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Book Review
Nov. 5th, 2021 07:47 pmNOS4A2
by Joe Hill
This compelling horror novel concerns Vic McQueen, who as a kid, develops an ability to find lost things by riding across a phantom bridge on her bike; and Charlie Manx, who kidnaps children in his antique Rolls Royce Wraith and spirits them away to a sinister realm of amusements he calls Christmasland. As a teenager, Vic finds and then escapes from Manx. When she is grown, Manx comes for her son.
The story is well-paced and includes some nice twists and turns. Hill is inventive with the world and the supernatural elements. But it's the characters that really made this book. Vic's experiences with the bridge and Manx leave her somewhat unstable, yet she remains a strong, resourceful, and fundamentally good person. I loved her and her arc. Her rescuer-turned-lover Lou was sweet and lovable, the kind of person you just want things to turn out well for. I had great affection for Maggie. Charlie Manx was terrifying in his conviction that what he was doing was a good thing and his ruthlessness in carrying out his plans. Bing Partridge was loathsome enough to make his fate satisfying. All their interactions and the different ways they drove the plot really worked.
I also very much enjoyed the way Hill wove everything together. So many details become motifs that reappear - hammers, bikes, certain turns of phrase, etc. Hill adds in plenty of entertaining references to other works (most amusingly, his father's) and elements of pop culture, too.
by Joe Hill
This compelling horror novel concerns Vic McQueen, who as a kid, develops an ability to find lost things by riding across a phantom bridge on her bike; and Charlie Manx, who kidnaps children in his antique Rolls Royce Wraith and spirits them away to a sinister realm of amusements he calls Christmasland. As a teenager, Vic finds and then escapes from Manx. When she is grown, Manx comes for her son.
The story is well-paced and includes some nice twists and turns. Hill is inventive with the world and the supernatural elements. But it's the characters that really made this book. Vic's experiences with the bridge and Manx leave her somewhat unstable, yet she remains a strong, resourceful, and fundamentally good person. I loved her and her arc. Her rescuer-turned-lover Lou was sweet and lovable, the kind of person you just want things to turn out well for. I had great affection for Maggie. Charlie Manx was terrifying in his conviction that what he was doing was a good thing and his ruthlessness in carrying out his plans. Bing Partridge was loathsome enough to make his fate satisfying. All their interactions and the different ways they drove the plot really worked.
I also very much enjoyed the way Hill wove everything together. So many details become motifs that reappear - hammers, bikes, certain turns of phrase, etc. Hill adds in plenty of entertaining references to other works (most amusingly, his father's) and elements of pop culture, too.
