Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

NOS4A2: Nosferatu by Joe Hill

43 reviews

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

locke_reads's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Islamophobia, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Vomit

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

melchncookies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

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

cleverkrowreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent

dragnfary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Rape, and Death of parent

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

idogrocker's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail