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Horns: A Novel
Horns (book)

A book by Joe Hill

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Devil or Angel?

  • Jun 10, 2010
  • by
Rating:
+4
Ig Parrish did something terribly wrong last night. The problem is that, with the exception of one of two rather vague details, he cannot remember exactly what he did to earn the devil's horns that have suddenly sprouted from the top of his head. Ig does remember spending much of the night ranting about God and organized religion at the base of the isolated old tree under which his girlfriend had been murdered just a year ago. Now, unlike the hangover he had every reason to expect, he understands these horns won't go away by the end of the day.

He thinks maybe he deserves his new horns. After all, local law enforcement officers and just about everyone else in his home town believe that he has gotten away with the brutal rape and murder of his longtime girlfriend. Even Ig's parents are fairly sure that he did it, something he only learned accidentally by allowing his parents to see the new horns atop his head. The horns seem to compel others to speak aloud their deepest secrets - something they will not remember doing as soon as Ig and his horns are out of sight.

"Horns" is about Ig Parrish, an empathetic young man whose loyalty to someone who saved his life a decade earlier will come back to bite him over and over again. He has only ever loved one woman, a relationship that began when Ig met her in church when they were both fifteen years old. Suddenly, on one terrible night, she was snatched from him forever. But now, with the help of his new horns, Ig just might be able to make someone pay for what they did - or maybe not.

I almost gave up on this one. There is enough of what I consider to be a rather juvenile type of humor of the "gross out" variety that I was bored with the first quarter of the book. Then, Hill's humor became more subtle and the characters, although they are never all that realistic, became somewhat more believable. "Horns" has an intricate plot, one told by flashbacks in which the same action is sometimes recounted from more than one point-of-view. That device often works well for Hill but I was frustrated by the occasions when the repeating of a scene provided very little new information to the reader and only seemed to pad the book's almost 400-page length.

Hill, though, ties everything together in a satisfying ending that is well written and almost explains why Ig Parrish was gifted with his own pair of devil's horns. Frankly, this one turned out to be much better than I would have bet after reading its first 100 pages.

Rated at: 3.5

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More Horns (book) reviews
review by . February 06, 2011
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
   Ig Perrish is having what can only be described as a Very Bad Day. He can't remember the previous night. Everyone he meets is suddenly compelled to tell him all their most secret, terrible thoughts, from his girlfriend's confession of what she did with his best friend to his mother's revelation of how seeing him makes her feel.      Oh, and he has horns growing from his forehead. Horns hard as bone, painfully stretching the skin.      …
review by . June 15, 2010
I have to say that I am glad that Joe Hill has a different last name than his famous father Stephen King. With that said, I may have been a little tempted to read this because of the association, but let no one be confused, this is not some spoiled son given the clear path to a published career.   The premise may sound hokey, OK, very hokey. A guy wakes up with horns. Of course, you can guess a few things from there, he's the devil, he can make people do evil things,  he must …
review by . June 30, 2010
Most people have wished at some point in their lives for the ability to know what another person is thinking or feeling about them. Ig Perrish has just received that gift, and it's not working out so well. Couple that with the new set of horns that Perrish woke up with, and Perrish's life is headed downhill at terminal velocity. But at least his new abilities will help him figure out who really killed his girlfriend on a cold rainy night a year ago. That's the storyline in Joe Hill's latest horror …
review by . June 03, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
   Great summer read (and great non-summer read as well) by Stephen King's kid Joe Hill. Hill got famous anonymously before people knew he was related to the master of horror, which was a classy anti-nepotism move, and is frankly a great writer. I want to say that his writing reminds me somehow of Will Self, although it's not so much the technique that is similar as the effortless feel of the prose. Crazy, weird things happen and are treated almost casually, as if they were commonplace, …
Quick Tip by . June 19, 2010
good
Quick Tip by . June 16, 2010
this is exciting!
Quick Tip by . June 16, 2010
An interesting read with a novel story. Generally good summer reading.
Quick Tip by . June 12, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Not as good as his first book- some REALLY great ideas, but bogged down with unoriginal junk. Not as horror as you might think considering the pedigree
review by . April 27, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Ignatius ("Ig") Perrish wakes up one morning with the mother of all hangovers. He has no idea of what he did, but he is sure that it was bad. That is not as shocking as what he sees in the mirror; it's him, alright, peering back, but there are also horns sprouting from his temples.       Not sure what to do, or where to turn, Ig heads over to the hospital. People see the horns, but do not make any issue with them. However, Ig finds that those he comes into contact with, …
review by . March 26, 2010
Joe Hill is an author like no other that I have read before - and believe me when I say that I have read plenty, lol! This is a man that can write the most twisted of scenes one minute and then the most human of scenes the next minute. After reading Heart-Shaped Box, I was instantly hooked on Mr. Hill's writing style. Needless to say that when I found out about this newest release, Horns, I grabbed it and gobbled it up right away.     Blending horror and paranormal, Joe Hill …
see all Horns (book) reviews (12)
About the reviewer
Sam Sattler ()
Ranked #288
Oil company professional of almost 40 years experience who has worked in oil-producing countries around the world. I love books, baseball and bluegrass music and hope to dedicate myself to those hobbies … more
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About this book

Wiki

Best known for his terrifying (really) debut novel, Heart-Shaped Box, and his famous dad, Joe Hill continues to make a name for himself withHorns, a dark, funny exploration of love, grief, and the nature of good and evil. Ignatius William Perrish wakes up bleary and confused after a night of drinking and "doing terrible things" to find he has grown horns. In addition to being horribly unsightly, these inflamed protuberances give Ig an equally ugly power--if he thinks hard enough, he can make people admit things (intimate, embarrassing, I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that details). This bizarre affliction is of particular use to Ig, who is still grieving over the murder of his childhood sweetheart (a grisly act the entire town, including his family, believes he committed).Hornsis a wickedly fun read, and reveals Hill's uncanny knack for creating alluring characters and a riveting plot. Ig's attempts to track down the killer result in hilariously inappropriate admissions from the community, heartbreaking confessions from his own family, and of course, one hell of a showdown.--Daphne Durham
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Details

ISBN-10: 0061147958
ISBN-13: 978-0061147951
Author: Joe Hill
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
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