A Nightmare on Elm Street: Protégé is a 2005 British horror novel written by Tim Waggoner and published by Black Flame.[1] A tie-in to the Nightmare on Elm Street series of American horror films, it is the third in a series of five Nightmare on Elm Street novels published by Black Flame and revolves around a teenager named Jerome Starkey as he attempts to prevent himself from falling under the thrall of supernatural killer Freddy Krueger.[2]
 | |
| Author | Tim Waggoner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | A Nightmare on Elm Street |
Release number | 3 |
| Genre | Horror |
| Publisher | Black Flame |
Publication date | 27 September 2005 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 409 |
| ISBN | 9781844162550 |
| OCLC | 65201174 |
| Preceded by | A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dreamspawn |
| Followed by | A Nightmare on Elm Street: Perchance to Dream |
| Website | https://timwaggoner.com/writing/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-3-protege/ |
Plot
editExpectant teenage mother Joanna Larkin falls asleep at the wheel and has a nightmare about Freddy Krueger, a serial child killer who, after being burned to death by angry parents, now haunts the dreams of the people of Springwood, Ohio. Freddy injects Joanna's unborn child with his evil essence before causing Joanna to die in a car crash, though Joanna's baby, Jerome, survives and is raised by his father, Don Starkey, and stepmother, Lynn. Growing up, Jerome is shielded from Freddy's influence by a dreamcatcher gifted to him by Joanna's twin sister, Rebecca, a tarot card reader who received the artifact from a being implied to be an angel while in New Mexico. Despite this, Jerome still suffers from violent outbursts, leading to incidents like him crushing his pet gerbil, Kirby, and biting and permanently scarring Lynn and a bully named Patrick Cottril.
One night, Jerome accidentally damages the dreamcatcher and begins having nightmares about Freddy. Freddy's machinations cause Jerome to develop a malevolent alter ego who seizes control of his and Jerome's shared body whenever Jerome falls asleep, gaining power and further autonomy by murdering Cottril and the bully's two cohorts, Eddie Jackson and Brent Haney. Rebecca, after being made aware of Jerome's dilemma, attempts to save her nephew by repairing the dreamcatcher with help from Joanna, whose spirit Rebecca is briefly able to call forth during a visit to the Astral plane. Jerome's evil half destroys the dreamcatcher and murders Rebecca, which prompts Jerome into attempting suicide by jumping in a river, an act that backfires as "Dark Jerome" takes control of Jerome's body after Jerome passes out in the water; Jerome's doppelganger then goes on a killing spree, butchering three of the staff of Jerome's school, his bosses at a video rental shop, and his best friend, Ellery Belasco, while Jerome's consciousness is trapped in the Dream World with Freddy.
Jerome, guided by Rebecca's spirit, escapes Freddy and stops Dark Jerome from killing Lynn and his stepsiblings, but is unable to save Don. Dark Jerome retakes control of Jerome's body and kidnaps Jerome's girlfriend, Cheryl Garringer, bringing her to Freddy's old abandoned house, 1428 Elm Street. The house is where Freddy is at his strongest in the waking world, and, with Dark Jerome acting as a nexus, he is able to physically manifest there, intent on helping his "son" slaughter Cheryl. Jerome reassumes control of his body and attacks Freddy, only to vacate the body at the last second, causing Freddy to accidentally kill Dark Jerome. Jerome, now a disembodied spirit, forces Freddy back into the Dream World before saying goodbye to Cheryl. At Jerome's funeral, Cheryl laments that, even though Dark Jerome was destroyed, depriving Freddy of an agent in the mortal plane, it was a pyrrhic victory since Jerome and eleven others are dead and Jerome was blamed for Dark Jerome's rampage, which has produced a surplus of fear for Freddy to feed on and use to continue terrorizing Springwood.
Publication
editIn his initial pitch to Black Flame for a Nightmare on Elm Street tie-in novel, author Tim Waggoner had Freddy Krueger become mortal again and attempt to reclaim his position of power in the Dream World.[3] Waggoner, encouraged by his editor, had already begun writing this story when he was informed by a representative from New Line Cinema, the owners of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, that it had been rejected because the concept of Freddy becoming human again would "raise the specter of Freddie [sic] having been a child molester/murderer when he was alive and they didn’t want to deal with that issue."[4] Waggoner then wrote and presented Black Flame with an outline for Protégé, which was approved by New Line Cinema. To promote the book, Waggoner read the first chapter at the World Horror Convention in New York City in April 2005.[5]
In 2006, Black Flame reprinted Protégé as part of Ripped From a Dream: A Nightmare on Elm Street Omnibus, a compilation that included Suffer the Children and Dreamspawn, the two preceding Nightmare on Elm Street novels published by Black Flame.[6]
Reception
editDon D'Ammassa opined that Protégé was "quite well written" in a dual review of it and Final Destination: Dead Man's Hand he wrote for Science Fiction Chronicle.[7] Reece Goodall of The Boar commended the novel, which he felt had "a really interesting main character and some solid horror" as well as an original and intriguing premise that set it apart from its two predecessors, Suffer the Children and Dreamspawn.[8]
References
edit- ^ Stephen Jones (2006). The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 17. Constable & Robinson. Introduction: Horror in 2005. ISBN 9781845293154.
- ^ Marie Toft, ed. (2006). What Do I Read Next? 2006: A Readers Guide To Current Genre Fiction, Volume 2. Gale. p. 238. ISBN 9780787690243.
- ^ Turner, Jeff (25 March 2022). "*Interview* Author, Tim Waggoner talks latest novelization, Halloween Kills". actionreloaded.com. Action Reloaded. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Interview with Mr. Tim Waggoner, author of Kingsman: The Golden Circle (movie novelization) and numerous novels". novelpro.weebly.com. NovelPro Junkie. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview: Tim Waggoner". nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com. Nightmare on Elm Street Companion. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Lott, Rod (17 May 2006). "BL Publishing falls for more WARHAMMER, New Lines". bookgasm.com. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Critical Mass by Don D'Ammassa". Science Fiction Chronicle. Vol. 1, no. 266. United States: Warren Lapine. February 2006. p. 30.
- ^ Goodall, Reece (6 November 2020). "The bizarre Elm Street spin-off novels: Ripped from a Dream". theboar.org. The Boar. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
External links
edit- Interview with Tim Waggoner at Nightmare on Elm Street Companion
- Protégé title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database