Wednesday 22 July 2015

Bibliophilia: Wraith – Joe Hill

Wraith – Joe Hill

Joe Hill is the writer behind the great, great Locke & Key. And while this wasn’t as quite good as that, it was a still a very satisfying, albeit very creepy read. The characters and their motivations were complex and well explored.

This appeared originally in novel form as N0S4A2, which I have not read.

Three jailbirds are being transferred when an escape attempt goes horribly awry. With two jail guards as hostages, one of who is badly wounded, they hole up. One of them knows someone who can help them disappear. Charlie Manx. 
Who takes them to Christmasland, the most unsettling theme park of all time. Manx, after a boyhood of trauma and an adulthood of crushing disappointments, is now an evil chauffeur, who kidnaps children and takes them to this demented funhouse, where they are transformed into something from your worst nightmares.

There is an epilogue, illustrated as well, but in a different format which deals with the grifter who unwittingly destroyed Manx’ life. It all circles round and ties it all together really well.

Lazy comparison: if Clive Barker had done The Nightmare Before Christmas.

If you like horror, this is definitely worth checking out.

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