A Nightmare on Elm Street: Protégé

A Nightmare on Elm Street

by Tim Waggoner

The third in the series of A Nightmare on Elm Street further adventures from Black Flame. Freddy Krueger implants some of his darkness in an unborn child before killing the mother. The baby survives and grows into a young man with a dark sideÏ¿½ In the dreamscape, Freddy bonds with the child-now teenager Jerome Starkey-with the potential for great violence and evil. Freddy tutors the boy in the ways of darkness while using him as an agent to wreak havoc in the real world. Eventually the apprentice turns on the master. Can Jerome defeat Freddy without becoming an evil to rival that of his teacher?

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Media Tie In

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 27, 2005

About the author

Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then, he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He's written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, Conan the Barbarian, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Grimm, and Transformers, among others, and he's written novelizations for films such as Ti West’s X-Trilogy, Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2 and 3, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He’s also the author of the award-winning guide to horror Writing in the Dark. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and he’s been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Black Flame novels (based on this series as well as Jason X and Friday the 13th) continue to top the movies as far as storylines go. I would really love to see these novels made into movies.

This volume wasn't my favorite of the series but was still very good. Freddy picks a protege to help him bring his evil into the real world rather than confining it to the dream world. However, his protege isn't so willing to help out. We end up with a battle fought in both dimensions as Freddy fights foes both here and from the spirit world. Overall a very strong story.

If you are a fan of the franchise, you really should track down these hard to find novels as they are really well done.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, spooky stuff! Waggoner captured the tension of the films (with just a dash of humor) quite well. Read it when you're alone in the house, just before bedtime...

[Anissa Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books have some of the "worst" endings in history.

[Mikepottz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jerome's mother was killed while he was in the womb and has been protected by a dreamcatcher. Once this is broken people are going to have their face smashed in by a tyre iron, a head smashed off a body and a teacher dissected from chin to crotch and all the organs laid out on a road neatly labelled. Jerome is going to be controlled in the physical and dream world. Freddy does not want to be forgotten and needs the people of Springwood to remember his name again. Controlled Jerome will wear a white hockey mask and slash/stab relentlessly with a machete spraying his white mask a bright crimson. Freddy tells Jerome I love killing but creating fear, causing suffering and devouring souls piece by piece are some of my favourite things. There will be loads of murder. Freddy is an evil bitch.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Black Flame novels (based on this series as well as Jason X and Friday the 13th) continue to top the movies as far as storylines go. I would really love to see these novels made into movies.

This volume wasn't my favorite of the series but was still very good. Freddy picks a protege to help him bring his evil into the real world rather than confining it to the dream world. However, his protege isn't so willing to help out. We end up with a battle fought in both dimensions as Freddy fights foes both here and from the spirit world. Overall a very strong story.

If you are a fan of the franchise, you really should track down these hard to find novels as they are really well done. (less)

[~Cyanide Latte~]

DNF @71%. Just based on the way that this book is going I can tell that I'm not in the mood for what is most likely about to happen, and I have no patience to keep going to the end. Maybe I'll revisit this in the future but for now, I don't think that'll happen any time soon.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much more than the others so far.
I really have to say that I would prefer to read this one over again.

[Phil Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freddy comes up with another scheme to come out into the real world.

In my opinion this 3rd book in the series is much better than the 2nd and not quite as good as the 1st.

Once again this book stands on its own and you do not have to read the 1st and 2nd in the series to be all caught up in this one.

Jerome has been struggling with anger issues finds out that he's been protected from Freddy entering his dreams thanks to his Aunt who is more in touch with the supernatural realm than most.

However when Jerome smashes the dream catcher in a fit of anger one night, Freddy begins entering his dreams and uses his body as a portal to entering the real world.

Jerome tries to stop Freddy at the expense of his own life, but it turns out it's not that simple. Freddy has something else planned that started the night Jerome was born.