NOS4A2 by Joe Hill - Restarting April 2nd 2019

[Jamie]

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.

[Kathryn]

This has been sitting on my shelf for over a year, so I'm gonna join your read and hopefully this gives me the kick up the butt to actually read the damn thing

[Ashley]

Kathryn wrote: "This has been sitting on my shelf for over a year, so I'm gonna join your read and hopefully this gives me the kick up the butt to actually read the damn thing"

Its such a long book! So hard to commit to

[Ashley]

Around 15%

(view spoiler)[ I am so confused. I can't figure out if I am supposed to be confused at this point or if I am an idiot. What did the little girl with the bracelet have to do with Bing and what was with the guy in the coma at the beginning? I am super lost (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley]

Around 30%
(view spoiler)[ Vic is kind of a jerk. She was so crappy to her mom, especially when her Dad left what the heck was that? It's hard for me to feel bad for her when Christmasland is calling or when she almost gets killed because I kinda think she deserves it! (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley]

Around 58%
(view spoiler)[ She was really mean to Maggie when she showed up at her house, geez. She's obviously not fake! Lou is so sweet and always has been she really should be nicer to him. I like the way that Manx talks to Bing, it is hilarious. I'm probably not supposed to think anything having to do with Manx is hilarious but I do! (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley]

end
(view spoiler)[ Why did Maggie have to die!! I liked her, she deserved to survive. I'm glad she made up with her Dad but I can't believe the cops killed him. I did like that Lou and the cop were kind of dating though (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Pg 24 (view spoiler)[Intense start but now what is happening? Confused. Mid-sentance chapter stops don't help/. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Prologue

(view spoiler)[So Charlie Manx is kinda terrifying. I'm guessing he's the titular Nosferatu and he's really creepy. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

15%

(view spoiler)[Well, this book is dark. Got a creepy vampire guy who tricks men into helping him essentially kidnapping/murdering children with 'bad parents'. Oh, and we have a 13-year old girl who has a magical bike which summons a bridge that takes her to wherever she needs to go to find things. A lot going on to start with.

Kinda enjoying it despite the confusion. I've heard really good books about this book (mostly from my grandfather who loves horror books and Stephen King especially, and he's recommended me both Stephen King and Joe Hill to read), so got high hopes. Intrigued to see what's gonna happen next... (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

25%

(view spoiler)[Pleased that Vic managed to get away from Manx. That scene (and the many chapters that it occupied) was tense. That kid was kinda creepy.

So Vic hasn't turned into a nice person in her teens. Understandably, her almost death and her parent's divorce has affected her, but I don't understand why she has to keep taking it out on her mother. She idolises her dad but he's made it clear he's kind of abandoned her. Hopefully she isn't such a shitty person going on in the book. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

50%

(view spoiler)[Vic has finally come face to face with Manx and the Gasman after all those years, and what a gruesome reunion! Manx and his hammer are terrifying and I was really worried for Vic and Wayne (side note: who calls their kid Bruce Wayne??).

I thought in the beginning when we first met the Gasman (or Bing) that he was maybe a bit below average intelligence, had murdered his parents after an abusive upbringing (not a lot to support that - one flashback we had early on showed a happy Christmas morning with two loving parents but okay), and a guy who genuinely believed that he was saving children and would then be rewarded. But it's clear to see he's grown into his role as the gasman and is very much feeling the rape and torture side of it. Combined with Manx, it's clear to say they are a pair of monsters! (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Finished

(view spoiler)[Well this is definitely an odd story. But I really liked it. Manx and his children were terrifying and I thought several times through the book, there's no way Vic will be able to defeat them.

Sad that Vic had to die at the end, but I guess it was the end of her story, and I'm pleased she managed to make amends with everyone before she died.

Really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more from Joe Hill.

(hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Pg 76 (11%) (view spoiler)[Bing has a lot of issues..I can't even... and I think I've just started seeing the beginning of a long run of them... (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

25% (view spoiler)[So she finally "meets" Manx. And starts by burning down his house! You go girl! (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

52% (view spoiler)[I hope Lou will be okay.. Sad about the dog. (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

63% (view spoiler)[Nooo..He is already getting weird happy!. (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Done (view spoiler)[I like how she reminds her son about his namesake to get through the bats.. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date changed. Restarting April 2nd 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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[GridGirl]

Prologue & Haverhill, Massachusetts:

(view spoiler)[Okay, so the prologue was really creepy and I racked my brain to find out how that guy woke up and went back to coma after he scared the crap out of that nurse (and me 🙈). But I guess this book has paranormal components? At least I'm guessing that's what's going on at the end of the second "chapter". I looked it up, Haverhill is quite close to New Hampshire, but I guess the distance is too big to be crossed by a bridge.
Right now this book has some serious "IT" vibes to me and to be honest I wasn't the biggest fan of it (haha, pun absolutely intended), but my main issue with it was that it was just dragged out and some things that happened in the book really weirded me out. So, I'm hoping Joe Hill does things (and especially endings) a little bit better than his father!
(hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

Prologue & Haverhill, Massachusetts:
(view spoiler)[Oh boy, I'm excited for this one! I love how there's not a ton of exposition, and how the story jumps right into things. I just love the way Joe Hill writes. The way he describes the blood pouring out onto the nurse's feet and his descriptions of Manx really heighten the creep factor. I also love the way the uneasiness of the Shorter Way Bridge is described.
It really makes me sad how Vic's parents' dysfunctional relationship effects her. I'm so upset that her dad said "What an ugly fuckin' person you are. And I had a kid with you." That's just such an attack on her mom as a person and I'm sure it felt like a slap in the face to Vic too. Poor kid. (hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

GridGirl wrote: "Prologue & Haverhill, Massachusetts:"

(view spoiler)[Yeah, this book definitely has paranormal components :)
I can see a bit of similarity between NOS4A2 and It, but I think they're actually quite different. If I were to compare it to a Stephen King book, it would probably be Doctor Sleep. I loved It for the most part, but I completely understand where you're coming from. There were so many parts that dragged in It, which drove me crazy. And I also know exactly what you mean by It having things that weirded you out and I felt the same :P I also hated the ending of It! Stephen King is honestly the worst at ending his novels. I feel like Joe Hill is so much better in this regard! I think you'll at least like this better than It :D (hide spoiler)]

[GridGirl]

Great, that sounds very promising!

[Jayme]

Terry's Primo Subs & Haverhill, Massachusetts:
(view spoiler)[I find Vic's bridge so unsettling. It's just so weird how it can become crammed into places it shouldn't exist and how it hurts to look at it too long. The pain behind Vic's eye is strange too. I like that Vic called it her bridge to the Terry's worker.
Okay, so I thought they were bad parents because they didn't even know their kid was gone but also it sounds like Vic's dad is abusing her mom. He sounds like a terrible person, and what's sad is that Vic doesn't even realize :( (hide spoiler)]

[GridGirl]

Terry's Primo Subs & Haverhill, Massachusetts:

(view spoiler)[Wow, Vic's dad seems like a horrible person.... It's not even that big of a deal and he loses it like that? I can't believe it...
I was surprised the bridge was gone after Vic crossed it the second time. This made me really uncomfortable, because what if it had disappeared while she was at Terry's? Or even worse, while she was crossing it....
(hide spoiler)]

[GridGirl]

Jayme wrote: "Terry's Primo Subs & Haverhill, Massachusetts:
"

(view spoiler)[
You are completely right about Vic's dad! And Vic only sees him as the hero who got her that bike :(
(hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

Re-read for me but looking forward to it!

[GridGirl]

At Home & Various Places (just a rough translation 😅):
(view spoiler)[
Okay, things keep going missing and Vic keeps finding them. She's quite brave to still go over that bridge even though she knows it's not actually there anymore... I don't think I would dare to do that!
Also, I wonder what all of this has to do with that murderer whom we've encountered in the prologue!
(hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

GridGirl wrote: "Jayme wrote: "Terry's Primo Subs & Haverhill, Massachusetts:"

(view spoiler)[I didn't even think about if the bridge had disappeared while she was on it :o
That's so true! And what's weird is that I remember liking the dad in the first few chapters last time I read this, and I'm wondering if I just didn't realize that he was really abusive? It seems pretty clear to me now, but it wasn't so much before :/
It's so interesting how I read it completely differently this time! (hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

Jammin Jenny wrote: "Re-read for me but looking forward to it!"

