I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kate Mulgrew and loved it. NOS4A2 reminded me of early Stephen King (which makes complete sense seeing as King is Joe Hill's father). Great narration and character development. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
Enjoyed the new take on the well worn theme of vampires, and was so excited to enjoy, once again, the mystical elements of [a:Stephen King 3389 Stephen King https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]'s Gunslinger series, [b:Christine 10629 Christine Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663053062l/10629.SY75.jpg 1150571], and [b:The Stand 149267 The Stand Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1213131305l/149267.SX50.jpg 1742269]; Randall Flagg, Trashcan Man, The Crimson King's eye, Tom Cullen's M.O.O.N, a car with a mind of its own, downright creepy people, and people giving their all for others. And I had flashes of [a:Neil Gaiman 1221698 Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg]'s [b:American Gods 30165203 American Gods (American Gods, #1) Neil Gaiman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462924585l/30165203.SY75.jpg 1970226] on the kids under the ice.I aspire to be more like Lou in his immediate and full support of his loved ones and friends.Thanks Rob for the recommend!
Executive Summary: I liked this book a lot more than I expected to, especially given that it's horror, which is not really my genre of choice.Audiobook: I love Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway. In fact I happened to stop listening one day and turn on the TV and Voyager was on, which made for a very surreal experience.I didn't know she narrated audiobooks, but she has a great voice for it. Not only that, but she does a variety of voices that really add that extra something that makes it worth doing this in audio rather than reading with your eyeballs.Full ReviewI first ran across Joe Hill with his excellent [b:Locke & Key 26225895 Locke & Key Joe Hill https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441385552s/26225895.jpg 46920430] series. That is also supposed to be horror too, but for me the fantastical elements made it really enjoyable for me. This book is in a similar vein.I know Joe Hill changed his last name to try to distance himself from his much more famous father, but this book felt like it could easily have been written by his dad. There were a few easter eggs that seemed to nod to his father, including a mention of Mid World, which I thought was interesting because one of my first thoughts about this book was that Randall Flagg would be very interested in capturing some of these people to use as breakers.I love the idea of traveling hidden ways and discovering secrets that was the core of the fantastical elements of this book. It reminded me a lot of [b:The Talisman 59219 The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) Stephen King https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1170530286s/59219.jpg 3324421]. I feel bad comparing this so much to his father, but in this case I think that's a good thing, because he is one of the few horror writers I seem to like.That said, this is definitely its own thing, even if it might happen to take place on another level of the Dark Tower. This book is the kind of horror that is more about the kind of things people do to each other and themselves than a book about a monster or killer doing awful things.Don't get me wrong, this book has those things, but not all the worst parts of this book are perpetrated by the villain, but the protagonists. I think that's another reason why it reminded me of a Stephen King book. I thought Vic McQueen was a great character who is incredibly flawed and terribly damaged.I'm sure it's hard for Joe Hill not to have been influenced by his parents, and he talks a bit about growing up in a family of writers in his author's note at the end. I'm certainly much more inclined to pick up another book of his now after how much I enjoyed this one. I'm also really looking forward to seeing how the TV adaptation of this comes out.
This is the Hill I was expecting to read. You can really tell the level of writer he truly is. I was BLOWN AWAY by how much I loved this book. I don't want to compare him to his father, because he is an talented author in his own write, but this book gave me the exact type of experience that made me one of King's biggest fan's. That being said, this story was unique, enthralling and had me reading late in to the night. It made me laugh, gave me chills and tugged at my heart strings all at once. It's my first Joe Hill book and now I'm hooked for life. Hill is not an auto-buy. What a horrifying and beautiful story!
Un libro cautivador, con una premisa de lo más interesante. Con una gran influencia y guiños descarados a las obras del gran Stephen King.
¿Punto flojo? Le sobra 200 páginas de paja que ralentizan la narrativa y en algunos puntos hasta aburre.
