If you’ve been a reader here for awhile, you know I’m a mood reader. Lately my mood has been suspense (even though I’ve had historicals to read for review purposes), but after I read Cold Vengeance, I felt like a change of pace would be nice for a book or two, so I decided to dive into The Nightmare Virus by Nadine Brandes. YA is such a fun genre to read, and I adore her writing. I knew this was going to be a good read, and so even though life was super busy, I dove in. Guys, this wasn’t just a good read. It was an AMAZING read!
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About the Book
The Nightmare Virus Author Nadine Brandes
Published by Enclave Publishing
on July 16, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Religious / Christian / Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction / Religious / Christian / Science Fiction, Young Adult Fiction / Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic
Pages: 368
Amazon | GoodreadsSome viruses go after the body. But the Nightmare Virus goes after the mind.
When dream technology goes wrong, a virus spreads across the globe, trapping people in a universal dreamscape. They call it the Nightmare Virus.
Cain Cross is determined to find a cure . . . if he can decipher his brother's chicken-scratch formula notes. But when he gets infected, he has only 22 days until he's trapped in the mental prison forever. Now, every time he falls asleep, he must fight in a Nightmare Arena until he earns his freedom to live in the "new world" that exists only in the mind.
Then he finds a way to manipulate the Nightmare--to change it by mere thought.
Forced to navigate a world of nightbeasts, mistblades, and half-truths, Cain turns his focus to survival. When the Emperor offers him a LifeSuPod--and access to a cure--in exchange for a dangerous favor, Cain thinks he's found a way out. But Cain's new power threatens to take him on paths that jeopardize his very soul.
Will he continue searching for a cure, or will he swear allegiance to the Nightmare? And the bigger question might be . . . will he even have a choice?
My Perspective
Brandes has created not only an imaginative world for us to escape to, she’s created such an imaginative plot! I think this might just be my favorite world of hers for multiple reasons. Let’s see if I can list them:
The characters – Cain is such a great character that we can all relate to in some ways. But it’s the side characters that really make this story stand out. The Emperor, the spores, all of them are just so well written. You think you know who to trust until BAM – Brandes uncovers a truth you didn’t see coming. I love being surprised in this way, and she certainly surprised me.
The biblical allegory – I mean, I don’t know if this was intentional, if it’s just me, or maybe a combination of the two. There is a huge story of good versus evil. But the thing that makes this stand out – Cain has to figure out who is really good, and who is really evil wearing sheeps clothing. Sound like anything we’ve read in the bible? YEP! And I love how Brandes brought this to light. It made me pause and reflect on how or if it’s happening in my own life. I was so into this concept guys. It is really my favorite part of the whole book.
The plot itself – I mean getting infected and you start sleeping for periods of time until you’re sleeping more than you’re awake, and while you’re sleeping you are literally in some sort of nightmare world!? Um yes please. And let me just say – it’s not too scary when I say nightmare. I don’t like super scary. It was just creative and fun, and yeah a teeny bit scary at times when you think about it, but nothing that made me hide under my covers. But this point just proves just how amazing Brandes head works. I mean I kinda wanna like look inside her brain for a bit. Actually maybe I don’t lol.
The bravery of Cain – You can pretty much tell by the story synopsis that Cain is going to try and save everyone, so no spoiler there. But let me just say that Cain’s bravery during this entire story was really encouraging to me. And by that I mean he’s a character we can kind of look up to. He worked hard, he fought back, he kept going. We can learn a lot from his character.
I truly could keep talking about this book. Though I read an ecopy, I know I want a hardcover for my shelf. Plus that cover is so amazing!!! Guys, if you are into fantasy worlds, I highly recommend this book. It was fantastic!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About the Author
NADINE BRANDES once spent four days as a sea cook in the name of book research. She is the Carol-Award winning author of FAWKES, ROMANOV, and the Out of Time Series. Her inner fangirl perks up at the mention of soul-talk, Quidditch, bookstagram, and Oreos. When she’s not busy writing novels about bold living, she’s adventuring through Middle Earth or taste-testing a new chai. Nadine, her Auror husband, and their Halfling children are building a Tiny House on wheels. Current mission: paint the world in shalom.
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Sounds like a really good story. Great review!
Thanks! It was such a good story 🙂
I’ve never read any of her books but this sounds sooo good. Think I’ll recommend it to my book club.