm, matching wits with their ultimate nightmare, Freddy Krueger. Original.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
5 people are currently reading
530 people want to read
About the author
David Bishop
133 books39 followersDavid James Bishop is a New Zealand screenwriter and author. He was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 28, 2016
Another Black Flame novel that would have made a great movie.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the Friday the 13th Novel series from Black Flame, but this was still a good read.
You have a group of teenagers who participate in a sleep study to test an anti-insomnia drug, but for reasons never fully explained it just ends up linking them all to Freddy. It also gives them powers, so you end up with a "Dream Warriors" situation.
Overall it was as good as most of the movies, although Freddy was even more depraved than usual if that's possible. The ending was also a bit of a bummer, but when you look at the endings of most of the movies it fit right in.
If you're a fan of the movies or the character, you should read this one for sure.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the Friday the 13th Novel series from Black Flame, but this was still a good read.
You have a group of teenagers who participate in a sleep study to test an anti-insomnia drug, but for reasons never fully explained it just ends up linking them all to Freddy. It also gives them powers, so you end up with a "Dream Warriors" situation.
Overall it was as good as most of the movies, although Freddy was even more depraved than usual if that's possible. The ending was also a bit of a bummer, but when you look at the endings of most of the movies it fit right in.
If you're a fan of the movies or the character, you should read this one for sure.
May 20, 2022
THE ENDING??? I was lowkey hesitant to read this book based on the reviews I read, but this book was 1000 times better than the movie. I love how iconic the movie Freddy is but the book Freddy takes the cake on how fucked up he is. Wes Craven should have honestly kept in some of the things from this book and focused more on the events leading up to his death/ also extending more on the whole Freddy being a pedo (I understand why they didn't add this plotline in the movie though considering the events that took place at that time)
I would have killed to see some of these characters in the movie. All of the characters were amazing, other than the white boy with dreadlocks and David could have written Chris better instead of making him the stereotypical black teenager.
I would have killed to see some of these characters in the movie. All of the characters were amazing, other than the white boy with dreadlocks and David could have written Chris better instead of making him the stereotypical black teenager.
July 27, 2020
Not bad, first Freddy book I’ve read so far. Few things bothered me, 1. Freddy was a child killer NOT a molester, not sure why they changed it for the book and for the remake. Instead of saying “come to Freddy” he often said “come to Daddy” 2. Very cliche cast, the beauty queen, the goth chick, jock, the nerd.... 3. It wasn’t consistent that if you get hurt in your dreams you wake up with same injury. Sometimes that happened and sometimes it did.
On the plus side, Freddy didn’t have as many corny one liners, he was pissed off/brutal/scary like in the original.
On the plus side, Freddy didn’t have as many corny one liners, he was pissed off/brutal/scary like in the original.
April 2, 2023
***1/2
I missed my chance, eighteen, twenty years ago, to get these Black Flame books at a normal price. At the time I think I was more focused on reading more, I guess, "literary" titles, and despite being a huge "Friday the 13th" fan, I skipped the Black Flame books. They looked stupid.
I regretted that, years later, and went online to order one, only to find that the books regularly go for a hundred dollars or more. I always hoped I'd come across one at a book sale or store. And that happened--with the first "Nightmare On Elm Street" book. Found some guy selling it for five bucks at a convention. Dude didn't even know what he had. It's in great condition too.
I thought, half-seriously, if this book's any good, it's only going to make me even more tempted to spend some money to get the first "Friday the 13th" one. I was maybe a little disappointed when "Suffer the Children" turned out to be a quite good indeed, a violent page-turner, a book very much inspired by, and taking on the spirit, of the "Nightmare" films.
Hopefully the first of the Black Flame "Friday the 13th" books will also prove worthwhile. I ordered one for seventy bucks plus shipping, a few days ago.
I missed my chance, eighteen, twenty years ago, to get these Black Flame books at a normal price. At the time I think I was more focused on reading more, I guess, "literary" titles, and despite being a huge "Friday the 13th" fan, I skipped the Black Flame books. They looked stupid.
