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kristins911's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
evaromero's review against another edition
3.0
Esperaba otra cosa de este libro, pero bueno tampoco ha estado mal. Siento que empieza fuerte, pero llega un punto en el que se alarga demasiado. Sobre todo hacia un poco más de la mitad del libro (solo recuerdo páginas y páginas de viajes en coche y conversaciones absurdas). No obstante, en la última parte empieza a cobrar fuerza otra vez, y reconozco que el final me ha gustado mucho. Resumidamente, para mí sobran páginas jaja.
kimberlyf's review against another edition
2.0
Man, I am clearly an outlier with this one and trust me, I’m sad about it. It’s a really great story and I actually enjoyed many parts of it but it was wayyyyy too damn long. Some books are long in a good way, but that wasn’t the case for me here. The prose was so bloated and the story was so dragged out it started to make me angry. I contemplated moving it to the DNF shelf many times throughout.
With the jump forward in timeline and the back and forth between different point of views, it took a little while for me to really get in to this story. It wasn’t until about 35% in that I actually felt a pull to keep reading. Unfortunately that was short lived and even at that point in the story, the plot seemed to move forward without much sense of direction for a majority of the novel. I didn’t care about any of the characters, especially the villains, and that made it difficult to want to pick this book up after I put it down. By the time I got to the 75% mark, I was skimming and jumping sections just the get to the end.
This book was a hit for a lot of folks so I would still encourage others to read if interested, but it was an unfortunate L for me.
With the jump forward in timeline and the back and forth between different point of views, it took a little while for me to really get in to this story. It wasn’t until about 35% in that I actually felt a pull to keep reading. Unfortunately that was short lived and even at that point in the story, the plot seemed to move forward without much sense of direction for a majority of the novel. I didn’t care about any of the characters, especially the villains, and that made it difficult to want to pick this book up after I put it down. By the time I got to the 75% mark, I was skimming and jumping sections just the get to the end.
This book was a hit for a lot of folks so I would still encourage others to read if interested, but it was an unfortunate L for me.
natashiataylor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
edtkeith's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely stellar from beginning to end. I'm ready for another trip to Christmasland.
g100507's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
emrodav's review against another edition
5.0
Goodness, I loved this book. (And you kind of have to enjoy it to get through all 700 pages, let's be honest.) I'm not super familiar with modern horror novels, although I did read Hill's Heart Shaped Box and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved NOS4A2 just as much, if not more.
It's an amazing blend of horror, fantasy, psychology, action, and family drama. I loved the bits devoted to family connections, especially how Vic felt about Lou (my favorite character!) and Wayne. She was so real, a woman dealing with the power of her mind, convinced she is crazy and unfit for her child. When I was kid, and even now, I was always the person with the over-active imagination, and related so much to Vic and her struggles with the balance between reality and imagination.
The book is genuinely creepy and frightening at parts--especially when Bing is the focus. (That man and his worldview honestly made me a little sick at times, but I never thought Hill went too far.) The children and Christmasland were both also delightfully creepy. Manx and his conviction were really interesting to read about, too (though I would have liked more back story).
Overall, NOS4A2 is probably the best horror novel I've ever read, and honestly, I'd read another 700 pages about these characters if Joe Hill wrote it. Until his next book comes out, though, I'll re-read NOS4A2.
It's an amazing blend of horror, fantasy, psychology, action, and family drama. I loved the bits devoted to family connections, especially how Vic felt about Lou (my favorite character!) and Wayne. She was so real, a woman dealing with the power of her mind, convinced she is crazy and unfit for her child. When I was kid, and even now, I was always the person with the over-active imagination, and related so much to Vic and her struggles with the balance between reality and imagination.
The book is genuinely creepy and frightening at parts--especially when Bing is the focus. (That man and his worldview honestly made me a little sick at times, but I never thought Hill went too far.) The children and Christmasland were both also delightfully creepy. Manx and his conviction were really interesting to read about, too (though I would have liked more back story).
Overall, NOS4A2 is probably the best horror novel I've ever read, and honestly, I'd read another 700 pages about these characters if Joe Hill wrote it. Until his next book comes out, though, I'll re-read NOS4A2.
stephy_bookworld's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25