NOS4A2

A Novel

By: Joe Hill

Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew

Length: 19 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The spine-tingling, bone-chilling novel of supernatural suspense from the number one New York Times best-selling author of The Fireman and Horns - now an AMC original series starring Zachary Quinto, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Ashleigh Cummings.

"A masterwork of horror." (Time)

Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be.

Charles Talent Manx has a gift of his own. He likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the vanity plate NOS4A2. In the Wraith, he and his innocent guests can slip out of the everyday world and onto hidden roads that lead to an astonishing playground of amusements he calls Christmasland.

The journey across the highway of Charlie's twisted imagination transforms his precious passengers, leaving them as terrifying and unstoppable as their benefactor.

Then comes the day when Vic goes looking for trouble...and finds her way to Charlie. That was a lifetime ago. Now, the only kid ever to escape Charlie's evil is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx hasn't stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. On the road again, he won't slow down until he's taken his revenge. He's after something very special - something Vic can never replace.

As a life-and-death battle of wills builds, Vic McQueen prepares to destroy Charlie once and for all - or die trying.

©2013 Joe Hill (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Quite simply the best horror writer of our generation, Joe Hill’s masterful storytelling is on full display in NOS4A2. It is by turns terrifying and hilarious, horrifying and full of heart, and relentlessly compelling." (Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of The Prophet)

"Fascinating and utterly engaging, this novel is sure to leave readers wanting more. One thing is for certain, however. After reading this book, readers will never hear Christmas carols in quite the same way again." ( Library Journal, starred review)

"[A] new take on the fantasy-horror genre...Highly recommended." ( The Sun Herald Sydney, Australia)

ONE THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH AND...

... WOW‼️WOW‼️WOW‼️‼️‼️

Not AT ALL what I’d thought this book was like: Your basic Steven King master plot.

Mulgrew’s already raspy voice gives reality to the Joe Hill’s masterfully created ‘normal folks next door’ feel of the characters. That is, except for Charlie....

Unlike some narrators, each character has his or her own distinct voice full of life.

I got this book in the Two For One Sale one or two weeks ago, taking a chance on what sounded like a Steven King ripoff. Except it’s NOT - IS EASILY WORTH AN ENTIRE CREDIT OF ITS OWN - AND EASILY WORTH A CATEGORY OF ITS OWN.

I’ll be checking out more Joe Hill books in the future and he’s been added to my Favorite Authors List.

Kate Mulgrew has been added to my Favorite Narrators List.

Loved it!!

Joe Hill is a talented author and that's to be expected with his lineage. He does not disappoint with this novel. The concept is exceptionally creative. The narration was unforgettable, Kate Mulgrew is a talent in her own right. I highly recommend!

Could not stop listening

A really well written, horrifying story, but at the same time so much about love and life. The caracters are great, flawed and interesting. And Kate Mulgrew's performance is perfect.

Great Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a great story. Joe tells a good tale and really develops characters well. Kate Mulgrew does a really wonderful job of telling the story. I enjoyed it completely. This is one I would listen to again.

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed the story itself, it was well developed and has a great flow. Joe Hill develops his characters very well.

Have you listened to any of Kate Mulgrew’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any of Ms. Mulgrew's other performances but I will look for them after this.

jarringly powerful

the reader makes the characters so real had to stop listening occasionally. author uses seriously evocative language. Unique word images associated with mundane Acts. very impressed

Wow!

This is my first Joe Hill novel, but it won't be my last. Such a creative story and honestly, Kate Mulgrew blew me away with her reading of this story. I will listen to all of her performances after this. I have always liked her voice, but she knocked this out of the park.

Emotionally exhausted in a happy-place sort of way

I've been listening to audio books on Audible now for about two years. This is the first review I've written; not because there haven't been other books worth it, but because I finish a book, think I should write about it, get distracted and never quite get around to it. In other words, I'm lazy.

But this....

First off, any idea or story that dances its way through the potential great unknown, the sea of unprovens, of foamy conceptualisms never proven that sort of quietly niggle behind the hard facts of the seen and known, sucks me in wide eyed and staring as one does when passing a car wreck. They scare and fascinate me in equal proportions. NOS4A2 certainly is that, blending the two worlds of reality and imagination together in a tightly woven knit that doesn't really leave room for argument. You don't have much of a choice but to suspend your disbelief. It's believable. Not surprising either, considering the family to which Joe Hill belongs.

Secondly, Kate Mulgrew is such an amazingly fantastic narrator. I read a ton of reviews prior to listening that gave her glowing, rave reviews, so my expectations for her were pretty high. When I first began listening, I thought I was about to be disappointed. I'm not sure what I expected, but her voice was not it. It took about 20 minutes for me to change my mind. I don't know how she managed to do it, but she took the things that made each character and embraced them, brought them to life, and switched between them as effortlessly as if there were really different people speaking. More than that, she makes you FEEL every single emotion, thought, action that happens, no matter how small.

Okay so writing any more would probably be boring and unnecessary. It's an amazing emotional ride through two worlds, one real and one imagined, that collide together to weave this story. One might walk away with less certainty that the real world is really...well, real...at all. I feel like I need to lie down and recover, but in a really good happy-place sort of way.

Excellent story!

A different kind of but unique vampire story. Can't wait to see the show adaptation

Creepy and spectacularly imaginative

Would you listen to NOS4A2 again? Why?

I would listen again. The narrator was fabulous, as was the story.

What did you like best about this story?

I thought NOS4A2 was very well-written and the best of Joe Hill's novels so far. It was also amusing that he had some subtle references to Stephen King's stories in a couple of spots. I definitely recommend it. It's still early in the year, but I'm sure that visions of Christmasland will run (silently) back through my brain in December when it's time to put up the tree.

What about Kate Mulgrew’s performance did you like?

She is infinitely talented. I intend to see what other books she has narrated.

If you could rename NOS4A2, what would you call it?

Scissors for the drifter? Christmasland? Nah...why mess with perfection? NOS4A2 is a perfect title.

Problematic Narration.

I adored The Fireman and thought Mulgrew nailed the narration. So I was excited to try another Mulgrew Hill pairing with Nos4a2. Sadly, it's not the easy going ride I was expecting. She shouts every exclaimation point like it's day 1 at overactor's academy and her voice for the character Bing nearly put me off listening to the book in the first hour. I wish I could pop in a Will Patton or Weaton, or Kate Winslet (who brought so much life to Therese Raquin) and listen to it again. I feel like the text was better than the performance it received. If you're a new fan of Joe Hill get The Fireman. It's a wonderful treat.