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atipsybookworm's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
I’ll just leave it at children have fish-hooked teeth 🥴 bizarre. very disturbing scenes (and verbiage). kind of has an intriguing plot, yet kind of wish it would end. felt like it dragged on longer than it should’ve.
overall, it was okay.
overall, it was okay.
scvalentine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I listened as an audiobook and highly recommend it as the reader is great at distinguishing characters and making some sound super creepy.
As a young girl, Vic escapes the tension of her family one night on her brand new bicycle, but it doesn’t just take her down the road, it takes her over a bridge that doesn’t exist to places where she finds lost things. At the same time, a chemical plant worker named Bing, is found by a man named Charlie Manx who drives a 1930s Rolls Royce. Manx offers him a job he has been dreaming of for years, one that is the worst nightmare of most people.
Vic and Manx cross paths and it ends in his arrest and her trauma. As she grows up, she’s haunted by what she has seen. But everything gets even worse when Vic has her own son and mysteriously, Manx dies in prison.
It’s hard to give a good description without giving stuff away, but if you’re looking for a creepy and disturbing book about the crossover between internal and external worlds, I recommend this. I did think the first half had some slow parts, but once I got halfway, it flew by. Lots of trigger warnings for this, so look those up before reading if you need to.
As a young girl, Vic escapes the tension of her family one night on her brand new bicycle, but it doesn’t just take her down the road, it takes her over a bridge that doesn’t exist to places where she finds lost things. At the same time, a chemical plant worker named Bing, is found by a man named Charlie Manx who drives a 1930s Rolls Royce. Manx offers him a job he has been dreaming of for years, one that is the worst nightmare of most people.
Vic and Manx cross paths and it ends in his arrest and her trauma. As she grows up, she’s haunted by what she has seen. But everything gets even worse when Vic has her own son and mysteriously, Manx dies in prison.
It’s hard to give a good description without giving stuff away, but if you’re looking for a creepy and disturbing book about the crossover between internal and external worlds, I recommend this. I did think the first half had some slow parts, but once I got halfway, it flew by. Lots of trigger warnings for this, so look those up before reading if you need to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Pedophilia
constant_reader_19's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The audiobook is so worth it! Creepy as hell!
amelia_horseman's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I got through this book. But I didn’t enjoy this book.
First. If you’re thinking about this for a “spooky season read” - it’s the wrong vibe. It would be far better suited to reading around December if you’re the type who believes that the winter holidays are for ghost stories.
Second. The writing was good. It was just that there was so damn much happening in the book. This could have been two different stories. Instead it was two or three badly combined stories to try and make one massive one and it was annoying and pointless.
Third. I wasn’t haunted or horrified by anything in the book. The constant use of “Christmasland” and the bad guy base really undercut anything terrible or horrific in the story. It didn’t feel haunting. It felt corny.
Fourth. By basically blasting us with “magic” right off the bat anything haunting or supernatural about the story - and the attempt to use the horror trope of “did it happen or is the main character just going crazy” was nullified. If 50% of the character have the power, it’s not going to work in that trope. Or at least. Not the way this book was written.
Fifth. Man. I didn’t care about the characters. I thought I did. I started to. There was a whole bunch of good starts and decent runs in the plot and then it was just. Ugh. Drag on or go back to the goofy shit and I was just not into it.
Sixth. I stand by that there’s two really good different books in this story and the trying to smoosh them together into something long and coherent is what ruined this book.
First. If you’re thinking about this for a “spooky season read” - it’s the wrong vibe. It would be far better suited to reading around December if you’re the type who believes that the winter holidays are for ghost stories.
Second. The writing was good. It was just that there was so damn much happening in the book. This could have been two different stories. Instead it was two or three badly combined stories to try and make one massive one and it was annoying and pointless.
Third. I wasn’t haunted or horrified by anything in the book. The constant use of “Christmasland” and the bad guy base really undercut anything terrible or horrific in the story. It didn’t feel haunting. It felt corny.
Fourth. By basically blasting us with “magic” right off the bat anything haunting or supernatural about the story - and the attempt to use the horror trope of “did it happen or is the main character just going crazy” was nullified. If 50% of the character have the power, it’s not going to work in that trope. Or at least. Not the way this book was written.
Fifth. Man. I didn’t care about the characters. I thought I did. I started to. There was a whole bunch of good starts and decent runs in the plot and then it was just. Ugh. Drag on or go back to the goofy shit and I was just not into it.
Sixth. I stand by that there’s two really good different books in this story and the trying to smoosh them together into something long and coherent is what ruined this book.
erinfhill's review against another edition
4.0
I finished all 995 pages of this book in five days so yeah, it’s pretty good.
cheekybaguette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
brg1998's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, not crazy about it. I didn't even finish it. I skipped ahead to the end to see if the characters I did like made it through okay and then returned it to the library. The premise sounded great, I love the genre, love Stephen King, just did not love this book. I didn't like Victoria, so it was hard to sympathise with her. I did like some of the secondary characters and almost read it through just for them, but it became annoying because I felt no connection to the main character. The writing seemed choppy at times, the story moved too slowly in parts and the ending a chapter mid-sentence just to pick it back up in the next chapter's title was irritating. I kept thinking my book was defective.
I do want to read some of his other books. I think he's a good writer, I just didn't like this story.
I do want to read some of his other books. I think he's a good writer, I just didn't like this story.
remjunior's review against another edition
5.0
The comparisons to Stephen King are inevitable, but it is almost certainly a compliment. In many ways, Joe Hill feels like a more balanced writer than King and the ending is appropriate.
On to the important stuff. News flash: JOE HILL CAN WRITE HORROR! This is a seriously good book because there is the obvious horror/fantasy aspect of it, but there is the other story of Vic and her struggles with mental illness and addictions. Spoilers follow. She doesn't make it out alive. The heroic journey in this case ends with the hero being broken or destroyed to save her son and it is a beautiful way to close the novel.
This is a story about redemption, about parent-child relationships and becoming someone better than our parents before. That is the basis for the book, and we even glimpse it with Manx the villain.
I highly recommend this if you like good fiction, especially a good horror novel. As a side note, I especially liked the nods to King's larger world (the true knot, Derry, etc.).
On to the important stuff. News flash: JOE HILL CAN WRITE HORROR! This is a seriously good book because there is the obvious horror/fantasy aspect of it, but there is the other story of Vic and her struggles with mental illness and addictions. Spoilers follow. She doesn't make it out alive. The heroic journey in this case ends with the hero being broken or destroyed to save her son and it is a beautiful way to close the novel.
This is a story about redemption, about parent-child relationships and becoming someone better than our parents before. That is the basis for the book, and we even glimpse it with Manx the villain.
I highly recommend this if you like good fiction, especially a good horror novel. As a side note, I especially liked the nods to King's larger world (the true knot, Derry, etc.).
lisac82's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I had a slow start to reading this book. Given who is father is, I had very big expectations and I just couldn’t imagine Joe Hill would live up to those. I was 100% wrong and, for once, happy to be so. The book is incredible. Every moment leaving you breathless, wondering just WHAT was going to happen next. Intertwined with the horror is a story of childhood, broken stories, and love. Especially love for a parent and their children. I hated when I had to put the book down to work, eat, or sleep, lol. I would give this 10 stars if that was an option. Please, if you’ve been slow to move on this story, GO!! Read it now and you won’t regret it. I can’t read to read more of his books!!