YMMV / NOS4A2

• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Although Manx arguably crossed it long before the story started, him attempting to kill Wayne at the end particularly stands out as he has stated before that he would never harm a child.
  • Bing might command some sympathy when he joins up with Manx, but the revelation that he's been serially raping the mothers/custodial guardians of the children they "rescue" dispels it.
• Spiritual Antithesis: To The Polar Express. Both deal with children being taken to a magical land of Christmas in a mystical vehicle piloted by a man in a classical outfit designed to go complement the vehicle. However, while the former is treated with childhood wonder and takes place from the perspective of one of the children, this book is played for pure horror from the perspective of an adult dealing with missing children.
• Squick: Bing's predilection for "mommy titties".
• Woobie: Lou. He's unfailingly nice and kind to everyone and wants very much to be a hero and for his son to be proud of him. However, his life is just one endless string of failures that he didn't have the intelligence or willpower to avoid. The end, at least, sees him reunited with his son, having lost a lot of weight, and with a new girlfriend who's as nerdy as he is.
  Lou: Why am I not good at anything?