Nothing puts me in the Christmas mood quite like a good story. If that story were to involve horrors beyond your imagination that make reading it uncomfortable, if not make you want to put it down for just a hot minute, well, that’s just a bonus.
There are two authors that I read who don’t have a single book I haven’t dived head first into without bothering to come up for air, where I am so enthralled in the story that I want nothing more than to be in it in some way. One, as I’m sure you’ve gathered already, is Caroline Kepnes. The other, who ranks above her simply because they have more books/they write my genre, is none other than Joe Hill.
More on him later.
Naturally. 😉
Spoiler-Free Synopsis
Nos4a2 is a clever story about a man named Charles Manx who’s one goal is to take children to Christmas Land, where they can stay young forever and never be sad again. He has a Rolls Royce that takes him and the children away to this magical place where every day is Christmas.
Also, he’s the villain.
The hero of the story is Vic McQueen, a hoodlum turned rebel turned mother, who has a mystical vehicle of her own. She had a run-in with Manx when she was a teen, and with some minor alterations to her story for the sake of believability, had him arrested.
Vic grows up, and so does he, until he ultimately dies in a hospital after being unresponsive for years. She thinks it’s all over, but she couldn’t be more wrong when he shows up—very much alive—at her door for revenge.
And that’s just the beginning!
Villains are Heroes and Heroes aren’t Heroes
In the best stories, the villain believes they are fighting for good and everyone else is wrong. This book takes that notion and increases it tenfold.
Charlie Manx, on the surface, is no hero. He abducts children from their homes, often sentencing their parents to a gruesome death, and he steals their essence to keep him young. He is a master of manipulation.
HOWEVER
He loves kids. Not in the gross rape-y way, but genuinely loves them and has what he believes to be their best interest at heart. He sees them in an undesirable situation, whether their parents drink or shoot up or are abusive or neglectful, and wants to save them the only way he knows how: whisking them away to Christmas Land, where sure, they’ll get hooks for teeth and stay innocent in the worst of ways forever, but they will be happy and loved and cared for. There is absolutely no denying that somewhere under all his inhumanity, his heart is in the right place. He just got lost along the way.
Not making excuses for him, but still.
Along with that villain whatnots, in the best stories, the heroes are not fucking heroes. Like the villains, they are fucked up on the surface, but under it all, they have a good heart and have the desire and drive to do what is right.
Vic McQueen is not a great person. Mental breakdown aside, she’s an alcoholic and an absent mother. The list of things she has going against her is far longer than the opposing list for her. Underneath all that, though, she knows what the right thing to do is, and she doesn’t let minor (or some pretty fucking major) setbacks stop her. Vic recognizes Manx for what he is, she acknowledges that yeah, he probably loves those kids to death, but he’s still no bueno.
This is what I crave in any story, any genre. Characters that are real. They make mistakes, big ones, and they fail and fail and fail again, sometimes epically so. The author unleashes them into the world, and when the rope is out of reach, they don’t suddenly remember their arm can super stretch so they can pull themselves up to safety. The rope is just gone, and it’s just them and the beast, and they know they are going to die, but they plan to put up a fight anyway, and then the fear takes them over and all they can do is stand there and scream as they are torn limb from limb. (Like…none of that happens in this book, but you get what I’m saying, right?)
No one is good. No one is bad. Everyone is just out to make it to tomorrow and there are always consequences, some that aren’t fair.
I live for that shit.
Joe Hill: Master of Horror
I found Joe Hill from watching Horns forever ago. I bought the book, read it, then found out later that he was Stephen King’s son. This discovery both worried and excited me. On one hand, the potential for copycat syndrome. On the other hand, the potential for copycat syndrome. He was fresh, but I was worried he’d try too hard to follow in his father’s footsteps, or that since his family had their foot in the door, his publisher would look at literal shit on the page and make it top the charts because of who his dad is.
To my delight, that’s not the case.
Joe Hill has written a handful of books, and there is not one that I haven’t enjoyed. He doesn’t push out a book every year, and I’m okay with that, because I think that the quality shows. In comparison, if I may be so bold as to take a dig at Stephen King, while he is publishing regularly, I haven’t been thrilled with several of them. They aren’t bad books; they just aren’t my favorite.
Except for The Cell. I didn’t like that one barely at all and almost didn’t finish it.
That aside, though, he truly is a great writer. He has such a unique take on horror and the images he creates in my mind stay with me (I’m looking at you, Heart-Shaped Box). Nos4a2 wasn’t blood-curdling terror, but the story sure made almost 700 pages go by fast.
Not to mention, Joe Hill is a chill dude. If you need proof, just look here.
Final Thoughts
Nos4a2 is an absolute masterpiece. It’s unsettling, hysterical, and heartbreaking all at once. Overall, I give this fun read a solid 10/10. If you like new twists on old tropes (emotion-sucking vampire and magical car helloooo?), you’ll adore this book.
So now, Void I scream into sometimes, I turn it to you. What’s your favorite trope twist? Let me know below!
Happy reading!
Manda Kay Writes 