I was getting bogged down in another book and needed a break. So I turned to this, a horror tale written by a son of Stephen King. It was kinduva cool, weird tale of a girl, Victoria (Vic) who can ride her bike across a certain bridge to find whatever she's looking for. But then there's an evil guy named Charlie Manx who has his own magical ride (a Rolls Royce Wraith with the license plate NOS4A2) that takes him to his nightmarish vision of Christmasland. Manx also kidnaps children to bring them to Christmasland and occasionally murders their parents. Lovely, right? Well these two cross paths and after a close call, their fates are intertwined. For a 700+ page book, this one reads pretty fast. I think I took about two weeks on it. It was fun to delve into horror again. (By the way, in case you didn't already know, NOS4A2 = Nosferatu, the German equivalent of vampire.)
Creepy, lyrical and frightening but still oh-so-very sad. There were some moments when I just wanted to put the book down and walk away for a bit.
An eerie, horror thriller. I typically like creepy stuff, but can't read too much of it. This one was a good pick! A friend had recommended it to me a while ago and I finally got around to reading it. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, and the story took a lot of interesting turns! I kept thinking things would go a different way and wondering how there could be so much left to read. The story really captured me and I thought it was really interesting. It was also great because I grew up close to one of the main locations in the story. This was the first book of Joe Hill's that I've read, but I'm going to have to look into some more of his stuff!
This was diverting, but not great. I think Joe Hill's pacing is just not for me - every time I read a novel by him, I feel like it would have been fabulous if edited down to about 70% of its actual length.
Okay, how good is this book? Anyone who follows me knows that I love Stephen King, but I think Joe Hill is inching his way up into that eschelon of beloved authors. His writing is just so visceral. It takes the unassuming world, the humdrum place we live, and opens up all the hidden doors. Our nightmares, our dreams, they pour onto the page. NOS4A2 captivated me from beginning to end, with the thin line it walked between reality and something more. Is it possible that epic writing skills are transmitted through genes? Reading this book on the heels of It was a surreal experience. It's like Joe Hill is a carbon copy of his father. I don't mean that to say that he isn't original. That he isn't something different. Still, it's an amazing thing to ponder.
First off, let's talk characters. Vic McQueen was just the most perfect protagonist. I connected with her instantly. A young girl, with a huge love for her father, a troubled relationship with her mother, and an unnatural ability to “find” things. The first time that Vic drove across her bridge, and ended up just where she needed to be, I was sold. Her personality, her willingness to sacrifice for others, I was in love with Vic McQueen. And that only increased the more I read, and the older she got. Contrasted against the sinister and slimy Charlie Manx, a man who was so much more than he seemed, this set up the ultimate battle between good and evil.
Oh, and the plot. It's just beautiful how well-done it is. If the writing hadn't already sold me, the fact that this was a perfectly paced, expertly built book, would have. Every page unveiled something new. What started as a vague unease the instant that Charlie Manx came into the scene, turned into an all out stomach twisting horror. By the time the final showdown was presented, I was a blubbering mess. Once again, I was so committed to this book that my poor bookish brain could do nothing more than gape, and sob. I'm wrung out now, but it was worth it.
If you have the opportunity to listen to this on audio, please do. The narrator was absolutely fabulous. Her voices, her emotions, brought the story to life. Read this. Do it. You won't be sorry.
This was a fascinating read. I absolutely loved the blending of horror and fantasy. I really need to read more of Joe Hill's books.
Everything I would ever expect from the son of Stephen King. I kind of have a desire to re-read/watch IT now.
This story was particularly good and I really enjoyed it.
I haven't read any of his other novels but this has a reputation of being one of his best works to date and it would seem these impressions are absolutely correct. If you'd like a good horror to take a chance on give this one your time...
Wonderful! Not quite the vampire story I set out for, but it was still a great read. Hill's skill as a writer is only improving. I wasn't a fan of the Heart Shaped Box, thought Horns was pretty darned good, and NOS4A2 was even better. Enjoyed immensely.
