Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!
Let me start this review by saying that I have Christmas music blasting through headphones as I unravel for you this amazing and creepy read. I was not prepared to close an almost seven hundred page novel wanting more, but I do want more. After this review I plan to binge the AMC television series and read the comic book series, the Wraith.
NOS4A2 is written by Joe Hill and is published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. In this macabre tale of horror we are introduced to teen Vic McQueen AKA the Brat from Haverhill, Massachusetts. She is dealing with her parents' slowly decomposing marriage, while listening to their constant bickering. One day she grabs up her bike and flees her home amidst a squabble about her mother's missing bracelet. She peddles faster and faster until she reaches The Shorter Way Bridge. On this day she finds that this bridge is a special bridge. It is an extension of her mind that can carry her wherever she wishes to go. Soon she has her mother's bracelet, having traveled to and from Hampton Beach, New Hampshire in minutes. She continues to escape through the bridge week after week finding lost objects and soon finds herself in Here, Iowa. There she meets Maggie Leigh, an introverted librarian that has the ability to receive messages through Scrabble tiles that live in what appears to be an enchanted bag. The young woman warns Vic of the "Wraith" and the evil man that drives the antique vehicle. She explains that he can do what Vic can, but he uses his gift for dark purposes. Vic returns to Haverhill dazed and bleeding from her left eye; her bike lost. The years go by and slowly Vic forgets the Shorter Way Bridge. By her senior year in high school, her parents have officially split. Vic has immersed herself in art and has drawn away her troubled life. But when she discovers her childhood bike hidden in her family's basement, she takes to the road and ends up at the Sleigh House... in Colorado. There she encounters the Wraith and its withered owner, Charles Talent Manx. The man attempts to kill Vic, but she escapes, leading to his arrest.
The winds sweep away many years as Vic becomes a mother. She is constantly dealing with hallucinations and one fateful day, she burns her home down in a psychotic daze. Remanded to a treatment facility, she begins a drug-induced path to sanity. This is short-lived when Maggie Leigh shows up on her doorstep with a dossier of information on Manx and the latest disturbing news: Manx has died and his body has disappeared from the morgue. Vic is fearful of this part of her past returning and turns the woman away. What Vic does not know is that Charlie Manx is not human. And he has been waiting decades to make sure she pays for his incarceration. With the aid of his henchman, a man in a gas mask, he begins his journey to look for the next child that he will bring to the place he calls Christmasland. Where little vampiric children kill and everyday is Christmas among the stench of death. The latest child he chooses to bring to Christmasland is a twelve year old boy, named Wayne... Vic's son.
NOS4A2 challenged me to visit Christmasland, with its carols and promises of treats and presents. As I turned each page I was sucked into the narrative quickly, trapping me in its horrific paragraphs. I was given a solid novel filled with three-dimensional characters and extensive world-building. Vic McQueen was a kick-ass heroine that never gave up on stopping Charlie Manx and his evil helper, the Gasmask Man. Her story was engaging and made me anxious to keep turning pages. Vic's relationship with her son and the boy's father was touching. Despite all of her short-comings the trio always stuck together. Maggie Leigh was a favorite of mine. Her inability to get words out made her endearing, calling attention to the inner world of a person with acute prolongation of words. She was a sweet and long-suffered woman and I wanted to give her a hug. Charlie Manx was a brutal and deadly adversary in this book. His partner in crime, Bing Partridge, was terrifying as the Gasmask Man. The deranged killer was a perfect accessory to Manx's crimes. But the scariest part of this book were the Children of Christmasland. These kidnapped children-turned-demonic-creatures were anxiety-inducing. With their scratchy little voices and rows of sharp teeth, they stalked their prey with meat cleavers, knives, and dead-staring eyes.
I had the pleasure of experiencing NOS4A2 with the incredible narration of actress, Kate Mulgrew (Ryan's Hope, Star Trek: Voyager, Orange is the New Black). Her ability to accentuate voices and accents made this feel like a full-cast presentation. I have been a fan of Mulgrew for many years, and her smooth voice never fails to command a presence. I loved her work on this novel, and I wish more books were narrated by her. I will probably proof-read this review in her voice, I loved the audiobook that much. Excellent job.
Stephen King has apparently been an incredible influence on his son, because Joe Hill has become a new favorite horror author of mine. King and Hill even crossed over their characters in a few clever ways that King fans will spot immediately. This novel was nearly seven hundred pages and I zipped through it as if it were two hundred pages. It gave me a meaty tale with well-crafted characters that ended in a spectacular five-star finale that saw Vic McQueen waging war on Christmasland against a hoard of undead children and their master. NOS4A2 also had some funny dialogue that made me love Vic even more. Her line about helping the Gasmask Man redecorate his basement had me laughing out loud. I loved this book and highly recommend it to any fan of horror. It has a unique twist on the classic vampire tale that was immensely entertaining. If you can get the audiobook, please do. Kate Mulgrew is incredible with her reading of this book. Put this on your Summer Reading List. Even read it at Hampton Beach for a realistic touch to your experience.
In case you want some holiday tunes to accompany your journey to Christmasland, here is a link to a fun video with music provided by The Living Strings complete with falling snow:
https://youtu.be/ZU8Ny5eYS_A
Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading this week.
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2019 Reading Challenge (blank version)
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I'm definitely going to read this book soon.
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