NOS4A2 in Busy as a Bee Books

Dec 29, 2022 Bookish Trina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-books, christmas-inspired, horror

Same thoughts on reread in 2024 :-)

This book was exquisitely horrifying! It was deliciously dark and all the things! It is officially one of my favorite books of all time. An instant favorite for me. It is dark, and nuts, and well-developed, and intriguing, and well-written, and had great character development and an original story with great storytelling and high stakes as well as horrific themes on top of more horrific themes. If you are a horror lover, this will be your next favorite read.

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Apr 21, 2013 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, _own-ebook, _own-home-library, read-in-2013

I suspect that Joe Hill is going to soon be joining that list of authors that I consider 'go-to' authors, the writers that time and time again exceed my expectations. Because I have to tell you that he is really fantastic ... his stories are unique and compelling, his writing is fantastic and his characters are so real that they practically walk off of the page.

I want to say upfront that the primary reason that I'm not giving this novel 5 stars is that I think it could have used some editing. T I suspect that Joe Hill is going to soon be joining that list of authors that I consider 'go-to' authors, the writers that time and time again exceed my expectations. Because I have to tell you that he is really fantastic ... his stories are unique and compelling, his writing is fantastic and his characters are so real that they practically walk off of the page.

I want to say upfront that the primary reason that I'm not giving this novel 5 stars is that I think it could have used some editing. There were some sections that I felt could have been condensed in order to make this novel even better! The only other flaw that I found in the novel is that I'd like to have gotten a bit more information about the history of a few of the characters/items and how they came to be how they came to be (specifically, Charlie and the car). With that said, however, this is a fantastic read and is truly unlike ANYTHING that I've ever read.

Joe Hill appears to see the world in a very unique aqnd interesting way, coming up with some ideas and concepts for this novel that I thought were frankly just outstanding. He could have gone predictable in a number of places in the novel but instead came up with some really interesting and even 'out of the box' things. The story itself is unique and not predictable in any way. The basic horror tropes are here but he takes them to new and unusual places. Great places. Places that made me squirm. Places that made me feel a little sick to my stomach yet unable to stop reading because I had to know more!

This is a book that I find difficult to explain in a way that really makes sense - it's almost like reading it is the only way to truly understand what's happening. Every description that I've read is fine but none really capture the essence of this novel for me. All I can say is READ IT. If you can handle horror and darkness, pick this one up. It's immensely readable and will keep you fascinated for six hundred pages.

It's a vampire book that is like no other vampire book out there because it's really not a vampire book ... it's something more than a vampire book, something better. Don't expect the usual vampire stuff you can read anywhere - expect Hill to take the vampire thing and re-make it into something unrecognizable and yet completely familiar. It's got the stuff you expect from horror - some gore, lots of action, great pacing, complex characters ... and yet, it's so much more than horror. It's even got some humor and some irony rolled into it.

Anyway, I highly recommend this novel, particularly to fans of horror, good writing and good storytelling. I suspect that Joe Hill is going to just get better and better over time! I can't wait to see what he brings to us next! ...more

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Aug 23, 2013 Karli rated it really liked it

Shelves: bee-books, real-bookshelves, kindle

I really, really enjoyed this story. I felt a lot of connection to it because of all the connections it has to Stephen King's works - it almost felt like a collaborative effort to me, I started writing down the references I saw and had a blast reading it. I especially loved the ending. ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Michelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: bee-shelf, audio-book, read-in-2015

I think I would have enjoyed this book if I had read it myself. However I am so glad I listened to the audio version read by Kate Mulgrew. This is by far the best audio version of a book I have ever listened to. This is a creepy book made much creepier thanks to Ms. Mulgrew.

The book was a great story. I love the awesome antihero Vic. I loved to hate (and be scared to death by) Manx. All around awesome book that I highly recommend to anyone who likes creepy books!

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Jul 14, 2013 Alison rated it it was amazing

This is the first of Joe Hill's books that I've read, but it won't be the last. It was very well written and a good story. I am curious to see if they make this into a movie, because thanks to Hill, it was so easy to visualize the world of Vic, Lou, Wayne, the Gasmask Man (reference to The Shining's Gascan man? I'll let you decide.), and Charlie Manx.
I'm fascinated by the workings of Hill's father's mind-- and it seems like Hill more than just looks like Stephen King: there's a real unique thre ...more

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