I do a lot of driving so I listened to the unabridged audiobook.
I found myself completely sucked in from the very first chapter. It was great! Can't wait to explore more of Joe Hill's work.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If you love Stephen King - as in old-school King - you'll really enjoy this one.
It feels like I'm the last person to find out Joe Hill is Stephen King's son. In the acknowledgements he talks about riding motorcycles with his dad.
“It was a happy ride, following him along his back roads in the sun on my shoulders. I guess I have been cruising his back roads my whole life. I don't regret it.”
He does the old man proud too. Great characterization (which does comes at the cost of a hefty page count.) Still, I loved NOS4A2. I'm relatively new to literary horror and protagonist Victoria MacQueen's first meeting with Charlie Manx is deliciously chilling. It gets increasingly savage and brutal from there - author Joe Hill is relentless and Vic should be by rights clinically insane or dead halfway through the book.
It's a reimagining of the vampire myth, featuring an ass-kicking librarian with psychic Scrabble tiles, a time and space travelling Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, a kid named Bruce Wayne and lots of nerd love throughout.
Do yourself a favor and check out the audiobook. Kate Mulgrew narrates and absolutely kills it. She is pitch perfect and it's even more chilling in the telling.
Really well done horror story. definitely worth reading if you are into the genre.
Started this months ago, took a break because – intense – and finished the other day. Used the Kindle immersion reading, and listened to the audio book while reading. Yeah, I'm that big of a geek. Kate Mulgrew did an amazing job narrating.
This was absolutely brilliant. In “NOS4A2” Joe Hill brings us an evil serial killer Charles Talent Manx and his sidekick the Gasmask Man. They kidnap children, and while the Gasmask Man deals with their parents in his House of Sleep, Manx takes the children to Christmasland, a place of his own making. But the pair have met their match in Vic McQueen. A truly absorbing read.
I've read Joe Hill's other works, and this one is my favorite so far. It was just the right amount of creepy. Really well written.
Dark and twisty!!!
I really enjoyed the unique storyline. I was expecting another typical vampire story with less romance and more scare. That was not what I got at all!
Starts off as a supernatural novel of a girl who can collapse space on her bike and a librarian who can see the future in Scrabble tiles, but it eventually becomes the story of a mother trying to rescue her kidnapped son. There's still the underpinnings of supernatural events, but it's not nearly as much of a vampire novel as the title would seem to indicate. There are a couple of “Hollywood” moments, where oversized and unrealistic explosions save the hero and advance the plot in a tidy fashion, but those are just brief distractions from an otherwise riveting novel. (And yes, ‘riveting' is something of a lazy reviewer's word, but Janet Maslin, in her review in the NY Times, described the novel as ‘throat-grabbing,” which is perfect and there's no way I can come up with something better.)
Starts off as a supernatural novel of a girl who can collapse space on her bike and a librarian who can see the future in Scrabble tiles, but it eventually becomes the story of a mother trying to rescue her kidnapped son. There's still the underpinnings of supernatural events, but it's not nearly as much of a vampire novel as the title would seem to indicate. There are a couple of “Hollywood” moments, where oversized and unrealistic explosions save the hero and advance the plot in a tidy fashion, but those are just brief distractions from an otherwise riveting novel. (And yes, ‘riveting' is something of a lazy reviewer's word, but Janet Maslin, in her review in the NY Times, described the novel as ‘throat-grabbing,” which is perfect and there's no way I can come up with something better.)
I absolutely loved this book, with all my twisted little heart. I wanted to go back and read it again as soon as I finished it, I didn't want to leave its world behind me. Joe Hill signs his best work to date and wow, what a trip it is!! I have to admit that the ending did feel a bit rushed and some characters did not quite get the spectacular finish I was hoping for... but honestly, that was a minor annoyance next to the ridiculous amount of fun I had while reading NOS4A2. I already cannot wait for Joe Hill's next story.