Terror of the Nightwatchman

Scream Street #9

by Tommy Donbavand

This is the ninth crazy adventure in this hugely popular comedy horror series for ghouls and girls - with four free collector's cards inside! When Luke and Resus wake up to discover that Cleo has been kidnapped, the intrepid pair follow a perplexing trail into a strange new GHOUL community. Here they stumble upon a terrible plot involving the much feared Nightwatchman, who feeds on children's dreams in order to satisfy his own evil thirst for power. Can the boys continue the quest and return the second relic, while rescuing Cleo from her greatest nightmare? Visit website for competitions, short stories and new issues of Scream Street's own newspaper, "The Terror Times".

Genres: Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Tommy Donbavand was an English actor and an author of books and comics for children including the Scream Street series. He was from Liverpool, England.

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my very first Scream Street book. I stumbled upon it at the book shop when I just realized (to my horror) that I had just finished reading the last Mr. Midnight (James Lee) series! WHAT AM I GONNA READ UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK COMES UP?! And then I found it on the shelf next to the Mr. Midnight books- I decided to give it a go, I had no choice anyhow. At first I wasn't really excited about reading Scream Street- until I hit the first page. I kept reading, and soon I grew fond to it. I read my next Scream Street book, and I grew to LOVE the series!- Too bad I didn't purchase more.
Oh well!
If you haven't read this book yet, you MUST START LOOKING NOW!!!!
You'll really regret not reading this. Simply a must-read!!!

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like the fact that Resus and Luke had actually scary dreams - Resus being found out and arrested for not being a real vampire and Luke being attacked by his mum - while Cleo's worst nightmare was being girly. Maybe it was supposed to be being forced to be girly or being perceived as girly but it just came across as kind of condescending.

Not to mention, if the author was trying to portray the fear of being perceived as girly or being forced to be girly, it makes no sense with the character. The first time Cleo's in the series, she's putting on makeup. How is that less feminine than holding a tea party? And it's never mentioned that her dad has a problem with her being a tomboy or running around on adventures with Luke or Resus - he's happy they're friends!

"I never played with dolls - I always thought they were childish."

Maybe that's because dolls are designed for kids to play with them? Also, Cleo's literally a child. They're all children. Literally anything they do is childish because they're children.

It just felt like the author could have come up with something better that would actually scare Cleo and just couldn't be bothered to.

That being said, I did quite like the concept of them all travelling through dreams and the other characters and aspects of the story were good

[Daniel Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the first six books, the plot was predictable - Finding "someone" to get "something" for a single purpose.

However, when it comes to the final six books where the main trio needs to "return" said item. This is where the story can be unpredictable as you are now introduced to new characters that were not present in the first six books. These new characters and storylines were very interesting and fresh, quickly encapsulating my attention to understand what their next move was in each scenario. Some were funny but some were dangerous.

In the case of this book, The Nightwatchman is a proper villain with motives and pose a significant threat. The story is really good and you can actually see the main trio go around overcoming the challenge.

I would rate this one of the best books in the later series (I liked The Secret of the Changeling, Hunger of the Yeti and Flame of the Dragon the best).

Definitely worth reading!

[Caspian Hendrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a pretty chill book, again these books are great for kids and kinda meh? It was nice to have the Nightwatchman as a character and the twist at the end of a spy, I’d happily give this series as an introduction to horror and fantasy for any child. The humor was missing from this book so it pales in comparison to the others in this series so, meh.

[Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book. I enjoyed the whole series but this one was just so much more fun. I really enjoyed the nightmares. Honestly didn't give this five stars because while the boys were facing there fears like Luke's mother suffering with her werewolf form. With Resus having to face a council of vampires. Cleo had a doll tea party where she had to wear a dress. I know everyone's fears are different but that didn't feel genuine. That was disappointing like I wanted something more. Otherwise a really good book.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say this one is better than some others in the series. However, it could have been longer because certain things made no sense or just didn't fit into the story much. But still it was an entertaining read.

[Reed Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was actually a little bit creepy due to the mystery of the Nightwatchman and the fact that it dealt with nightmares.

[Kociusia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently my two most favourite books are 4 and 9. This book is full of adventure and plot twist and kept surprising me so I recommend. The author really had great ideas.

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in hospital lol I couldn’t put it down it was so good and I hate how ppl complain about the trios fears

[Lieselot Mauroo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one. A clever play on the power that dreams can have over us.
This one was a lot of fun to read.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 9th book of the Scream Street series starts out with a bang when Resus wakes Luke from a comical dream to deliver the news that Cleo is missing. The boys are hot on the trail when they discover some foul smelling slime that makes them feel incredibly sad. The boys must travel into the stuff of nightmares to help their friend. This "gentle" horror story does a great job of showing how important it is to work with your friends and overcome your fears to be successful. The black and white illustrations do a fantastic job of illustrating key scenes and characters.

The book is recommended for students who are looking for something scary and enjoy books about vampires, mummies, werewolves and all kinds of creepy characters.


This copy was a review copy provided by the publisher to SWON Libraries.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It started off really well and very exciting with Cleo missing from her room during the night and the two boys racing to find her. It was very creepy but also really funny - especially with Spider the ogre who is hilarious. It was also funny to see Sneer frightened and lose out again to Luke, Resus and Cleo. This is such a cool series - looking forward to the next one.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up for a review committee I am on and haven't read any of the other books in the series so I was a tad worried that I'd be lost, but the author did a great job of providing enough background info so I understood what the characters had been up to without slowing down the action of the story. There's a good balance of action and humor, with a good dose of messages about the power of friendship and facing one's fears. Perfect for 4/5th graders.

[Riverina Regional Library]

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