NOS4A2 Book Review

NOS4A2

By Joe Hill

William Morrow; First Edition edition

(April 30, 2013)

5/5 Stars

 

For people who need summaries and can’t find them on their own,”

NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.

Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”
Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.

Exclusive to the print editions of NOS4A2 are more than 15 illustrations by award-winning Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodríguez.”

From Amazon.com

  

Let me say first that, this book is not original.  It is not some kind of revolution in horror book writing.  No, this book is a work of art and I love it because it does what it does SO WELL.  The build up is expert, the follow through precise, and the pay off(while it didn’t happen the way I wanted it to) was awesome.  This is a fine book and I’m sure Joe Hill’s dad is pretty freakin proud of him.  This is the best kind of horror fiction.  The easing back into a comfy chair kind.  Not very many writers are at all capable of this and even fewer can execute it like Joe Hill does in this book.  I enjoyed the entire book, all 689 pages which I read over the course of less than 2 days.  The book is a fast exciting read and anyone who is a Stephen King fan and hasn’t read this book is doing themselves a great disservice.  Meet all you folks on the other side of the bridge.