It's been a while since the pages almost seemed to turn themselves as I read, and I love it when it happens. Such was the case with this book. This is the first book by Joe Hill that I've ever read, and now I have a dilemma. I want to read some of his others, but I'm afraid they won't measure up to this one. I reckon there's only one way to find out. 
 Before I get started, let me address the weird spelling of Nosferatu. NOS4A2 is a license plate number for a very Christineish kind of car. I guess I should've realized that when I looked at the cover, but I missed it. 
 I was a little leery of starting this book because Joe's daddy is Stephen King, and I'm quite the King fan. There was no way I could read this without making comparisons. After all, the bar is set pretty high, and my scrutiny was sure to be severe. I tried to remain completely objective and apply anonymity to the author, but I'm afraid I failed. However, I'm glad to report that it worked out just fine anyway. Joe doesn't quite have some of his father's finesse in making some parts of a tale come together neatly, but Jesus Christ, what a yarn! It's easily better than some of his daddy's duds, but can't touch what I consider to be damn near classics. But still, this book might even have rereadabilty; time will tell. 
 I think the best thing about this book was the main character. Victoria was simply awesome, and so believable. I love it when I can get behind a character in a book. I think they're more important than the story itself. A lot of the supporting cast was great as well, and even Manx was believable by the end, though I didn't consider him that way at first. Once some things were explained, he made much more sense, and I could totally dig it. Some of the more minor characters fell into typecast roles (Daltry), but it didn't detract from the enjoyment of the book. 
 As for the story itself: wonderful. I don't want to give any stuff away, so I won't. At first I felt like there was a lot of Clive Barker weirdness going on, but eventually everything fell into a real-world format, and my suspension of disbelief didn't have to be strained too far. 
 There were also a lot of "nice touches" in this book. A couple of reference's to King's works, actually, that excited me quite a bit. For example, Derry, ME, my favorite horrible town, appears on a map. Good stuff! 
 I was leery for getting into this book for another reason. I thought pedophilia might be a central plot element based on some things I had read, but it doesn't involve that at all. It's mentioned a couple of times, and thrown in as a possibility for some of the children, but doesn't come into play. Pedophilia is one thing I have a hard time stomaching in my stories, that and rape. There is a bit of sexual depravity at the adult level, though, from one of the bad guy's sidekicks. 
 Anyway, well done Mr. Hill. I have a feeling you'll be making quite a name of your own, and will be able to escape your father's shadow. I felt bad for Joe when I found out he was in the same line of work as his dad. After all, how could anyone measure up to that? But I think he'll do well, and I look forward to checking out his other books, and stuff that we may see in the future. Stephen King even recommended the book, which is why I got it in the first place. One could cry "nepotism!" I suppose, but Joe is worthy of the praise. 
 I highly suggest this to anyone who likes horror.