NOS4A2 Book Review

Summary

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill is a kinda-sorta-but-not-really vampire story. It’s set in a world where some people, Strong Creatives, can bring their imaginations into the real world. Using a Knife (a tool such as a bike, Scrabble tiles, or a wheelchair) they can do impossible things, like tell the future or enter their own pocket dimension.

One such Strong Creative is Charlie Manx. His Knife is a 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith which he uses to kidnap children and take them to Christmas Land, his own world where they never grow up. Charlie feeds off the children to gain immortality, corrupting them into monsters. However, he’s convinced he’s saving them from abusive parents.

Another Strong Creative is Vic McQueen. Vic lives with a drunk, wife-beating father and a mother who doesn’t believe in her. She discovers she can use her bicycle to make a covered bridge appear, a covered bridge that can transport her to anything she’s looking for.

Manx and McQueen inadvertently run into each other and begin a conflict that will span years. Their final fight will decide the fate of Vic’s own son.

My Thoughts

NOS4A2 is one of my favorite horror novels. Charlie Manx is a fascinating character, and I especially love all his similarities to classic vampires. It’s also never made clear whether he really is saving children from abusive parents, or if he’s just come to believe his own lies in order to justify his atrocities. It makes you think.

Then there’s Vic. Despite her best efforts, she follows in her parents’ footsteps and becomes a horrible parent herself. Even though she grows into a morally questionable person (at best), she’s willing to do anything to save her kid. I think that’s what makes her a compelling character. She’s not a hero, she’s just an everyday person trying (and failing) to deal with everyday problems, like most of us.

The lifelong feud between these two characters is epic. For fans of horror, vampires, or creepy Christmas, you don’t want to miss NOS4A2.

My Rating: 5/5