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Loved this! I was engaged through the whole book, did not want to stop! Sometimes the story felt disjointed, going back and forth in time and from other characters perspectives, it enough to be annoying. It just made me concentrate harder
Kate Mulgrew. Wow. Fabulous narration. There are no words
Kate Mulgrew. Wow. Fabulous narration. There are no words
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd been waiting forever on the library hold list for this. When it finally arrived, I read this giant thing in 2 days, and it gave me disturbing dreams about creepy children. TOTALLY WORTH IT. Joe Hill is a master storyteller who can take you from heartfelt to disturbing and back again in the turn of a phrase. His blend of horror, thriller, and fantasy elements made for a compelling read.
I had no idea that Joe Hill is actually Stephen King's son. I've read his books and I went "wow, this author is cool." And that was Horns. Yes, I've watched the movie first.
Anyhow, when I finished this book, the first thing crossed my mind was how it reminded me of [b:It|830502|It|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334416842s/830502.jpg|150259]Stephen King's It. Minus the crazy evil clown, well, replaced by a vampire-like entity. I even recommended this to a new friend who happened to be a King's fan.
Long story short, NOS4A2 missing some punches for me, I'm not sure if I had such high expectations after [b:Horns|6587879|Horns|Joe Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402958805s/6587879.jpg|6781405]Horns and [b:Heart-Shaped Box|153025|Heart-Shaped Box|Joe Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328043955s/153025.jpg|1412280]Heart-shaped box, or was I expecting something crazy like a really crazy fight. The pacing was good enough, but I'd love it more if I was made breathless for a longer period of time.
Anyhow, when I finished this book, the first thing crossed my mind was how it reminded me of [b:It|830502|It|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334416842s/830502.jpg|150259]Stephen King's It. Minus the crazy evil clown, well, replaced by a vampire-like entity. I even recommended this to a new friend who happened to be a King's fan.
Long story short, NOS4A2 missing some punches for me, I'm not sure if I had such high expectations after [b:Horns|6587879|Horns|Joe Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402958805s/6587879.jpg|6781405]Horns and [b:Heart-Shaped Box|153025|Heart-Shaped Box|Joe Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328043955s/153025.jpg|1412280]Heart-shaped box, or was I expecting something crazy like a really crazy fight. The pacing was good enough, but I'd love it more if I was made breathless for a longer period of time.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After the slight disappointment of 'The Fireman', his more recent work, I went back up his timestream and read NOS4R2. And enjoyed it very much. It is a gripping thriller with flawed and believable characters who step up and do the right thing, a nastily evil villain - this is, as you might imagine from the title, a vampire novel of sorts but without capes and overacting or any of the more recent vampire tropes for that matter. Let us not forget that vampires are nasty. They suck people's essence out from the inside. That kind of nasty. They Do Not Sparkle.) There is a bridge that goes to strange places, a lesbian librarian who divines via Scrabble, and a place where it's always Christmas (as CS Lewis put it years ago, "Not daydreams. Dreams." Although Lewis had 'always winter but never Christmas,' that's to say, darkness without redemption). Injuries are not just shrugged off. Wounds can last for years, especially the ones inside, and there are supportive points made about that currently maligned state, fatherhood. And vintage cars and bikes, and the kind of magical hello summer goodbye that Stephen King has in some of his novels*.
*yes, I know. Not relevant to the review. Book is read on its own terms.
*yes, I know. Not relevant to the review. Book is read on its own terms.
I honestly thought a lot about this book once I finished listening. I have to say right away that Kate Mulgrew brought these characters to life, especially Charlie Manx. One of the top audiobook performances I've heard in my opinion.
This novel is pretty hefty but I found that it didn't really drag anywhere. It never felt too long. I was kept immersed in this world which transitioned well from one perspective of the main cast of diverse characters to another. One of the things I hadn't expected was how Vic struggled with herself about what was happening, about the doubts that crept in. I've been mulling parts over, liking how things went well out of any expectation I could've had, and thinking of how I loved the way it ended. I highly recommend this read to anyone that hasn't read it yet.
This novel is pretty hefty but I found that it didn't really drag anywhere. It never felt too long. I was kept immersed in this world which transitioned well from one perspective of the main cast of diverse characters to another. One of the things I hadn't expected was how Vic struggled with herself about what was happening, about the doubts that crept in. I've been mulling parts over, liking how things went well out of any expectation I could've had, and thinking of how I loved the way it ended. I highly recommend this read to anyone that hasn't read it yet.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
First of all the book is interesting and the action kept me glued to it, waiting to see what comes next.
The protagonist, Vic, is well written and will have you cheering for her constantly on her journey. The supportive characters a great as well, even those that have episode roles.
However since I started reading I felt like something was missing, like the style was very plain, straightforward. Then I figured out that there is too much comparation that slows down the pace, too much repetition of same information and description (I stopped counting how many times the bike was gunned toward something) and a few info dumps (vary angry about the one at the end).
At time it seems as if the author is forgetting his own world rules, like the sharp pain at the left eye that the protagonist feels the longer the brifldge stays open.
SPOILER (not a big one): In the middle it seems the author has brought in the FBI only so he can make life harder on Vic and get the extra pages by making her the suspect of her own son kidnaping. Gun shuts were not heard by anyone in the neighborhood, though the BBQ noise was heard at Vic's house. The 2 dead neighbors were not discovered by the police or FBI, which makes no sense since the first thing they would do is question the surrounding houses. None found the part of the ear or the blood that Manx lost by which they could prove it was him.
The protagonist, Vic, is well written and will have you cheering for her constantly on her journey. The supportive characters a great as well, even those that have episode roles.
However since I started reading I felt like something was missing, like the style was very plain, straightforward. Then I figured out that there is too much comparation that slows down the pace, too much repetition of same information and description (I stopped counting how many times the bike was gunned toward something) and a few info dumps (vary angry about the one at the end).
At time it seems as if the author is forgetting his own world rules, like the sharp pain at the left eye that the protagonist feels the longer the brifldge stays open.
SPOILER (not a big one): In the middle it seems the author has brought in the FBI only so he can make life harder on Vic and get the extra pages by making her the suspect of her own son kidnaping. Gun shuts were not heard by anyone in the neighborhood, though the BBQ noise was heard at Vic's house. The 2 dead neighbors were not discovered by the police or FBI, which makes no sense since the first thing they would do is question the surrounding houses. None found the part of the ear or the blood that Manx lost by which they could prove it was him.