Nightmare of the Iguana: 02/24/23

Nightmare of the Iguana by Ursula Vernon (2013) is the eighth book in the Dragonbreath series. Danny's quest takes him someplace he's never been, inside Wendell's brain.

As it happened, I read this novel on the heels of finishing What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (Vernon's alter-ego). Although this series was written for children, there are elements as horrific as in her newer, adult horror novels.

Wendell is having trouble sleeping. He's plagued with nightmares. Its not that they're keeping him up. He sleeps through them. But his dream self is constantly tortured.

The solution to the problem involves a walk through his mind as he's dreaming. It's the only way to see who is plaguing him. The two to save him are his best friend, Danny, and his long distance girl friend, Suki.

Like the previous seven books, this one sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. With a journey that involves a fight between those who wish to protect, the travelers are in a scarecrow / minotaur dichotomy, with Danny and Suki being the scarecrows and the nightmare monsters being the minotaurs (99). Their destination is utopia (FF), in that it's the made up world of Wendell's mind. The route there is the maze (CC) in that it's dangerous; if Danny and Suki fail, Wendell will die.

The ninth book is The Case of the Toxic Mutants (2013).

Five stars

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