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podanotherjessi's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Wow. I wish I had read this in December because walking into a store and hearing Christmas carols while I was in the middle of this would have been horrific. This definitely has some flaws; the story gets a little muddled at points. The choice to play with timelines was maybe a mistake. Definitely has the penchant of a lot of horror of leaning on sexual assault and child abuse for scaring the reader, but not too often. Vic is a great character, flaws and all. Wayne is good too. Lou left a little to be desired though. Manx, however, is a fantastic villain, all the more because he truly thinks that he's doing the right thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Rape, and Mental illness
caidyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW: rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, murder, child death, child abuse, drug use, mental illness, and general violence
Apparently, all it took was trying multiple of Hill's books (including this one) a few times and also buddy reading one with my very good friend to finally find a book I like by this author. I mean, I've tried him so many times with so many books that this was a last-ditch effort. And I really enjoyed it!
I like how the book was split up and it felt like there were multiple climaxes in it. A first with Vic when she was a kid, then another when she was an adult. I also found Bing ten times freakier than Manx. Honestly, he was scarier to me because he was so unhinged, although that's what Manx profited off of. Then, there's the vampire mythos of it almost being like an energy vampire, so that was fun.
I think the only thing that was a pro and a con was that it piggybacked so much off his dad's works. In my opinion, that's the double-edged sword for Hill. On one hand, it's fun to see him linking his books in with his father's creations and seeing little Easter eggs in that regard. It also comforts me because I know that Hill will take charge of his dad's unfinished manuscripts when he eventually dies and will be able to keep it going for a while. On the other hand, I wish that Hill was more of his own person and didn't rely on those little things. Again, a double-edged sword that is both good and bad.
So, overall, I did enjoy it. I'm glad that I liked this and can feel confident that I'll try some of his books again. Maybe not Horns since I've tried it twice already and DNFed both times, but I will try him again in the future.
Apparently, all it took was trying multiple of Hill's books (including this one) a few times and also buddy reading one with my very good friend to finally find a book I like by this author. I mean, I've tried him so many times with so many books that this was a last-ditch effort. And I really enjoyed it!
I like how the book was split up and it felt like there were multiple climaxes in it. A first with Vic when she was a kid, then another when she was an adult. I also found Bing ten times freakier than Manx. Honestly, he was scarier to me because he was so unhinged, although that's what Manx profited off of. Then, there's the vampire mythos of it almost being like an energy vampire, so that was fun.
I think the only thing that was a pro and a con was that it piggybacked so much off his dad's works. In my opinion, that's the double-edged sword for Hill. On one hand, it's fun to see him linking his books in with his father's creations and seeing little Easter eggs in that regard. It also comforts me because I know that Hill will take charge of his dad's unfinished manuscripts when he eventually dies and will be able to keep it going for a while. On the other hand, I wish that Hill was more of his own person and didn't rely on those little things. Again, a double-edged sword that is both good and bad.
So, overall, I did enjoy it. I'm glad that I liked this and can feel confident that I'll try some of his books again. Maybe not Horns since I've tried it twice already and DNFed both times, but I will try him again in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Child death, Child abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Violence
rosedtide's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual violence
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
NOS4A2 is smartly written, insightful, reflects an understanding of inner life... and is a spiraling well of darkness and depravity so deep that I had to take a several month break before finishing it. A horror novel, both damn good and deeply disturbing.
Horror is not my usual genre (and reading this book on my lunch break was a TERRIBLE idea), but I am glad that I read this book, and I am optimistic that I'll like more books by this author, as I hadn't read his work before. If you like horror, I recommend it. If you aren't sure, give it a try, but don't try to push through if it stresses you out too much because it will NOT let up.
*Updating my review to say that after thinking more about the ableism surrounding a secondary character's stutter (difficulty speaking is treated as part of the horror), and killing a character immediately after heavily implying that they're queer, I no longer highly recommend this, but if you already like horror you might enjoy it.
Horror is not my usual genre (and reading this book on my lunch break was a TERRIBLE idea), but I am glad that I read this book, and I am optimistic that I'll like more books by this author, as I hadn't read his work before. If you like horror, I recommend it. If you aren't sure, give it a try, but don't try to push through if it stresses you out too much because it will NOT let up.
*Updating my review to say that after thinking more about the ableism surrounding a secondary character's stutter (difficulty speaking is treated as part of the horror), and killing a character immediately after heavily implying that they're queer, I no longer highly recommend this, but if you already like horror you might enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, and Mental illness
CW for ableism, sexual assault, violence, gore, mental illness, child death, major character death, death.
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