Horns

A Novel

By: Joe Hill

Narrated by: Fred Berman

Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache, and a pair of horns growing from his temples. At first, Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic. But Merrin's death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside.

Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It's time for a little revenge. It's time the devil had his due.

©2010 Joe Hill (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Devilish Fun

Joe Hill writes a lot like his dad, in my opinion, which is a very good thing. Ig, although odd, is very likable and a good friend, but those horns....

The book flows really well, with lots of twists, turns and insights into human nature and what could be going on in your loved ones minds without you knowing. Very enjoyable listen, I wanted to keep going every time I had to turn it off, you'll get hooked.

Wow!!!

So, I have not finished this wonderful train wreck. Yes, I described the novel that way. The performance is wonderful, the story, well, yes it is twisted and Joe Hill has proven that great writing runs in the blood.

Great book! Couldn't stop listening.

Would you consider the audio edition of Horns to be better than the print version?

This was an intriguing story, well thought out and action packed! I would definitely recommend this book. The only reason it is not getting a 5 star review is because I felt the ending was a bit incomplete.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I would have to say my favorite character is the horns. They put an interesting twist on old beliefs.

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

He is very well read and did great with the characters voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

A chip off the old block

Joe can weave tales that take you away to other places. This was a tale of horrible loss, murder, insanity, and the devil on all of us. It has a bittersweet ending that leaves you with a bit of hope. Another book well done, much like his father has written.

Forget About Watching the Movie—Read This Book

I absolutely love this book! Joe Hill captures human nature perfectly. The only thing I disliked about the story is that it had to end. 😞 Don’t watch the movie. They messed up the brilliance of Joe Hill’s writing.

Great story.

Had I not known he was King’s son, I would have thought he grew up reading SK’s work. I don’t know why people gripe about the ending. I thought it was perfect. Just because it’s not what you want, doesn’t mean it’s not a good ending.

Bad Narrator

I love Joe Hill, he is my favorite author. but sadly this narrator was disappointing with this book. He needs to learn to back away from the Mic or at least not take such deep breaths. Maybe reading allowed is too much for him. can't quite differentiate the characters at time's either. It was okay
...

I loved this book!

the bad reviews are probably done by people who aren't into horror. this book is definitely one of a kind. I love that it goes in depth about the bad guy instead of but touching the surface about him. gets I to his head.

love it

Great book with an amazing story and well developed characters. Also great performance. I'm always surprised when I get an emotional reaction from horror and dark fantasy books but I was in tears the entire last hour. I'm going to be revisiting this one.

its all in the title

a good read, I'm not a fan of flashbacks, this book has a LOT of them, but they all add to the story well and help push the book forward, and I don't know that I've read a book that ended better than this one did