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

Easy to follow

This story was very carefully put together it allows the audience to know both the present and the past of the characters without confusion. The story itself is well written, it has a sense of romance with a twist of action and some moments that might make u feel a bit eerie. I enjoyed listening to the narrator and how he used different pitches and tones as he read through the dialogue. I recommend this story to fans of stories that produce a feeling of adventure, this story will take u drifting into the book. Have fun listening!

Bad Ending

The narrator did great and probably the only reason I finished the book. The ending sucked. This book left me feeling depressed. Totally not my kind of book.

Good not great

This was a good book. I've read several of Joe Hill's books including The Fireman and N0S4A2 and this would rank third out of those. It was still a good book and was worth reading.

Guilty pleasure

This is a classic good vs. evil story, but the real villain is not wearing the horns. Thought-provoking with vivid characters, my only complaint was with a few preachy, drawn out sections that could have done with some editing - they really dragged and seemed forced. A clever pretext for the story and a few very funny parts made it worth the listen. I recommend it, especially if you are in need of a genre-bender.

Whew! Tough one to write a review for . . .

I've read Road Rage and 20th Century Ghosts - loved them. I own Heart-Shaped Box and have been trying to get through it for a couple of years with no success. I have heard great things about NOS4A2 and want to read it, but I was able to get a discounted copy of Horns. So I did.

I must admit, the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the book was hard work. There were a great many moments of very interesting reading, but they didn't seem to be coming to any kind of reasonable point. I did consider giving up and going on to something I knew I'd enjoy - but I stuck it out. I am glad I did! The myriad of short, clever anecdotes began to weave themselves into a pattern. I not only knew the characters, I knew their motivations and how the events of their lives had shaped them into the adults that were making the big decisions and acting/reacting to the (admittedly) weird *stuff* that was happening around them. For those who get a bit bored, hang in there. For those who think there are (a) too many characters or that (b) the book is too long: (a) they are ALL vital parts of the story and it would be diminished if any of them were edited out, and (b) Get Real! No matter what format you read a book in there are ways of telling its length in advance.

Joe Hill is not his father and anyone looking for SK will be disappointed. Joe Hill is a very good writer in his own right, he is much darker and his characters live extremely complicated lives (if only inside their own heads). I am not giving this book five stars because it is not Great Literature, but I am giving it a solid four stars because it is fresh, interesting and a very good read - giving the reader lots of things to think about once the book has been finished.

Enjoy!

Fun read

This is a perfect example of why I listen to audiobooks. Enjoy!

Entertaining and different.

Horns is a good quick book with some intriguing ideas along the way. Mr. Hill’s vivid and descriptive writing helps paint the picture pretty well. I enjoyed this book.

Couldn't Stop Listening

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

I didn't read the print version, but I really love listening to books and thought this recording was top notch.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ig Perrish is fascinating. At first I was engrossed in the mystery, trying to solve it along with Ig. Then I became even more engaged by Ig's transformation and found myself unable to stop listening until the book finished. It was terrible, wonderful, and darkly funny at times.

Have you listened to any of Fred Berman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of Fred Berman's other performances, but I found him to be a capable narrator. He injected life into the characters and really let me immerse myself in the world of the book.

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

I probably gasped out loud a couple times as the story took surprising twists. I know I was inwardly cheering for Ig the entire time! He's the kind of anti-hero you can really get behind.

Way Darker than the movie

Love Joe Hills writing. This one is a great story, but not his best. Still enjoyed listening to it. Looking forward to his next book being released in May of 2016. If you like a good Horror Novel this one is a must! The narrator does a good job with the characters as well.

absolutely amazing.

outstanding narrator. outstanding author. this book is my favorite of joe hill. entire book is brilliant.