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NOS4A2: A Novel
Written by Joe Hill
Narrated by Kate Mulgrew
Book Actions
Start Listening- Publisher:
- HarperAudio
- Released:
- Apr 30, 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780062237743
- Format:
- Audiobook
Description
Joe Hill, the acclaimed, award-winning author of the New York Times bestsellers Heart-Shaped Box and Horns, plunges you into the dark side of imagination with a thrilling novel of supernatural suspense that will have you flinching at shadows and checking the rearview mirror again and again. . . .
NOS4A2
Don't slow down
Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
Charles Talent Manx has a gift of his own. He likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the vanity plate NOS4A2. In the Wraith, he and his innocent guests can slip out of the everyday world and onto hidden roads that lead to an astonishing playground of amusements he calls Christmasland. Mile by mile, the journey across the highway of Charlie's twisted imagination transforms his precious passengers, leaving them as terrifying and unstoppable as their benefactor.
And then comes the day when Vic goes looking for trouble . . . and finds her way, inevitably, to Charlie.
That was a lifetime ago. Now, the only kid ever to escape Charlie's unmitigated evil is all grown up and desperate to forget.
But Charlie Manx hasn't stopped thinking about the exceptional Victoria McQueen. On the road again, he won't slow down until he's taken his revenge. He's after something very special-something Vic can never replace.
As a life-and-death battle of wills builds-her magic pitted against his-Vic McQueen prepares to destroy Charlie once and for all . . . or die trying. . . .
Joe Hill's acclaimed works of fiction, Horns, Heart-Shaped Box, and 20th Century Ghosts, have already earned him international acclaim. With NOS4A2, this outstanding novelist-"one of America's finest horror writers" (Time magazine); "a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction" (Washington Post)-crafts his finest work yet. Disturbing, mesmerizing, and full of twisting thrills, Hill's phantasmagoric, devilishly playful masterpiece is a terrifying high-octane ride.
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
NOS4A2: A Novel
Written by Joe Hill
Narrated by Kate Mulgrew
Description
Joe Hill, the acclaimed, award-winning author of the New York Times bestsellers Heart-Shaped Box and Horns, plunges you into the dark side of imagination with a thrilling novel of supernatural suspense that will have you flinching at shadows and checking the rearview mirror again and again. . . .
NOS4A2
Don't slow down
Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
Charles Talent Manx has a gift of his own. He likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the vanity plate NOS4A2. In the Wraith, he and his innocent guests can slip out of the everyday world and onto hidden roads that lead to an astonishing playground of amusements he calls Christmasland. Mile by mile, the journey across the highway of Charlie's twisted imagination transforms his precious passengers, leaving them as terrifying and unstoppable as their benefactor.
And then comes the day when Vic goes looking for trouble . . . and finds her way, inevitably, to Charlie.
That was a lifetime ago. Now, the only kid ever to escape Charlie's unmitigated evil is all grown up and desperate to forget.
But Charlie Manx hasn't stopped thinking about the exceptional Victoria McQueen. On the road again, he won't slow down until he's taken his revenge. He's after something very special-something Vic can never replace.
As a life-and-death battle of wills builds-her magic pitted against his-Vic McQueen prepares to destroy Charlie once and for all . . . or die trying. . . .
Joe Hill's acclaimed works of fiction, Horns, Heart-Shaped Box, and 20th Century Ghosts, have already earned him international acclaim. With NOS4A2, this outstanding novelist-"one of America's finest horror writers" (Time magazine); "a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction" (Washington Post)-crafts his finest work yet. Disturbing, mesmerizing, and full of twisting thrills, Hill's phantasmagoric, devilishly playful masterpiece is a terrifying high-octane ride.
- Publisher:
- HarperAudio
- Released:
- Apr 30, 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780062237743
- Format:
- Audiobook
About the author
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Reviews
I would give this book 5 stars for the basic idea, but the execution was lacking, so only 3 stars. Also, if a book is considered a "horror" novel, I want more scares.
Vic would eventually learn that she wasn't alone in her ability to alter reality to her benefit. Others exist with this special gift and not all of them use it for admirable purposes. Take Charlie Manx for example. Just as Vic uses her bike, Charlie uses his vintage 1938 Rolls Royce to travel to Christmasland. Manx’s Christmasland is a world in which happiness is against the law, that every morning is Christmas morning and every night is Christmas Eve. Manx would abduct children that he believed were mistreated by their parents and transport them to his magical wonderland keeping them safe from harm.
However, everything changed when both Vic and Manx finally crossed paths. When Vic was twelve years old, she found her way to Manx’s utopia only to discover that it’s not the paradise that Manx would have you believe. Following a daring escape, Vic leads Manx to capture and following his death many years later, Vic believes that she can finally rest. That is until the phone calls begin..
I enjoyed Hill's last full novel, Horns and am a massive fan of his Locke & Key series so I had high hopes for this one. Fortunately for me, the hype surrounding NOS4A2 was well deserved. Hill crafted not only an interesting story but filled it with characters that will probably stick with me for a while. I'll have to admit that when it was over, I was disappointed I wouldn't get to hang out with Vic MacQueen and her husband, Lou.
The tag team of Manx and Bing was a formidable one. I'll go on record as saying the most interesting bad guys are always the ones that view their work as admirable and righteous. Sure, you can give me a villain who loves cracking skulls and conquering lands but give me someone who thinks child abduction is in the kid's best interest and you're going to have me hooked. But as interesting as Manx is, it's his servant Bing that steals the show. This guy is one creepy dude and throughout NOS4A2, he does some pretty reprehensible things. Bing's actions had my skin crawling and I couldn't wait to see him get what he deserved.
I really didn't want to mention his father in this review but it was inevitable. It's also hard to ignore when Hill has tied his work in with his dad's by mentioning a few key locations and events that occurred within the Stephen King universe. I won't spoil them here but if you're a King fan, you'll enjoy those "a-ha" moments the same way I did.
Oh, and there's a Firefly reference. Browncoats forever!
Cross Posted @ Every Read Thing
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.
I must begin by thanking Maciek for his review. You should stop here and read his superior account of this weird diversion. His review lingered in my head for some time and then I stumbled upon a copy in one of those honor libraries which people out in the exurbs have at the end of their driveways. I immediately dashed back to my truck and swapped out a paperback and my week of losing myself in the genre woods began. I typed "woords" initially. I like that better.
I can't begin to speak about horror -- genre or otherwise, thank the infinite. I will say that Joe Hill appears to me to be a better writer than his father. This is a strange tale about inscapes, those psychic byways of ideas and escape which transcend the good old space time limitations. There is a rancid knot of childhood terror, betrayal and the holidays at the core. It isn't a novel premise. Oh well, despite its glib assuredness, its serial winks to the geek squadrons, this is a rich tale really deep in character. I enjoyed it.
This is a truly horrifying tale that grabs you in the first chapter and doesn't let go until the end - at which point you're almost guaranteed to have a nightmare or two. Through all 700 plus pages, Joe Hill does not waste a single word. Each character is well thought out and presented; each a solid building block in this fascinating and chilling tale. This is a fast paced book and a quick read considering its enormous size, (almost 700 pages). Joe Hill is a great story teller who, as soon as you set the book down for a break, beckons you back for "just one more chapter".