NOS4R2 by Joe Hill

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Gollancz

Pages: 704pgs

The Story

Charlie Manx burned a man to death in his black 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith, but that’s not the worst of it. Rumor has it that he kidnapped dozens of children, taking them to a place he calls “Christmasland.” The only child ever to escape was a very lucky girl named Victoria McQueen.

Vic has a gift – she can ride her bike through the Shorter Way bridge and she’ll come out the other side wherever she needs to be, even if it’s hundreds of miles away. Vic doesn’t tell anyone about her ability; no one would understand.

When Charlie Manx finally dies after years in prison, his body disappears...after the autopsy. The police and media think someone stole it, but Vic knows the truth: Charlie Manx is on the road again . . . and he has her kid. And this time, Vic McQueen’s going after him . . .

The Review

I came across this title at my local library and the first thing that caught my eye was the cover. It looked creepy for the most part and it was very eye-catching too, but I will admit that I had a weakness for the car featured on the cover as well, which was probably the main reason why I picked it up in the first place but hey . . . you gotta love the classic cars. But once I read the blurb and found out what exactly the book was about, I knew it was something right up my alley and indeed it was so I'm glad I came across the book now. It was a whole lot of fun.

Underneath the overwhelming 704 pages of book length, there lies a unique, creative and spooky tale of NOS4R2. But don't let the page length stop you because it's quite a delightful horror story and it's the kind of book where you can't stop reading it or never dare to leave it alone. I was pretty hooked, in fact. I mean once you get going and start understanding was it going on and what each of the character's purposes are, the storyline within itself definitely starts to earn its high praises because there is so much strength to this one book and you always get this 'unnerving feeling' while reading it (which I LOVE), so in that aspect I thought it was written brilliantly because I love horror to the core but I also love horror-slash-supernatural books more when it actually spooks me at every twist it turn it offers. So well done to the author for that!

I think out of everything I just read and apart from the horror/supernatural side to the book, what I enjoyed most about this book was the characters and how vividly they were drawn by the author. They were of the different kind (very, very different to what I'm used to) but I still thought they were of the driving force of the book and were another great element added to the storyline, which in the end, made me enjoy this book even more and more, so just you wait . . . the characters are of the awesome, creepy but wonderful kind. Especially Charlie Manx who was such a delusional character for the majority of the book (and perhaps funny and charming now and then) but he was mostly a great villain of sorts and one I think plenty of readers will come to enjoy.

Overall, NOS4R2 may not be for everyone's taste but if you love horror or anything supernatural-like than I would highly recommend this book to you all. Mostly because the author exceeds in his writing and delivers a very strong, horror tale which I think anyone would enjoy, no matter the genre. But considering his father is Stephen King and all, it's really no surprise at all that he writes horror very well and knows what he's doing to entertain the reader.

The Rating

4/5 stars