Taking the pseudonym Joe Hill was
no doubt a two pronged strategy: Establish your
own reputation and don’t get pigeonholed into a particular genre. If there ever was a secret, the reader need
only to look at the picture gracing the back cover of the book to know the
truth. Joe Hill is Stephen King’s
son. Joe Hill has actually been writing
for a bit longer than I thought, and he has been responsible for several
graphic novels. Joe delivers here what
he has referred to as his "senior PhD
thesis on horror.”
I must say that his background in graphic novels was palpable
when reading this book. I was very
impressed that he was able to convey such intense visualizations to the reader,
through the use of words rather than graphical representation. Combining this talent with a writing style
that is impossible not to compare to his father’s, this book was an enjoyable
read. In King-like fashion, he even
makes several nods to characters/locations in novels by his father.
This story
centers on Victoria McQueen, or to her father, “the Brat.” Vic has the ability to traverse space via her
Raleigh Tuff Burner Bike and the “shorterway bridge.” This travel is accomplished by what is known
as “the inscape.” When Vic is young, she
uses this talent without thinking to find her mom’s jewelry or a neighbor’s
cat. As she grows older, she doubts the
ability of the shorterway bridge and starts to believe the stories she told
herself to rationalize her travels. The
antagonist of the novel is Charlie Manx, an evil man who also has the ability
to traverse the inscape by means of his own vehicle. Manx kidnaps children and takes them for a
ride in his 1938 Rolls Royce wraith. The
children are lead to believe that they are being taken to Christmasland, a
wonderful place where everything is as joyful as Christmas morning. However, traveling with Manx comes with a
heavy price, and Christmasland is not at all what it seems.
Charlie
Manx exploits simple-minded chemical plant worker, Bing, to help him anaesthetize
the children that he kidnaps with gingerbread scented Sevoflurane gas. Eventually Vic crosses paths with Charlie
Manx and narrowly escapes being kidnapped.
Her hero, Lou Carmody, picks up Vic as she flees from Manx. Manx is captured, and we jump several years ahead
to learn that Vic and Lou now have a son, Wayne. Manx manages to escape from custody and goes
after Wayne. Vic must remember how to
navigate her inscape, and accept help from old friends if she is going to
defeat Manx and his minion, Bing.
This was a
very enjoyable story that was a “pedal to the metal” type of tale. The pace quickens as the book progresses, and
the author’s talents help to drive the story to a tense and satisfying
conclusion. The author certainly has a
real talent for description and character development, much like his
father. What I found to be most
impressive was his ability to describe scenes and violence in a way that was
very easy to visualize. I would
attribute this to his prior experience in the realm of graphic novels. It is very hard not to compare Hill’s writing
to that of his father, but fortunately for Hill this book can hold a candle to
the best of his father’s work. It seems
to some extent talent is genetic, and I personally will not be so worried when
my wife reminds me that, “Stephen King isn’t going to write forever.” Check out this book, as well as his future
work. I know I will.
Rating 4.25 out of 5 Bunsen Burners
Up Next: Coma by Robin Cook
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