NOS4A2

Joe Hill is the pen name of the horror writer Joseph King, son of the famous author Stephen King. Prior to 2007, Hill did not let his real name appear on his writing because he wanted his work to be read, critiqued, enjoyed, or ignored on its own merits, not because his father is one of the most successful American authors to ever live. In 2007, with the publication of his first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, Hill confirmed his identity.

Although Hill has not been as prolific as his father, their works share many of the same characteristics. Hill has primarily written horror novels and stories, although some of his works could be classified as hybrids of horror and dark fantasy. NOS4A2 is an acclaimed work of horror, but if it had been released as a Stephen King novel, no one would have thought it uncharacteristic of him.

Like his father, Hill has an interest in multiple realities, small towns filled with dark secrets, malicious entities that prey on children, seemingly benign objects that contain sinister forces, and books with vast page counts. He is also a writer who delights in fan service, leaving frequent Easter eggs across his work that reference various products of pop culture, including music, pulp novels, and even creating links between his works and the literary universe created by Stephen King. For instance, one of the alternate realities in NOS4A2 is called PENNYWISE CIRCUS, named after the clown in It, which terrorizes the children in the town of Derry.

NOS4A2 is a provocative twist on the classic vampire myth, which is made clear by featuring the silent film Nosferatu as a critical piece of the backstory of the book’s villain, and of the license plates on his car, which also serves as the book’s title. In a literary universe that has enriched vampire-inclined authors like Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series, Hill has, in NOS4A2, an original spin on the vampire lore. His antagonist, Charles Manx, is a vampire who does not drink the blood of his victims. Rather, he drains the humanity of children, turning them into vicious, heartless killers who live in a space known as Christmasland, which exists primarily in Manx’s head. Like Dracula, Manx requires an “unstable,” loyal assistant, who appears in the form of Bing Partridge, a 42-year-old man who is obsessed with recreating the joy he felt on his favorite Christmas as a child. Together, they pursue a goal of delivering 100 children to Christmasland, to protect the children from future suffering, which Manx insists should be the goal of any dutiful parent.

NOS4A2 was adapted into a television series on AMC. The show starred Zachary Quinto as Manx and ran for two seasons before being canceled. Despite largely positive reviews, the show was not as acclaimed by viewers as the novel was by readers. Hill has had great success in other formats, including the comic book series Locke & Key, which was adapted for Netflix, and the short story The Black Phone, which was adapted into a film starring Ethan Hawke. Hill has made a well-deserved name for himself in the literary world, regardless of which name he chooses to write under.