I regretted that, years later, and went online to order one, only to find that the books regularly go for a hundred dollars or more. I always hoped I'd come across one at a book sale or store. And that happened--with the first "Nightmare On Elm Street" book. Found some guy selling it for five bucks at a convention. Dude didn't even know what he had. It's in great condition too.
I thought, half-seriously, if this book's any good, it's only going to make me even more tempted to spend some money to get the first "Friday the 13th" one. I was maybe a little disappointed when "Suffer the Children" turned out to be a quite good indeed, a violent page-turner, a book very much inspired by, and taking on the spirit, of the "Nightmare" films.
Hopefully the first of the Black Flame "Friday the 13th" books will also prove worthwhile. I ordered one for seventy bucks plus shipping, a few days ago.
July 25, 2010
Out of all the Freddy novels, I found this one the most interesting. However, the author really made Freddy a a real pervert. So much so, it would put the Remake's rendition ofg Freddy to shame. Freddy kept wanting to bang the main character and I think he tongue kissed as many girls as he killed victims. That might annoy some.
March 25, 2009
Krueger is brought back to life in the pages of this first novel and he's gone from the hack job that was comedy Krueger back to this dark creature stalking teenagers in their dreams...
Whatever you do... Don't fall asleep!!
Whatever you do... Don't fall asleep!!
August 4, 2023
A story fit for the Elm Street title.
A thrilling tale, weaved incredibly well. The main characters of the story are always at the focus, when it seemed too many were introduced, the author manages to switch between narratives and tie them together to ensure you always keep up with what is happening and never feel like you're missing something.
Alex is haunted by a nightmare which seems to come true...during a sleep experiment with some students at her school, she starts to realise that maybe there is truth to it and when the others start having similar dreams...perhaps the nightmares aren't just in her head.
This would slide perfectly into the established film series (minus a couple of continuity errors) and clearly elements of this book were taken and used for the remake of the original film, which sadly did not do well. Had they used the characters from this book and not tried to squish established names such as Nancy into it, it may have worked better.
Fans of the film series will recognise several locations such as the boiler room, 1428 Elm Street and Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital whilst also catching mentions of characters who appeared in the series.
This novel explicitly states that Freddy Krueger is not only a child killer, but also a paedophile as the original story had intended. Obviously this may be even more upsetting to some and while nothing graphic is ever said, be warned it does contain these themes.
A thrilling tale, weaved incredibly well. The main characters of the story are always at the focus, when it seemed too many were introduced, the author manages to switch between narratives and tie them together to ensure you always keep up with what is happening and never feel like you're missing something.
Alex is haunted by a nightmare which seems to come true...during a sleep experiment with some students at her school, she starts to realise that maybe there is truth to it and when the others start having similar dreams...perhaps the nightmares aren't just in her head.
This would slide perfectly into the established film series (minus a couple of continuity errors) and clearly elements of this book were taken and used for the remake of the original film, which sadly did not do well. Had they used the characters from this book and not tried to squish established names such as Nancy into it, it may have worked better.
Fans of the film series will recognise several locations such as the boiler room, 1428 Elm Street and Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital whilst also catching mentions of characters who appeared in the series.
This novel explicitly states that Freddy Krueger is not only a child killer, but also a paedophile as the original story had intended. Obviously this may be even more upsetting to some and while nothing graphic is ever said, be warned it does contain these themes.
July 2, 2023
As always, I was able to read this thanks to the 80s Slasher Librarian posting his free, fan-made audiobook of this novel up on YouTube. Check out his channel if you want to be able to go through this without spending a mint trying to get a physical copy.
I've been disappointed by most of the Black Flame books for Friday the 13th franchise thus far, so I was somewhat apprehensive going into this. However, I'm glad that, even with as dark and messed-up as this book is, it blew my expectations out of the water. In many ways, it feels like a really fascinating mix of Dream Warriors and what could have been the 2010 reboot, had things gone differently. It isn't, however, one I'd recommend most people go into in hopes of a fun time. David Bishop has no qualms about how dark he wrote Freddy, and if you're not a fan of Freddy being a pedophile (a point of contention I know this fandom will have until the end of time,) then you should definitely avoid this one. All in all though, if you're looking to be disturbed though, this is a good one and it gives me hope for the other Black Flame ANoES novels!