This is a re-read for me also! :) I really loved it the last time and wanted to do a re-read before the tv series comes out. Glad you could join us!

[Jayme]

Home & Various Locales:
(view spoiler)[It's interesting that Vic keeps finding things via her bike and the bridge, and then forgets about it... or more accurately she tries to forget about it. I wonder why she gets super sick after traveling on the Shorter Way bridge too.
Also, I don't know if your version has pictures but mine has some dispersed throughout and I love them! (hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

GridGirl wrote: "At Home & Various Places (just a rough translation 😅):"

(view spoiler)[She is brave for doing that! I guess in the moment she forgets that it's not really there? Or maybe it seems so real that she believes it really is there. Even if it was actually there, it's still a really old bridge that could fall apart at any moment. (hide spoiler)]

[GridGirl]

There is a TV show coming out? Why did nobody tell me? :D

[GridGirl]

Jayme wrote: "Home & Various Locales:
"

(view spoiler)[No, mine doesn't, sadly :(
And I still haven't figured out how to check on which page I am... Oh well... :D
I guess it's normal to get some sort of headache when you travel through a wormhole or something like that. Physics fun fact: Wormholes are actually possible (due to our current understanding of physics that is), but they would be very small (on a quantum level) and they would immediately collapse if something tried to go through it because they are in a very unstable state.
(hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

GridGirl wrote: "There is a TV show coming out? Why did nobody tell me? :D"

I thought I mentioned it, but I guess not. Sorry! It'll be airing on AMC and Zachary Quinto is going to play Charlie Manx! :D

[Jayme]

GridGirl wrote: "Jayme wrote: "Home & Various Locales:"

(view spoiler)[Oh my gosh, I didn't know that! That's so interesting! So would the thing trying to go through the wormhole collapse with it, or would it just not be able to enter it at all? (hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

Sugarcreek, Pennsylvania & NorChemPharm:
(view spoiler)[I'm not sure who is creepier, Manx or Bing? I mean, Bing murdered his parents... or at least his dad. I don't even want to think about what he might've done to his mom. And he likes to play with lye.
I love how this book makes Christmas seem so creepy. I would have never thought a book about a place called Christmasland would be remotely scary, but it works so well.
And we got a reference to the title! So NOS4A2 is Charlie Manx's license plate. I'm curious, is the German title the same? I know the British version was changed to NOS4R2 to account for their accent.
As a side note, a porn magazine seems like not a great place to try to find workers for a children's theme park. Just saying. (hide spoiler)]

[GridGirl]

Jayme wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "There is a TV show coming out? Why did nobody tell me? :D"

I thought I mentioned it, but I guess not. Sorry! It'll be airing on AMC and Zachary Quinto is going to play Charlie Man..."

I think in Germany it'll only be available on Amazon Prime which I don't have, but I might go for the free trial month they're always trying to push on me :D

[GridGirl]

Jayme wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "Jayme wrote: "Home & Various Locales:"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[So, this I can only say what I can say intuitively, but coming close to the wormhole is probably enough of a fluctuation to disturb the wormhole state and make it disappear, but if it's close enough, I guess it could be affected by the collapse. (Here it gets a little bit more difficult. If you have a question, feel free to ask) A collapse of an unstable state usually means that the system goes into a more stable state. Stable states have a lower energy than unstable ones, but energy doesn't just disappear (because of conservation of energy), so that energy would be transduced and that could affect whatever caused the collapse.

(hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

30% (view spoiler)[ I loved the scene where Vick is riding her bike away from her mom, her dad won't pick her up because he's too busy with her girlfriend, and she somehow ends up in Charlie Max's garage. Luckily she gets away, but then he shows up at the gas station! Crazy!! The cops won't believe her etc. Then later, when she's married with Lou and has her own kid Walter, she gets a phone call from the kid that was in the back of Charlie's car. When the phone rings again, she asks her kid if he hears the phone ringing and he says no. (hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

Jayme wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "There is a TV show coming out? Why did nobody tell me? :D"

I thought I mentioned it, but I guess not. Sorry! It'll be airing on AMC and Zachary Quinto is going to play Charlie Man..."

What!!!??? That's awesome casting. When is it coming out???

[GridGirl]

Sugarcreek, Pennsylvania & NorChemPharm:

(view spoiler)[
Wow, Bing seems really like a lovely guy... NOT. Mr Hill seems to fancy unlikeable characters, because neither Vic's parents nor Bing are someone I'd like to spend my free time with...
I really don't understand why he killed his parents... I mean, his dad seems like he knocked him and that's a reason to move out of your parents' house when your 18, but not to kill them....
Also, I'm wondering how things in Christmasland will go...
(Also, I think his application for that job at Christmasland was kinda sad and hilarious at the same time!)
I have to say, that this is one of the creepiest books I've read in a while and it hasn't even really started. I don't have a lot of experience with horror; I basically only read Stephen King books in that genre and my experience with them hasn't been the greatest, so I'm super excited that I'm enjoying this so much! - If being creeped out and enjoying yourself at the same time is even possible...
(hide spoiler)]

[GridGirl]

Jayme wrote: "Sugarcreek, Pennsylvania & NorChemPharm:


(view spoiler)[
Oh my god, your last comment made me laugh out loud :D
For now I'd say Bing is creepier, only because I don't have any details on what Manx actually did, but this might change sooner or later... Also, since they are kinda on the same side, it's not a matter of who is worse; it's a matter of "Does evil add up when it comes together?"...
I can't say I love how it makes me feel about Christmas, because I love Christmas and I'm counting down the days to it every year!
The German title is actually "Christmasland" (it's not even translated), so I had my first encounter with the title of the book very early on :D
NOS4A2 sadly doesn't work out as well in German. It would be fine for the NOS4A part, but 2 is "zwei" in German which sounds completely different (you can let Google translate read it to you!) and there is no other number that would do the same things 2 does in English...
(hide spoiler)]

[GridGirl]

Highway 322 & The Road to Christmasland:

(view spoiler)[
So, if Bing is really not worried about any of the things that happened in those two chapters then I don't know... Starting with Manx drugging him, those moving statues and that cemetery.... That was extremely creepy...
(hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

68% (view spoiler)[

So Wayne is on his way to Christmasland with Charlie Manx, and Vic is trying to save him. Vic has the Triumph working again and was able to find that covered bridge.

(hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

GridGirl wrote: "Jayme wrote: "Sugarcreek, Pennsylvania & NorChemPharm:



Oh my god, your last comment made me laugh out loud :D
For now I'd say Bing is creepier, only because I don't have any details on what Manx..."

I agree that Bing is creepier!!

[Jammin Jenny]

100%

I listened to the audible version read by Kate Mulgrew. She does an excellent job with the performance bringing all the characters to life. I love the MC Vic who is a heroine with real-life struggles - a broken family, uncaring parents, and a rough upbringing. She also meets but gets away from Charlie Manx as a teenager so knows about him and Christmasland. The fact that they try and take her own son, Bruce Wayne, away from her and she struggles against all odds to save him is awesome.

[Jayme]

GridGirl wrote: "Jayme wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "I think in Germany it'll only be available on Amazon Prime which I don't have, but I might go for the free trial month they're always trying to push on me :D"
That'd be cool! Hopefully you're able to watch it! :D

[Jayme]

GridGirl wrote: "Jayme wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "Jayme wrote: "Home & Various Locales:"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Okay, so I think I understood that :D That's actually really fascinating! (hide spoiler)]

[Jayme]

Jammin Jenny wrote: "Jayme wrote: "GridGirl wrote: "There is a TV show coming out? Why did nobody tell me? :D"

"What!!!??? That's awesome casting. When is it coming out??? "

I know right?! June 2nd! :)