#327 ~ Horns

Horns by Joe Hill

Published by: HarperCollins

Published on: March 2011

Page Count: 416

Genre: Horror

My Reading Format: Paperback copy I purchased through Amazon.

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook

My Review

You don’t know the definition of a rough night until you wake up the next morning to find horns growing out of the sides of your head. Yes, those kinds of horns. Ignatius Perrish has had that kind of horrible night. He can’t remember the details, but he can’t part with the consequences. Horns, as you might guess, are difficult to hide. Ig had no idea what to expect when he encountered others. What he found is that people don’t see the horns so much as they recognize him as the devil. While he might have the power to discover every one’s deepest desire and darkest sin, people can’t lie to him. More specifically, people can’t lie to him about how they feel about Ig as a person. But Ig’s not one to dwell overlong on the negative. What he really wants to do is find out who really killed Merrin, his high school sweetheart. While almost everyone believes he’s the person who raped and brutally murdered her, he now has what he needs to exact revenge on the evil beast who ruined his life.

If you follow enough readers, you’ll soon discover retweets containing something insightful or hilarious from @joe_hill. It was true for me. After enjoying those retweets for so long it finally occurred to me (duh!) to follow him myself this year and have been retweeting him myself pretty regularly. Not long after I started following him, he began tweeting about the bookplates he was hand drawing for those who pre-ordered the paperback edition of Horns, which came out the middle of March. I immediately pre-ordered my copy and got on the list. Thus began my introduction to the work of Joe Hill.

To be honest, I was more excited about having something hand drawn by one of my favorite tweeps (who just happens to be Stephen King’s son) than I was about reading the book. After all, I don’t read a huge amount of horror even though I have spooky fun memories of reading his father’s novels in high school. The night the book arrived, though, I started reading it immediately. I couldn’t help myself. Almost immediately I had flashbacks to the day I road my bike to the library, checked out Misery and read it through the night in a single sitting. I have far too many responsibilities now to do that, but the feeling I got from Horns was very similar. I was drawn in immediately to Ig’s world. Never before have I felt anything but fear mixed with contempt for Satan. Now, there will always be empathy because all is never what it might seem.

There is so much that I enjoyed about Horns, but  it wasn’t simply a fun horror novel with gorgeous black humor. It explores what you really know about those you love, the cost of revenge and the true definition of evil. I couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like to hear your family and friends compulsively tell you what they truly think of you. Likewise, every time someone emptied the blackest regions of their soul to Ig, it made me feel sick to my stomach – not so much for what they revealed, but thinking about what I might confess myself. Hidden thoughts, feelings and actions have a dark side, but it’s in the not knowing that love exists most openly and truly.

Horns was the perfect book for me the day that it arrived.  Incidentally, what made my reading that much more fun was the time of year in which it was released. It was so decadent to sympathize with the devil during Lent. Of course, I may end up going straight to hell as a result. Still, if Ig’s the man in charge down there, I’m sure to have a good time. Horns most definitely had its moments, but it isn’t the type of horror that will make you jump at the tiniest unsuspected sounds. As the end drew near, I couldn’t help but read it late into the night. I ended the book with a reading hangover that was rewarded with the arrival of the bookplate that I’d almost forgotten about. Funny how a good book can change your priorities.

Isn't he a handsome little devil?

Before You Go…

Be sure to check out the review of Horns at Jenn’s Bookshelves. It’s a great review – and I’m not just saying that because Jenn had the good sense to quote one of my tweets… LOL!