March 25, 2013
Reviewed by Joe R. Lansdale. Horror is too simplistic a word for Joe Hill’s new novel, but there’s no denying it makes the skin crawl like a worm on a hot rock. It’s as much fantasy-thriller as a descent into the maelstrom, but no matter how you label it, what makes it work best is that it is a novel of well-defined characters, and one character in particular: the Brat, real name Victoria McQueen. Victoria discovers she has a knack. She can find lost things. She does this by concentrating on the object and riding her bike, a Raleigh Tuff Burner. While on board her metal and rubber-tired steed, she is subtly carried away into a world that seems as real as her own. It is accessed by the Shorter Way Bridge and is a place where all things lost that Vic seeks are found. When she crosses back into our world with the found object, the bridge ceases to exist, at least until she sets her mind to a new search and starts across once again on her trusty machine. It’s an amazing talent but it has a price, both physical and emotional. Vic doesn’t understand her abilities, but as she gets older she comes across someone she thinks can explain them to her—a woman with a bag of Scrabble game tiles through which she divines answers, reminiscent of an ancient soothsayer prowling through animal guts and rattling human knuckle bones. Vic finds her revelations less than reassuring, and it looks as if she may be in for some harrowing moments, which, of course, is what we are all hoping for as readers. In contrast to Vic, whose intentions are good, is Charles Manx, and if that last name doesn’t clue you in that he’s the villain of this piece, then the car he drives will: a 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith with a license plate reading NOS4A2. He arrives in our world out of a place called Christmasland, a phantasmagoric amusement park full of dark possibilities and, in spite of its child-pleasing title, containing about as much light and happiness as a concentration camp at midnight. Like Dracula, Manx has his Renfield—Bing Partridge, a pathetic gas-mask-wearing follower looking for validation and love; a sad creature sticking himself tight to someone more powerful than himself and his personal role model for evil. Manx, Bing, and Vic cross paths, as one would expect, and it’s a dynamic collision with an echo that reverberates through the years and sets all three up for a new and even more frightening encounter that makes the first one look like a child’s birthday party. Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 is a brilliant exploration of classic and modern monsters and dark fantasies, all cut up, restitched and retooled, sliding you along as if you’re cruising way too fast in a rusty old Cadillac down a dark, twisty road with no lights, bald tires, and no hands on the wheel. Watch out for the pot holes. They’re deep. With this novel, riveting from beginning to end, Joe Hill has become a master of his craft. Joe R. Lansdale is the author of 30 novels and numerous short stories. His most recent novel is Edge of Dark Water from Mulholland Books
New York Times
"Hill's imagination is...far-ranging.... NOS4A2 is full of chills and cliffhangers." — New York Times
"Fascinating and utterly engaging, this novel is sure to leave readers wanting more. One thing is for certain, however. After reading this book, readers will never hear Christmas carols in quite the same way again." — Library Journal (starred review)
"Hill is omnivorous in his appetite for story and character, and here he has created his best." — Booklist (starred review)
"Quite simply the best horror writer of our generation, Joe Hill's masterful storytelling is on full display in NOS4A2. It is by turns terrifying and hilarious, horrifying and full of heart, and relentlessly compelling." — Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of The Prophet on NOS4A2
"[A] new take on the fantasy-horror genre...Highly recommended." — The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia)
"[A] lovely, earnest collection of short fiction." — Village Voice
"[An] inventive collection . . . brave and astute." — New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"[A]stounding . . . .Though most of the stories have elements of horror, the overall mood of the collection is one of heartbreaking wonderment . . . Highly recommended ." — Library Journal (starred review)
"NOS4A2 is a brilliant exploration of classic and modern monsters and dark fantasties, all cut up, restitched and retooled...With this novel, riveting from beginning to end, Joe Hill has become a master of his craft." — Publishers Weekly on NOS4A2
"Fascinating and utterly engaging, this novel is sure to leave readers wanting more. One thing is certain, however. After reading this book, readers will never hear Christmas carols in quite the same way again." — Library Journal (starred review) on NOS4A2
"Hill is so skillful that we don't know till the very end whether he'll get away with it. . . Hill's story is quite original and, for horror fans of a certain ironic bent, it's an unqualified delight." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on NOS4A2
"NOS4A2 will pull you in from the first pages, and draw you away from your other responsibilities." — Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Read it with the lights on and your children locked in a closet." — BookRiot.com on NOS4A2
"[Hill's] sentences crackle with wit and understated craftsmanship – the kind so skillful it is only visible if you're paying attention." — The Globe and Mail on NOS4A2
"Joe Hills NOS4A2 is one of the creepiest books I've read in a long time—and I mean that in a good way." — Tampa Bay Times on NOS4A2
"Hill's well-stocked bag of narrative tricks keeps the pages moving at a steady clip, and his characters are sufficiently melodramatic to make the book's scale feel both intimate and operatic. In fact, if you're an impressionable reader, stick to reading 'NOS4A2' during the day. " — Richmond Times-Dispatch on NOS4A2
"Words of warning for those who pick up this hefty, 704-page saga: You'll never listen to Christmas carols the same way. Or sleep with the lights off." — Fort Worth Star-Telegram on NOS4A2
"Like any good novel, no matter the genre, NOS4A2 zips down the streets of its mesmerizing story line not just in the Wraith but also, and more importantly, on the backs of high-octane characters...Hill imbues...