NOS4A2

One of my favorite things about this novel is how insightful Joe Hill is. He does an amazing job of pinpointing the exact things that are unsettling about Christmas outside of Christmas. His dialogue is specific and believable, and he does a wonderful job of crafting flawed but relatable protagonists in Lou and Vic.

Joe Hill also has no problem with poking fun of some of the tropes he uses within the structure of the story. One of the other characters refers to Manx as "using a Renfield." It's nice to see that the narration has a good sense of humor about itself, and is in on its own jokes within the horror genre.

Despite moments of levity, there are parts of this story that managed to be terrifying. Repeated threats of sexual violence and Manx and Bing's absolute conviction that they really are doing the right thing were truly upsetting. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in horror, and would be a good entry point into the genre for anyone looking to see what it's all about.