NOS4A2

NOS4A2 is a 2013 horror novel by author Joe Hill. It tells the story of Victoria (Vic) McQueen’s years-long struggle against the child killer Charles Manx. Hill—the son of author Stephen King—uses the novel to explore themes of parenthood, alternate realities, resilience, and forgiveness.

Content Warning: This guide and the source material reference child abduction and endangerment, as well as domestic violence.

Plot Summary

The story jumps between timelines, but it begins in 2008, as the 85-year-old Charles Manx awakens from a decade-long coma in a California prison infirmary. He threatens his nurse and tells her that her son, Josiah, should visit him in Christmasland, where he takes all his children.

The book then jumps to 1986, where protagonist Victoria McQueen (“Vic”) is exploring her inexplicable talent for finding lost things. She rides her bike through a bridge she calls the Shorter Way. The bridge takes her to the location of whatever she is looking for, such as a bracelet. However, each time she uses the bridge, it comes at a physical and mental cost. She always experiences pain or a fever during and after her excursions. During one trip, she meets an Iowa librarian named Maggie. Maggie has a set of Scrabble tiles that function similarly to the Shorter Way Bridge, but Maggie’s tiles tell her answers to specific questions.