Book Review - Horns by Joe Hill

Horns is Joe Hill’s follow up novel to Heart-Shaped Box. I was blown away by Heart-Shaped Box and I was highly anticipating the release of Horns. Overall this is a truly excellent novel. Mr. Hill did not suffer a sophomore slump with Horns and in fact, this novel demonstrates that Mr. Hill’s talent as writer is growing exponentially and he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

The story starts with an interesting concept. The main character, Ignatius “Ig” Perrish, wakes up one morning after a bender to discover horns growing from his forehead. Soon after everyone he runs into is telling him their deep dark secrets. This really sucks when your parents tell you that they no longer want you around or your priest tells you that he thinks you’re guilty of your girlfriend’s murder. Ig’s long time girlfriend was raped and murdered about a year prior to the beginning of the story. Everyone in the small town thinks Ig was responsible for her murder but there was not enough evidence for a conviction. Now Ig has the power to force people to tell him what really happened, unfortunately some secrets should stay buried.

In the end, Horns is a simple tale of revenge but very complex in its execution. But it is the characters that are the very heart of this novel as they are so well illustrated that they actually feel like friends and family. When they are in pain, the reader feels their pain. Some passages of this novel are absolutely brutal. By brutal I do not mean in violent way but in an emotional way. There is entire sequence where Ig is at a restaurant with his girlfriend, Merrin Williams, and she is breaking up with him. The conversation between the characters will cause a sinking feeling in your gut especially if you have ever been dumped from a long term relationship. Don’t get me wrong, there are some passages that are extremely violent but these sequences are the central part of story, not just for violence sake.

In the mist of the story Mr. Hill also sprinkles of humor, very dark humor though. Some of the secrets, especially the nun in Ig’s church, were just laugh out funny. The more wicked sense of humor you have the funnier this book will be.

The story does jump to the several other characters to provide insight and a background for their motivations. The first jump was a little jarring. Ig is running around town trying to figure out how the horns suddenly appeared when the story jumps backwards to when he was a kid. At first the story seems to have gone off the tracks a bit but once this part is completely finished, it adds another piece to the puzzle. I found nothing in is this story that is a waste or just put in just in order to fill pages.

Secondary to the novel itself, the story questions if the devil is actually the bad guy and the one who is morally corrupt. There are some thought provoking passages of what constitutes evil, the political hatchet man who uses his faith as a shield or the man turned into a devil that allows people to be their true selves. This is not the primary focus of the story but does provide some food for thought.

There are also a couple shout outs to his dad’s work that are just fun when you read them. I really like that he is embracing his legacy and is having fun with it.

The one quibble I had with the Audio version was Fred Berman’s narration. His voice was not quit right for this type of story. Mr. Berman’s voice has a Casey Kasem style about it that sounds like he is doing a “long distance dedication” at times. I really enjoyed Stephen Lang reading Heart-Shaped Box and was hoping he would have narrated Horns.

Horns is flat out one of the best books that I have read in 2010 and easily one of the best horror type books I read in a very long time. Mr. Hill is able to expertly capture the sweetness and brutally of life in equal measures. He is a writer that everyone needs to take notice of because he is writing some of the best fiction that is being published today.