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NOS4A2

Joe Hill

Start date: December 22, 2017

Finish date: December 30, 2017

Discussion: Books of the Month

Why we're reading this: Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy BOM
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What Members Thought

Jun 19, 2013 Michael rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013, pbrc-tower-challenge, tower-team-challenge-b, summer-reading-2013

After reading Horns, I had huge expectations for Joe Hill's next book. His next novel couldn't come fast enough for my liking and as the days, weeks and months went by, the memory of Horns just grew and grew in my mind becoming better and better.

And yet, there was no word on a new novel by Hill.

Then, finally, I heard rumblings that a new novel was headed our way. At long last, I thought, I can finally read the NEXT Joe Hill novel.

And so it was that I eagerly put the novel on reserve at my loca ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2022 Debbie M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: big-books-500pgs-or-more, choice-awards, top-2-fav-reads-2022

Fantasy horror like nothing I've had the pleasure to read before. Original, creepy, riveting and fascinating - definitely a book I will remember and recommend often. A story within a story with many layers and lots of creepy children - yes please & thank you!👧 ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

May 19, 2018 Lesa Divine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library, read-it, 2018, favorite-list, my-2023-tbr-rereads

It's hard to explain lol. But I enjoyed this.
It's gross, disturbing, weird, crazy and very imaginative.
I felt I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what will happen next.

Vic found herself able to drive her bike into another well world. But it's not another. She was always finding what was lost until she end up finding Charles Manx who had a old car and license plate says NOS4A2. He has been kidnapping kids and taking them to his Christmasland until Vic came along and messed that up fo ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 20, 2013 Christal rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: multiple-leads, mind-bullets, pi-detective-cop, horror, vampires, favorites, kidnapping, horrible-characters, dark, audiobook

Mini review originally posted at Badass Book Reviews

NOS4A2 was my first Joe Hill book and my first audiobook narrated by Kate Mulgrew and I have to say that both blew me away. The story is a little complicated to explain, but there is Charlie Manx who likes to kidnap little children and take them to Christmasland, where they become something akin to a vampire. There's also Vic McQueen, a young girl who has the ability to travel between long distances just by thinking about where she wants to go. Mini review originally posted at Badass Book Reviews

NOS4A2 was my first Joe Hill book and my first audiobook narrated by Kate Mulgrew and I have to say that both blew me away. The story is a little complicated to explain, but there is Charlie Manx who likes to kidnap little children and take them to Christmasland, where they become something akin to a vampire. There's also Vic McQueen, a young girl who has the ability to travel between long distances just by thinking about where she wants to go. As a young adult, Vic uses her power to find Charlie Manx and have him arrested. As the time passes, Vic grows up and has a son of her own. Charlie escapes from prison and decides to take revenge on Vic by taking her son to Christmasland, but Vic hasn't lost her ability nor her determination and she's determined to save her son and take Charlie Manx down once and for all. Throughout the book, we learn more about Vic and her life, both as a child with her parents and as an adult with her (ex-)husband Lou and her son Bruce Wayne. We also learn more about Charlie Manx and his motivations and those of his partner in crime, Bing Partridge. There is also a very colorful secondary cast of characters that interweave in Vic and Charlie's story.

For those that don't know, Joe Hill is the son of horror legend Stephen King. Knowing this, I went in with the expectation of a solid, scary story. What I didn't expect was such detailed and believable character development. The characters were lovingly crafted and the main characters were so flawed and damaged, but still deeply human. Though I liked Vic from the get-go, I never expected her story would bring me to tears, but there I was towards the end... incredibly affected by Vic and her relationships with the most important men in her life: her father, her husband, and her son. I was rooting for Vic to triumph in the end, but I didn't expect to be so impressed with her selflessness and sheer force of will. Vic had a mission to save her son and nothing, no physical pain, no emotional attack, no threat to her livelihood, would stop her. NOS4A2 presented one of the most sympathetic and believable heroines that I have ever come across. On the other hand, the development of Charlie Manx was a little lacking; I felt like more attention could have been given to his back story and how he developed into the evil man of today. There were little moments where you could almost understand his motivations, though never sympathize with them, but they were fleeting and not quite fully formed. I felt like this was a very minor issue in an outstanding story though. NOS4A2 and it's characters will stick with me for a very long time.

Kate Mulgrew was a wonderful narrator and her reading here was truly a performance. She gave thought to each character and really brought them to life. NOS4A2 has dialogue from a lot of different characters and it was always instantly easy to recognize who was who in Ms. Mulgrew's reading. Though her reading of Vic and Lou was definitely the most touching, her reading of Charlie Manx was probably the most perfect. His creepy, demented evilness just flowed out of her voice and it truly gives you chills. ...more

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Jun 24, 2019 Jenn rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, 2019-finished

3.5 stars

After reading this book you may think of Christmas differently. Joe Hill takes one of the most favorite holidays and twists it into a terrifying read. This book was twisted and had me thinking of Dean Koontz. The concept of the "time travel" was interesting and fun to read.

Vic, aka Victoria, The Brat, had the ability to "time travel" by crossing The Shorter Way bridge. She's able to find lost things by crossing this bridge on her bike. Every time she does it she comes back sick and her ...more

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May 31, 2015 Denise rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: everest-mountaineering, own-ebook, gladiator-games

4.5 stars

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 19, 2017 Andreea rated it it was ok

This was my first Joe Hill book, but I wasn't impressed.
I picked it up because it was around Christmas, but I really wanted something that you do not usually read around Christmas so a horror sounded like a lot of fun. Only it wasn't that scary... just a big chase mainly.

Interesting characters and even story, although it felt too long. It had a lot of potential, and the prose was great, but it just wasn't enough for me. Although it was fun. Maybe it simply wasn't my type of horror. ...more

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