Annotation (Horror): NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Bibliographical Information

Title: NOS4A2

Author: Joe Hill

Genre: Horror

Publication Date: April 2013

Number of Pages: 692

Series: There is a comic book miniseries tie-in, and there are several references to Hill’s other works, and those by his father, Stephen King, that are not essential to the story.

Synopsis

Despite its name, Christmasland is not a festive place where good dreams come true. Charles Talent Manx, called “the Wraith” by one character, abducts children with his Rolls-Royce Wraith and takes them to a place called Christmasland, a nightmare of a place where children become gruesome monsters of Manx’s creation. Victoria “Vic” McQueen, a person with the ability to take the “Shorter Way,” is the only person to ever escape Christmasland, and Manx’s diabolical clutches. Twenty years after her own confrontation with the Wraith, Manx is now after her son, Wayne. Now, she has to go back to Christmasland to finish what she started in her own childhood.

Characteristics of Horror

This novel is characteristic of the horror genre with a perpetual feeling of darkness and evil, even when the antagonist is not present in the dialogue. As with most horror stories, NOS4A2 features numerous frightening and unexpected moments that scare the reader and keep them “on a rollercoaster ride.” It features a strong supernatural element in the powers of both the protagonist and antagonist of the story. Throughout the story, Vic is haunted by her encounter with Manx during her childhood. In the completely unresolved ending of NOS4A2, her son is troubled by the occurrences depicted in the novel.

Read-a-likes

It by Stephen King

A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

Neverland by Douglas Clegg

In Extremis: The Most Extreme Short Stories of John Shirley by John Shirley