I've been disappointed by most of the Black Flame books for Friday the 13th franchise thus far, so I was somewhat apprehensive going into this. However, I'm glad that, even with as dark and messed-up as this book is, it blew my expectations out of the water. In many ways, it feels like a really fascinating mix of Dream Warriors and what could have been the 2010 reboot, had things gone differently. It isn't, however, one I'd recommend most people go into in hopes of a fun time. David Bishop has no qualms about how dark he wrote Freddy, and if you're not a fan of Freddy being a pedophile (a point of contention I know this fandom will have until the end of time,) then you should definitely avoid this one. All in all though, if you're looking to be disturbed though, this is a good one and it gives me hope for the other Black Flame ANoES novels!
June 3, 2023
Unfortunately this book, like _all_ the others in the Black Flame publication series, leave a lot to be desired. It seems that the author tends to focus on the grimness of a given nightmare, for a given character, while letting the plot fall to pieces.
Why do the teenagers have powers, and why do those power fail in situations where it seems they would _reasonably_ work?
Why does a character betray the rest, _and_ backslide in their behavior from one chapter to the next?
Why do none of the characters actually have any actual personality or substance to them?
Things just don't cohere in this work, and there's a lot of lost opportunity to write something that would really engage readers on this overarching question of 'what if _this_ happened, in the Elm Street universe?' As a result, it's a very lame 200+page work.
Why do the teenagers have powers, and why do those power fail in situations where it seems they would _reasonably_ work?
Why does a character betray the rest, _and_ backslide in their behavior from one chapter to the next?
Why do none of the characters actually have any actual personality or substance to them?
Things just don't cohere in this work, and there's a lot of lost opportunity to write something that would really engage readers on this overarching question of 'what if _this_ happened, in the Elm Street universe?' As a result, it's a very lame 200+page work.
July 30, 2022
Another Black Flame novel that would have made a great movie.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the Friday the 13th Novel series from Black Flame, but this was still a good read.
You have a group of teenagers who participate in a sleep study to test an anti-insomnia drug, but for reasons never fully explained it just ends up linking them all to Freddy. It also gives them powers, so you end up with a "Dream Warriors" situation.
Overall it was as good as most of the movies, although Freddy was even more depraved than usual if that's possible. The ending was also a bit of a bummer, but when you look at the endings of most of the movies it fit right in.
If you're a fan of the movies or the character, you should read this one for sure.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did the Friday the 13th Novel series from Black Flame, but this was still a good read.
You have a group of teenagers who participate in a sleep study to test an anti-insomnia drug, but for reasons never fully explained it just ends up linking them all to Freddy. It also gives them powers, so you end up with a "Dream Warriors" situation.
Overall it was as good as most of the movies, although Freddy was even more depraved than usual if that's possible. The ending was also a bit of a bummer, but when you look at the endings of most of the movies it fit right in.
If you're a fan of the movies or the character, you should read this one for sure.
December 11, 2025
This had potential. I was looking forward to reading a Nightmare on Elm Street novel, and this one had good reviews for being a darker Freddy. Sadly, it was a disappointment all around. Freddy didn’t act or talk like Freddy, the teenagers acted inconsistently and were unlikable, and the rules of the nightmares didn’t make sense and was different than what can happen in the movies (like Freddy appearing in multiple nightmares at once??).
Very let down, and the book eventually became a chore to read through and I was glad when it was finally done. Will try the rest of the series to see if it hopefully improves.
With all the being said, the ending was great.
Very let down, and the book eventually became a chore to read through and I was glad when it was finally done. Will try the rest of the series to see if it hopefully improves.
With all the being said, the ending was great.
