Nightmare Academy

This article is about the book by Frank Peretti. For the book by Dean Lorey, see Nightmare Academy (novel). For other uses, see Nightmare Academy (disambiguation).

Nightmare Academy
Author(s)	Frank Peretti
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Veritas Project
Genre(s)	Fantasy, Young adult
Publisher	Thomas Nelson
Publication date	July 9, 2002
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	311 p.
ISBN	978-0849976179
OCLC Number	50237739
LC Classification	PZ7.P4254 Ni 2002
Preceded by	Hangman's Curse

Nightmare Academy is a Christian fictional novel and is the second novel in the Veritas Project series authored by Frank Peretti. It takes place in an academy run by faculty who supposedly work for the U.S. government. However, it is really an organization entirely outside of the government, unauthorized to be doing any of the things it is. The organization has decided to answer some questions that are pressing on their minds. This organization is one which erases all sense of truth from teenagers.

Plot summary

Enter Elijah and Elisha Springfield, sixteen year old twins (along with their parents, Nate and Sarah Springfield) of the Veritas Project (which means 'truth' in Latin) are sent to investigate a place called 'Knight-Moore Academy' when a boy who has been missing for quite some time reappears, but his mind has been wiped. He can only say two things: 'I don't know' and 'Nightmare Academy.' The Springfields are Christians working for the U.S. government and are told to investigate when the President of the United States becomes slightly uneasy about the mysterious murder of the boy. The boy was fifteen when he apparently died of a massive heart attack, though it was obvious to the government officials that he was murdered. They infer that this was done so that he can never recover and regain his mind, therefore being able to answer what the "Nightmare Academy" is.

Elijah and Elisha are sent to the Knight-Moore Academy to uncover who was behind the death of the amnesiac boy. They learn that the teachers trick the students there into believing there is no truth, therefore there is no right and wrong. Campus raids and uncivilized fighting amongst the students occur frequently. As the investigation continues, Sarah and Nate Springfield lose contact with their children and have to work on what little information they have to rescue them.

Later Elijah is taken up to a mysterious mountain near the Academy after getting in a fight that was involuntarily started. He finds himself battling something that seems unreal... and yet, in every sense of the word is reality. After Elisha discovers that her brother is missing, she tries to find a way to rescue him from being murdered or mind-wiped like the last boy. Sarah and Nate struggle to find the place where their son and daughter are.

The book's main theme is the existence of truth and whether the truths we perceive are real or if we are made to believe what we do to fulfill the goals of some outside organization.

References