NOS4A2 by Joe Hill ★★★★★

A HELLUVA RIDE

NOS4A2 in USA (pronounced Nosferatu)

NOS4R2 elsewhere

This is one of those stories where fifty pages in you realize you’re having the best reading fun you’ve had in ages. You don’t know where it’s going and you don’t care. It’s a ride, and you realize you are in the hands of a capable author.

It’s no surprise that Joe Hill’s “NOS4A2” is so captivating, as many have felt the same way when reading one of his Father’s books. Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, has entered his father’s domain. And, like his Father, he can tell a mean story and create characters with rich inner lives.

This is his third novel (“Horns” and “Heart Shaped Box”). This story is comparable to the best work of King, and at near 700 pages it’s just as weighty. It’s such a great read, though, you will be glad for every page.

We meet a young tomboy, Vic McQueen, who has a special gift. When she cycles fast enough, while thinking about a lost object, she magically crosses over the no-longer-in-existence “Shorter Way Bridge.” The bridge always takes her to the geographical location of the lost object.

Charlie Manx is a nasty creature who kidnaps young children whom he believes are at risk of an unhappy future. Creepy sidekick, Bing, relishes his role which is killing the children’s parents. The kidnapped children are transported to the strange, magical Christmasland, via Charlie’s 1934 Rolls Royce Wraith, number plate NOS4A2. Along the way the children’s goodness is stolen, so they arrive no longer human sporting little, sharp teeth.

When Vic and Charlie’s paths cross, she becomes the only child to ever escape him, and Charlie finds the adult Vic a determined, dangerous adversary.

The depth of the characters, who are flawed, broken people struggling with huge issues, make this a superior horror story. In “NOS4A2” Hill has created a comprehensive, well imagined world. If you love horror, if you love great writing, if you love reading a story where you can’t predict the end, then climb into “NOS4A2.” It’s one helluva ride.  

Thank you to the great people at Hachette Australia for my copy of Joe Hill’s NOS4A2.

INTERESTING INFORMATION

RELEASED: May 2013

For more information about this book: Click HERE 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Joe Hill is a recipient of the RAY BRADBURY FELLOWSHIP and the winner of the A.E. COPPARD LONG FICTION PRIZE, WILLIAM CRAWFORD, WORLD FANTASY, BRITISH FANTASY, BRAM STOKER and INTERNATIONAL HORROR GUILD AWARDs. 

His short fiction has appeared in literary, mystery and horror collections and magazines in Britain and America.

     Previous Books: NOS4R2, Horns, Heart-Shaped Box, 20th Century Ghosts