August 8, 2025
Book had its cool moments, but of the 5 released, this one is overhyped because it was the first to come out. Characters were okay, not great. Freddy while it’s his more darker self, which was cool at first. He then becomes increasingly MORE ANNOYING as the book goes on. Lame sexual jokes and had to have said “B*tch” and “call me daddy” at least 20 or more times each. Probably not the weakest of the 5 book, but it’s not as good as later releases like “Perchance To Dream and “The Dream Dealers”
October 7, 2025
Damnnnn loved this freddy always come up with terror although in one of the movies he lost to jason
But alone i wonder how normal human can escape his clutches .....he give a creepy vibe and match to one of the very lesser version of terrifier
But alone i wonder how normal human can escape his clutches .....he give a creepy vibe and match to one of the very lesser version of terrifier
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2023
This was so good and gory! Loved it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2023
The ending is literally the scariest thing to ever happen in this franchise
October 1, 2023
Really fun read! Freddy Krueger works well in narrative form. Any fan of The Nightmare on Elm Street movies will enjoy this book.
December 13, 2023
Bitch this bitch that
March 20, 2024
Youtube
April 1, 2024
was gross but alright.
so underwhelming that i decided not to continue with the series and stopped here
so underwhelming that i decided not to continue with the series and stopped here
April 19, 2025
Felt like it took tropes from the 80s slasher and married it to the nastiness of the 00s horror scene and the results are a largely uninteresting and at times unintentionally creepy book.
October 8, 2025
A pretty decent approach to the Elm Street series in terms of portraying Freddy and the dream dimension and all that, but fucking hell, what a downer fucking ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2019
Full review on my YouTube channel SlasherPepper: https://youtu.be/lN4q8u9il_o
If you comment “GoodReads brought me here” I will ❤️ your comment.
If you comment “GoodReads brought me here” I will ❤️ your comment.
July 25, 2021
Six teens go to a sleep clinic and are injected with an experimental serum which in turn gives them each a special power. Freddy will haunt their dreams and make them suffer. Freddy is a massive deviant, creepy full on pervert, and evil prick and can't stop using the word bitch and come to daddy. Teens will die, one by barbed wire cutting through her wrists severing both wrists to fall off and another skinned alive with skin draped on the walls. Oh and a little Freddy might be born into this world.
July 8, 2015
What can I say. This is a brilliant piece of writing inspired by the movies. It brings the same suspense and terror through the pages. Really good. Will be definitely be looking for the others in this series when I find the time. I would read this again and recommend to anyone who likes the movies or the horror genre.
November 19, 2016
Pretty decent story - it goes back to Freddy's dark roots instead of the comedic persona he became in the later films.
Read
February 1, 2011I want to read it
March 26, 2017
Freddy's Back!
I really enjoyed this first book of the Nightmare on Elm Street Series written in 2005.
The book takes place after the events of the Freddy vs Jason movie and it will be viewed as a gem by all Nightmare on Elm Street fans.
The book delivers insight on what happened to the main character Lori after the Freddy vs Jason events. Westin Hills and Hypnocil are still a factor. The book takes elements that were seen in Nightmare in Elm Street part 3 and expands on them. The lines between dreams and reality are even more blurred this time around.
The ending left me excited to see what happens in the 2nd book of this Black Flame series. I hope it is a continuation of the series vs a book that can stand on its own.
There are no electronic versions of the series currently available and the book series went out of print some time ago. Four of the five books in the series are currently available on Amazon. Most of the used books for sale range from $20 to $50 on the low end.
I really enjoyed this first book of the Nightmare on Elm Street Series written in 2005.
The book takes place after the events of the Freddy vs Jason movie and it will be viewed as a gem by all Nightmare on Elm Street fans.
The book delivers insight on what happened to the main character Lori after the Freddy vs Jason events. Westin Hills and Hypnocil are still a factor. The book takes elements that were seen in Nightmare in Elm Street part 3 and expands on them. The lines between dreams and reality are even more blurred this time around.
The ending left me excited to see what happens in the 2nd book of this Black Flame series. I hope it is a continuation of the series vs a book that can stand on its own.
There are no electronic versions of the series currently available and the book series went out of print some time ago. Four of the five books in the series are currently available on Amazon. Most of the used books for sale range from $20 to $50 on the low end.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews