NOS4A2: A Novel

Written by Joe Hill

Narrated by Kate Mulgrew

The spine-tingling, bone-chilling　novel of supernatural suspense from the #1　New York Times　bestselling 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062237743

Joe Hill

Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Fireman, NOS4A2, Horns, and Heart-Shaped Box; Strange Weather, a collection of novellas; and the acclaimed story collections Full Throttle and 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the Eisner Award–winning writer of a seven-volume comic book series, Locke & Key. Much of his work has been adapted for film and TV, including NOS4A2 (AMC), Locke & Key (Netflix), In the Tall Grass (Netflix), and The Black Phone (Blumhouse).

Reviews for NOS4A2

[bulletproofheeb-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was solidly OK. First off, or is clearly a product of Stephen King in one way or another; the simplistic language used to convey severity, the obsession with the innocence of children, nostalgia taken to a supernatural extreme. It's all here. That said this was placed better than any King I have read. So I suppose it's an improvement in the school of. I was never bored with it though it did become predictable. Like I said, solidly OK.

[tina1969_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Vic McQeen has a gift, she can find things that are lost. Charlie Manx also finds things, he takes souls of children to Christmasland. As a child Vic manages to escape Charlie Manx but has to face him again as an adult when he takes her son.My Thoughts:I have read Joe Hill’s ‘Heart Shaped Box, and loved it. I also have his other tow books on my tbr pile. This book however I didn’t love.I think I must be the only person who didn’t like this book. I have read a lot of reviews on both here and Amazon and readers have loved this book. I can’t even finish the book !I have over the years read plenty of horror including nearly all Stephen King, James Herbert, Richard Laymon and many more. I think my main problem with this book is that I found it bordering too much on fantasy. I have always struggled with fantasy and have half read a Terry Pratchett once. I prefer my horror to be the classic haunted house, beast in the cellar, and traditional vampire and werewolves. It’s no secret that Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son and he really is a hard act to follow but with HSB I felt he did really well. This book however I felt was too long, maybe scary but not creepy. If it hadn’t been for the fact that it is a horror story I would have said that I was reading a children's book.I am not being mean giving the book 1 star it’s worth more than that, but my ratings is 1 star for unfinished. The half of the book that I did read is worth more than that but I just didn’t feel inclined to progress any further. This dosen’t mean that I have given up on Joe Hill but just not this one for now.

[fergster73 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant! Absolutely awesome! Excellent book!

And the cherry on the icing on the cake - just a few subtle, almost nonchalant references to his father's work. Derry, The True Knot, Pennywise, The Territories. Just some nice little hints that Hill may be playing in the same universe the pervades much of King's work.

Now don't get me wrong, if Joe never made another single reference to any of Steve's oeuvre, I'd still be happy to read anything he chooses to publish. If, however, Joe decides to jump on into the 'Kingverse', maybe expand on it, add his own voice and ideas, maybe even a trip or two back to Midworld, well that would be just fine be me.

[Craig Beane · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although there were some parts of this audiobook that were long winded and I think unnecessary, it was still a really good book. I would have given it 5 stars except for the parts that drone on. That said, this was a rich, well written, very complex book. It kept me very absorbed. Kate Mulgrew did an excellent read and all her voices were vastly varied and spot on. Now that I have experienced listening to books, I am hopelessly addicted. I am able to do things while it is being read and I stay absorbed in the book completely.

I do not have a very great imagination and the complexity of the characters is amazing. From Wayne, the little boy to his mother Vic, who is haunted since childhood by a gift or curse, you pick. Lou, the father and so optimistic all the time. Lou's unconditional love for Vic and Wayne. This book is a true form of art in and of itself.

Now, I would never go as far as to say that Joe is or will be as good as his father, who I affectionately call "Steve-Oh-No", but damn, he has got a very fine start on getting there for sure.

[jhemlock-1711 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very fast paced book with little or no filler. Now, having read this, I can say the series is an abject failure and does nothing justice. Hill's book is quick, deadly and full of turns with a nice little twist at the end. I know Hill has to be disappointed with the outcome of the series. I found this better than Horns. Not really scary but creepy. The kids were spookier than Manx.Recommended.

[debbie13410 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I read more than half but couldn't finish it. As I got into the horror more I realized it wasn't for me. I really enjoyed it until the bad guy and his deeds are revealed. The girl and her gift are great to follow.

[grumpydan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Victoria “Vic” McQueen who can travel through time and space on her bicycle and across a on old-covered bridge. Here she can escape her life. It is also the story of Charlie Manx who also travel through tis world and another in his 1938 Rolls Royce where he brings children he feels who would be happier in what he calls Christmasland where the holiday is celebrated every day. When Vic encounters Charlie, all hell breaks loose and she is the only child to escape the evil that Charlie is, until they met again, that is… In the spirit of Stephen King this horror story is epic, graphic and sometimes quite frightening with twists and turns everywhere. Vic is a wonderful protagonist and is Charlie the perfect antagonist. The reader watches these characters develop and as the story unfolds. This one is over 700 pages of pure wickedness.

[karieh_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“For as long as my children could remember, I had ignored fences and boundaries and rules. I climbed buildings to get balls out of gutters. I jumped curbs to get closer to the entrance of football games. I talked clerks into giving us rooms at overbooked hotels. Nothing much had prevented me from getting what I wanted, and I made sure my children knew it. Now I stood at the edge of a knee-high fence, embarrassed to be so helpless.”Neil White, author of “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts”, was sent to federal prison for 18 months for fraud. All his life, he’d wanted to be impressive, wanted to be the best at something, wanted applause and others to be in awe of him. Outward appearances seemed to be all that mattered. His lifestyle got more and more grand…because he was kiting checks. Once convicted, he was sentenced to serve his time in Carville, Louisiana…a federal prison that was also the home of the last leper colony in mainland America.I was hooked by that, by the idea that such a place even existed and very interested to see how the inmate and patient population would mesh. Turns out though, I was far more interested in the long journey White takes…without leaving the prison grounds.In reading his book, it seems apparent that was he sent anywhere else, White might not have undergone the changes he needed to live life legally on the outside. For a man so concerned about appearance and success…he needed to be around people who had been shunned and locked away. He needed to see that without any of the material and superficial things that he valued so much; there was honest happiness and self-acceptance to be had.White enters the prison with so many misconceptions – mostly about himself and his actions. He tells his children he’s going to camp, he acts like the year he will spend there is just a temporary setback in his career, he decides to use the time to interview the inmates and patients, get the story on other people’s lives instead of looking back at his own. But FINALLY a devastating emotional blow (by which time I had almost written him off as hopeless), “…did what bankruptcy, public humiliation, and imprisonment had not done. I could no longer stomach my own lies and delusions. For the first time, I felt the full weight of my crimes…Finally, in a sanctuary for outcasts, I understood the truth. Surrounded by men and women who could not hide their disfigurement, I could see my own.”Though my interest was mainly in White, my heart breaks for the patients of Carville. Not only had they been treated like outcasts, taken from their homes, not allowed many basic human rights (like the right to raise their own children), but they were housed with convicts. Injustice was piled upon injustice.“In the late 1950’s, after medications were developed to control the spread of leprosy, the gates of Carville were opened. At that time, 297 patients lived at the leprosarium. One year later, 281 remained inside. Ella, Harry, and others, who were brought here involuntarily – sometimes in shackles – chose to stay, even after they had been set free. For them, freedom was more terrifying that imprisonment. The stigma of being labeled a “leper” had cut as deeply as any physical scar.”The lives White sees while in prison are exactly what he needs to finally examine his own. He learns that “Intimate, prolonged contact, it seemed, made everything commonplace. Beauty and disfigurement disappeared with familiarity. Beauty queens became ordinary; leprosy patients did, too.”In short, that it’s what is under one’s skin that matters. Such a simple lesson, yet so hard to learn for so many. But I finished this book sure that Neil White has learned it – if only because of the final acknowledgement he gives in this book:“To Judge Walter Gex for holding me accountable.”

[Ben Lynch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The narrator was magnificent! She really brought the world of NOS4A2 alive. The story itself was engaging and keeps your interest like a great novel should. I felt like I knew the characters (my sister is very much a Vic type person!). If you are a fan of horror and audiobooks do not pass this one up!

[Christina · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written and kept the reader engaged. The middle was a bit too descriptive and dragged on a bit, but overall I really enjoyed it!

[Antonio Gomez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Audiobook-really great listen. Took a minute to get used to the reader but I think that happens with pretty much all books but her reading was great! Book was very good and fun it paints a picture that you create.

[Josh Brandner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book! Kept my attention all the way through. Not the best Narrator IMO.

[Kanishka Ariyathilaka · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was a good story,very clever. However,it was unnecessarily long. Many times I wanted to give up on it however kept listening for narration was absolutely brilliant. I give her 10 stars if possible. She nailed every word she read. No regrets. Thank you

[رضا فهمي · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very nice book. I have checked many of it

[M. ball · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is so strange it definitely reminds me of Stephen King's performances. But that being said it was a very good story and I really enjoyed it. I always stopped Stephen King was like the best horror writer but this guy is pretty darn close

[Michael Sifuentes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The only time I ever rate a book 5 stars and care to comment is when the book makes me feel a lot of emotion and this is one of them great book.

[Rachel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book! I was curious and captivated up to the very end.

[CHRISTINA VASQUEZ · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really good...especially if you have read his father book (Stephen king's) The Shining.

[Chris Kester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Christmasland is more than a place, it's a state of mind. I love the imaginative nature of NOS4A2. Looking forward to finishing the AMC series now that I've listened to the book. The reading was done very well and I enjoyed the explanation from Hill at the end.

[slmr4242 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this, would have given it more stars, but it did seem a bit long. I really enjoyed the switch up of traditional roles. And, after the Christmas madness, this seemed right.

[Sarah Wiman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I LOVED this story. The narrator was amazing and the story was really unique and keeps you interested. I would highly recommend this.

[Jeremy Yoder · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

“spoilers”. started off good but about halfway thru turned to crap. no one in this book besides the villain has critical thinking skills better than a 7 year old, proven by the police as they couldn’t find evidence that vic was attacked by manx, even tho in a phone call his son told the dad it was a rolls royce which they never told the police, plus CHARLIE MANXS BLOODY EAR WAS LAYING IN HER DRIVEWAY THE ENTIRE TIME! but somehow everyone missed that, there’s no likeable characters and the narrators voice is annoying and she exaggerates everything to much

[Nina Quartuccio · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this audiobook. It was so well written and the narrator was was incredible. The visual depictions were outstanding. Joe Hills use of words to paint the scenes gave me the opportunity to visualize each scene with the utmost clarity. The narrator took this book to the highest level. She gave you every emotion each well developed character exuded. Can't say enough... loved it so much the pairing of author and narrator could have been better.

[Ville Pasanen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book overall, but as a medical professional the sevoflurane thing got me. Wouldn‘t have been such big deal to me if it the gingerbread gas wasn‘t such a big part of the story. Should‘ve done a little more research, Number one, sevoflurane is not narcotic (it provides no pain relief), and number two, it is so short acting that if used by itself, patients wake up very quickly when the anesthetic flow is turned off. Sorry, had to call him on this like a gun expert would have to call someone for saying something like, “the man inserted a fresh mag in the revolver.”

[Lynn Weiner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Scariest book I’ve ever read and I loved every minute of it

[chy-chy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved this book and I’m actually a bit sad now that it’s over. I found myself falling in love with all the characters and thoroughly enjoyed Vic’s character arc. I also want to shoutout Kate Mulgrew for the fantastic narration! She managed to create a unique voice for each of the characters (and there’s a good number of them), to the point that I could identify which characters were “on stage” just based off her voice. Really great read!

[Promyce Johnson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kate Mulgrew did a fantastic job! Thank you and Joe Hill for this immersive experience

[Lena C · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well, I guess I'm in love. Joe Hill's telling of this complex story was a beautiful adventure into the craziness of what life can be in the physical reality and of the mind. So, yes I'm now in love with the author's ability to hold me spellbound through all the twist and turns of this amazing story. I found myself always rooting for Vic, Lou, Wayne and several others in this cast of well created characters. Kate Mulgrew narrated the hell out of this story and I'm a true fan of her unique abilities and will forever seek her voice. To me this book is a "must listen" type of experience.

[devourerofbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Neil White has made a lot of mistakes in his life, some with serious consequences. Very serious consequences. Consequences like spending months in federal prison for kiting checks. While engaging in his financial acrobatics to keep his magazines going, Neil never really considered that what he was doing was wrong, even after being caught once and losing people’s money. He figured that if he could just juggle the money until there was enough to cover everything, nobody would get hurt and nobody would mind. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out like that. Neil was caught in his financial indiscretions, hurting his family, friends, and many investors in the process.When Neil was sentenced to 18 months in prison, he accepted his fate, although he never really seemed to consider that he was on the same level as the ‘criminals’. Because of his acceptance of his punishment, prison in and of itself didn’t seem to be a huge shock to him, what DID surprise him is that federal inmates were not the only ones housed at Carville penitentiary - Carville was also America’s last leprosarium (leper colony).As one of the inmates who seemed the most open to befriending and talking with the ‘patients’ (as those with leprosy or Hansen’s Disease were called), Neil learned quite a bit of history of leprosy in the United States and about the fascinating and sometimes horrifying circumstances that had brought people to the leprosarium at Carville. Originally, still in his journalism-oriented mindset, White planned to engage in some participatory journalism to write a sort of expose about the state of leprosy in America and the fact that federal inmates were being held in the same institution as a population of people with leprosy.An expose is not what White ended up writing, however. Instead, “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts” is his personal memoir of growth through his time at Carville. Okay, if I read the line “personal memoir of growth,” that would probably stop me from picking up a book, because those sorts of things usually turn out cheesy in my opinion. That is not “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts” at all. White was very open and straightforward about his thoughts, feelings, and attitudes as he described the events of his year or so in prison. The growth he experienced seemed very genuine and very real and he seemed to be honest about how he arrived at it, he was never flashy or melodramatic.This was a fantastic book. One might expect that a memoir of this nature would be more about the story than the writing, but as a former journalist Neil got everything right: the pacing, the storytelling, and the writing. In addition to White’s personal story and experience as a federal inmate, which was interesting in itself, I was fascinated to read about Carville as a leprosarium and about the lives of the patients there. I must admit that I’ve never given much (any?) thought sufferers of leprosy in American and definitely had my eyes opened by this book.This was a great read and one that I would definitely recommend.Buy this book from:

[jcelrod_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this memoir fascinating but not very rounded. The story of a man's incarceration in a prison that doubled as a home for those afflicted with leprosy was interesting in that I learned much about the disease, how those who suffered from it were treated, and how many misconceptions there are about leprosy. I would have liked to have seen more about how the author took what he learned during his imprisonment and made his post-incarceration life a better one. The book ended when his prison sentence did and other than a brief update, there was nothing to really fill in the fifteen year gap between his release and the book.