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joshkiba13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Who knew Christmas could be so creepy?? I'm honestly left quite stunned by this book. Its creep factor was dialed up to 11-- by far the creepiest story I've ever read. And at the same time it had such heart to it.
I felt that the story was utterly unique. The opening passages are frightening and foreboding, and I love how we jumped back in time from that point and resumed there later on.
Charlie Manx was a scary bad guy for sure, but his right-hand man, Bing Partridge (aka the Gas Mask Man) was even creepier in my opinion. The first chapters where we're introduced to Bing were among the most off-putting sections of the novel.
I loooved our protagonist Vic McQueen. We follow her from childhood and into adulthood. She is probably the most nuanced and heavily flawed character I've read of. In the Author's Note following the audiobook, Joe Hill explained his dislike for stories where the heroes are double-do-gooders, or something like that, and how he sought to write realistic and flawed "good guys." He absolutely succeeded in my opinion, with Vic and the cast of side characters like Maggie Leigh and Lou Carmody. We are able to cheer them on as they succeed in things, and mourn as they make awful (but real) decisions.
I loved how absolutely off the concept of Christmas became as the book developed--kind of like if The Nightmare Before Christmas was rated R. Beyond the horrifying effects of Charlie Manx's powers, even something as simple as hearing Christmas music beyond the bounds of winter (a common occurrence during the story) became scary. I loved this line: "There was something awful about Christmas music when it was nearly summer. It was like a clown in the rain, with his makeup running."
Hill's dialogue was snappy and clever; his prose and descriptions were unique and often (positively) unconventional. And I absolutely loved his takes on imagination and the mind, as seen in the snippet I opened with, as well as this one:
"Everyone lives in two worlds . . . There's the real world . . . But everyone also lives in the world inside their own head: An in-scape, a world of thought . . . Creative people . . . spend a lot of their time hanging out in their thought-world. Strong creatives though can use a knife to cut the stitches between the two worlds, can bring them together."
The book can definitely get a little out there in some places, but I honestly think the weird served to its benefit. The only part that made me wince in a truly uncomfortable way was Hill referencing a few real-life tragedies to serve a scene where a character was becoming demented. I love a good corruption arc (such as in "Apt Pupil" by Stephen King), but I found the allusions to real tragedies a tad distasteful. Didn't ruin it for me at all, just something I didn't care for.
Overall one of the best audiobooks I've listened to, I absolutely have to hand it to Kate Mulgrew for knocking it OUT of the park with her narration. Manx's voice was gritty and cold, Bing's was off-putting and creepily child-like, and she did Maggie Leigh's stutter so well. Her children voices were well done too, and successfully creepy when necessary. Above all I have to appreciate how when a character was yelling, she yelled and didn't just whisper-yell like some narrators do.
Solid book and sooolid audio 👌
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Abandonment
Minor: Racial slurs, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
aposthuma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use
madelinequinnee's review against another edition
- 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
I really enjoyed this more than I expected. I went in thinking it would be more ‘vampirey’, if that makes sense, but i guess the Nosferatu mentions are more metaphorical than literal.
I found this really easy to get lost in, the story was interesting and the writing was really descriptive and painted a great picture of the world it takes place in.
There are a few trigger warnings i would look out for if you’re going to read this and are sensitive to certain topics.
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Gore, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual assault, Blood, Cursing, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Animal death, Death of parent, and Self harm
horrorgami's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A horror novel set in Christmas was something I never thought would bring any genuine fear or fright, but Mr. Hill did a very good job in making that the case. There were moments where I was scared, moments I wanted to cry, moments I did outright cry, and moments where I was able to applaud and cheer for Vic and her accomplishments.
Even the antagonist, Charlie Manx, was a well written character - he was bone chilling and there were times that I really didn't know what he planned to do next. Usually in horror novels, once you get a few hundred pages in, you can tell what a person will do next - they become predictable to a sense. This is not the case with Charlie Manx at all. If he were a real life person standing in front of me, he would be someone I would be afraid of, and would hope to be able to run the other way, unscathed.
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Addiction, and Death of parent
priscillarobock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Cursing, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Dysphoria, Child death, Gore, Abandonment, Bullying, Grief, Kidnapping, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Death, and Death of parent
judassilver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Specific spoilers for those curious:
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexism, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Racism, Vomit, Cancer, Car accident, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Stalking, and Torture
Moderate: Homophobia, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia
boats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Gore
Moderate: Gun violence, Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Car accident
baileyclose's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Ableism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Kidnapping
locke_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Torture, Addiction, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
ptoridactyl30's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Blood, Sexism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Blood, and Drug abuse
Minor: Abandonment