Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Nosferatu by Joe Hill

56 reviews

boats's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book really hit for me. It was a bit long but there's nothing I'd cut easily. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Car accident, and Death of parent

dozyfirbolg's review against another edition

3.75

I think my problem, or maybe it's not a problem, but I wanted to like this more then I did. At times Joe Hill is a brilliant writer with this wild and beautiful and messed up idea for his book. but at others it simply doesn't. Deliver. like he doesn't have the experience to do what he set out to do. the ideas here are solid, and he has some good lines but I think at time it just falls short. 
pair this with Joe hills ability to make questionable choices In his writing regarding certain characters - Lou chief among them, and how his fatness is used as a plot device, and the way in which he writes Bing and expands on Bings thoughts that left a bad taste in my mouth. 
Do not get me wrong, I knew what I was signing up for here, I read horror a lot but there's a lack of finesse and care to this book that distracts from what he was trying to accomplish here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Pedophilia

baileyclose's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping

skeptic_hecate's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

It was entertaining, it is short of 4 stars because I sense a lot of r/menwrittingwomen and the protagonist is a bit of a pick me girl. Some scenes I found too long and pointless. The last part pf the book is the best, especially the climax. And the world building is fine, if not a bit too convenient with its many plot holes. The dialogue could use some work, when done right, it is very realistic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

pancakes4all's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

2.0

While this book did something new with vampires, its plot seemed to limp towards what turned out to be a pretty predictable end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping

ptoridactyl30's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment

hayleys_comment's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

On a technical level, NOS4A2 is an imaginative, well-written horror novel. It takes familiar concepts, (magic, murder, and Christmas) and twists them into strange, blood-soaked treats. The protagonists are ragged and complicated. The villains are creepy and weird. The plot is interesting. The pacing is good (especially in action sequences—Hill’s got a crazy rhythm). It’s gritty, off-the-wall, and freaky to the max.

Technical-goodness aside, I have a some mixed feelings about Hill’s work. The book’s a bit like Dracula, in that every once and a while, there will be a scene that really grabs you, or a line that makes your pulse pound. Everything in-between is just background noise.
If you’re not sure whether this book is for you, here are a few things to consider:

1. The novel relies heavily on themes of sexism, sexual assault, and child abuse. There are a few scenes that feature existential/body horror, but they’re less prevalent. I want to emphasize that while this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can definitely impact your reading.

2. Hill is fantastic at scene descriptions. When he’s describing something cool, it’s awesome. Really, really awesome. When he’s describing something gross, it’s visceral. And this novel gets gross. Really, really gross. Nothing too crazy for a horror novel, but it’s definitely worth mentioning, especially with point #1.

3. Ask yourself this: could you ever think of Christmas as something strange or scary? If the answer is no, you’ll have a hard time suspending your disbelief. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a try, but it may have an effect on how you engage with Hill’s story. Christmasland is a big deal.

4. If you’re hesitant, check the content warnings. Seriously. There’s no shame in saying, “this isn’t for me,” or, “not right now.” You can always come back later.

Bonus: 
The audio book, narrated by Kate Mulgrew, is absolutely bonkers. 10/10. If you’re an audio person, you’re in for a treat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Body horror, Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Death of parent

buxomfloozy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Murder

haleea's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

geez this was LONG

some parts of this book rubbed me the wrong way and i think it definitely could have been shorter but overall i enjoyed it. i REALLY liked the bittersweet ending. was definitely fun to read over the holidays!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Rape, and Kidnapping

jloud_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail