Nos4a2

by Joe Hill

[inlibrisveritas]

Straightforward horror isn’t my cup of tea, I usally need an angle to enjoy it. Zombies are only fun if it’s a world falling a part with people struggle to survive; etc. etc. So I’m always hesitant when I pick one up. I’ve read two Hill novels previously, and only one of them was a normal horror novel .I enjoyed it quite a bit, so here I am again. Let me just say, wahtever my hang ups with this genre…this man has talent.

NOS4A2 has some pretty insane ideas bouncing around inside of it and all of them are chilling in some way. But the story starts with Vic one fantastically kick ass woman. She’s without a doubt troubled, especially after her run in with Manx, but I like her a lot. She doesn’t take shit from anyone, and seeing the toll Manx has taken on her over the years is a bit heartbreaking, but she stays that same fierce woman. I think my favorite character though would be Lou…this man is a precious geeky gift to the world and I adore him to pieces. And then there is Charlie Manx, who I’m almost positive will end up giving me nightmares at some point. It’s bad enough that he has this creepy physical description but the man has this angry fanatical joy about him when it comes to most things, and his obsession with children staying happy and “innocent” is so twisted. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear someone wish their kids would stay “innocent forever” without a small shudder happening.

NOS4A2 is a rather large book, and despite the fact that it took me forever to sit down and actually read it I don’t think I really felt the size of it in the plot. We get to see Vic grow up and see how she deals with her life after her first run in with Manx, and a lot of the story focuses on her character development. More specifically is focuses on the slow price she and others pay over time in this, be it the price of living life in general or the price of surviving something that shakes your world to it’s very core. Hill proves a story that rapidly descends into lunacy, so rapid that at first you don’t truly notice it in the blur of the story…and then it’s so obvious you can’t remember when it even started.

In short, NOS4A2 is one hell of a ride. I think it’s safe to say I’m a Joe Hill fan