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

Overcomes its flaws to be a great read

Initially, I was annoyed and even a little weirded out by Hill’s adherence to his father’s writing style and plot tropes (even the sex scenes are classic King... gross).
But as the novel went on, Hill’s ambitions to write a mature and enthralling novel became clear. Around the third act of the book (the Fire Sermon), the scenes tighten, the characters deepen, and the pace becomes unstoppable. By the end of the novel, Hill is tossing philosophy and theology into the mix deftly, sounding more like Neil Gaiman than Stephen King.

One last point I can’t help making: Hill seems to want to write fiction that represents women in a positive and complex way, but he has a deeply antiquated way of using them in his writing that belies a more basic view: they seem to either be vipers or pure damsels in distress. There isn’t a single female character that isn’t one or the other. This completely undermines many of the feminist sentiments hinted at in the book. Without this flaw, the book would easily stand up alongside his father’s best writing, but the glaring hypocrisy evident in this disconnect leaves too much of a bitter taste in the mouth.

Mystical

Another good Joe Hill thriller. For me this is one was more fantastical than the others.

Ig, our main character looses the love of his life and after a year or so of drinking and no meaningful relationships he wakes up one morning with small horns growing out of his head. Mysteriously no one is freaked out by the fact and whomever he comes in contact with want to tell him their most horrible acts and feelings. Ig, all in all is a good person and is finding the people he has known and loved all of his life disgust and appall him.

His lifetime girlfriend was raped and murdered and even though they had no evidence pointing to him, everyone thinks he did it. Now that he has the horns and there many abilities he sets off to set the story straight. I good paced, well narrated story and I am looking forward to watching it on TV staring Daniel Radcliffe.

good and weird

this is the first Joe Hill book I read. he has a similar style to his dad but not the same, his is his own flavor which is excellent. I actually wouldn't categorize this book as horror, it was suspense which isnt the same but still quite good, I was riveted and he kept me wanting to read.

pleasant surprise

its genetic loved the characters and the plot it has that certain reality that joes dad puts in

GREAT!

I loved this book. The story is awesome and the narration is top notch. This is very worth the credit.

Best ending ever!!!

No spoilers the book is amazing! Definitely worth a listen Joe Hill is my new go to

Joe Hill is Great!!!

The story just got hold of me from the first pages, and it never let go!
I read "Heart Shaped Box", and was anxious for Hill's next novel. Not disappointed!!

Weird story

The writing was sophisticated and paints the visual imagery with great skill. The narration was equally perfect. But the story is disturbing, rather sacrilegious, and I didn’t find it satisfying.

May not be for everyone.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definately recommend this audiobook. There is a lot of humor, a lot of horror and a lot that can make you think. I thought the ending tied things up nicely. However, in my own opinion there were a few parts that were very difficult to listen to, I almost wanted to fast forward past them. This is one of those books that point out that the true monsters are people. And sometimes circumstances can change you drastically.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character was my favorite. I liked him and felt his pain.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Foundry scene near the end.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes. The story horrified me. At times I was totally disgusted by the thoughts the characters were having, and events that were occurring. But there were also scenes that were very funny also. I think I experienced just about every emotion with this audiobook.

Any additional comments?

I listened to Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill and really enjoyed it. It was the kind of spooky horror I expected. This book was not what I expected, and showed me a different kind of horror. Based on my comments above it may not appear that I enjoyed the book, but I did enjoy it so much. I became invested in the story and the characters. The book was very good at pointing out the evil that people do, and I didn't expect it to affect me the way it did. I kept thinking you never know the real person inside, you never know what people are hiding behind the lovely mask. In a way it is a very powerful book. I couldn't stop listening, even when I wanted to.

Wow

This book was great I'm so glad that I picked it up. I've become a fan of Joehill. Thanks Audible for continuing to put out such great reads/listens. I was thrilled and I can't wait for my next credit.