NOS4A2

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill, 692 pages

All Charlie Manx wants to do is to give children happiness, and what better way to do that than to take them to Christmasland, a magical place where every day is Christmas morning? Seriously, never-ending sweets and games, roller-coasters and no parents... it's every kid's dream, right? But Charlie Manx is a bad, bad man, and Christmasland is his special place for children, so special that only Manx and his vintage Rolls Royce can get to it. Enter Vic McQueen. As a kid, she had a knack for finding things, and if the kooky librarian's Scrabble tiles are right (and they usually are), Vic can find Manx and Christmasland, and hopefully in time to stop Manx from destroying her life and the lives of those she loves.

I've read Hill's Locke and Key graphic novel series (if you haven't read those yet, stop reading this post now and go read them) and LOVED them, so I had high hopes for NOS4A2. I wasn't disappointed. Hill's writing style echoes that of Stephen King (which shouldn't be a shock to anyone, as Hill is King's son), in that it's scary as all-get-out and full of supernatural elements, but with a healthy sprinkle of humor throughout. That's always been what I loved best about King's writing, and I'm glad to see that it's genetic. I also really appreciated Hill's geektastic nods to superhero comics, Firefly, Harry Potter, and, arguably, Doctor Who (c'mon, a gasmask-wearing baddie with mommy issues? Totally Whovian!). Setting aside my fangirl tendencies, Hill also manages to create some great characters in Vic, Bing Partridge (the aformentioned gasmask man), and Vic's son Wayne. I look forward to picking up some more of Hill's novels, though perhaps after I've gotten over the fear of Christmas music prompted by this book.