Horns: An Imaginative Take on Hell and Revenge

Ig Perrish wakes up one morning with a nasty hangover and discovers that he has grown a set of horns on his head. He isn’t sure what happened to him and why people are suddenly opening up to him with their evil thoughts and intentions. All he knows is that his life is a living hell that he can’t escape. His high school sweetheart is dead, and although he never went to jail for her murder, everybody in the small town of Gideon has ostracized him as her killer.

Overall, Horns was a good read but not as good as Heart Shaped Box. Joe Hill has great imagination and a gift for storytelling. His characters are vivid and interesting. The premise of this book intrigued me. While the horns symbolized Hell, it was the mindset of the characters that illustrated the concept the best.

The one thing about this book that confused me was why Ig was bestowed with those strange powers. Perhaps I missed something before I became immersed in the long flashbacks. The flashbacks from Ig and his former friend, Lee Thorneaux, added great depth to the story that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. But I felt that the transition between the main story and the flashbacks could have been smoother.

I did enjoy how he used his newfound powers to see into the minds of his enemies and exact his revenge. That was cool! There was nothing in the book that I would deem scary. Creepy and suspenseful, yes. But not scary. I also enjoyed the blend of romance and crime fiction in Horns. The ending, however, felt rushed and flat compared to Ig’s first encounter with his arch enemy.

Despite my qualms, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books with a surreal and suspenseful setting. If you’ve never read any of Joe Hill’s books, start with this one and then read Heart Shaped Box.

Related posts:

1. The Girl Who Played with Fire: Better Than the First If you haven’t read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...
2. Duma Key: Satisfyingly Creepy Stephen King draws a lot from his experience with his...
3. Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I had been wanting to read The Girl with the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.