Horns by Joe Hill

Horns

by Joe Hill

Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with one hell of a hangover, a raging headache ...and a pair of horns growing from his temples. Once, Ig lived the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned American musician, and the younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, Ig had security and wealth and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more - he had the love of Merrin Williams, a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic. Then beautiful, vivacious Merrin was gone - raped and murdered, under inexplicable circumstances - with Ig the only suspect. He was never tried for the crime, but in the court of public opinion, Ig was and always would be guilty. Now Ig is possessed with a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look, and he means to use it to find the man 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. HORNS: It's moving, sad, often funny, redemptive, and filled with hope.

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

5 of 5 stars

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TW: Rape & Abuse

Fuck, I loved this.

It's part mystery, part horror, part psychological thriller, with romance and paranormal aspects. It's not the typical horror story but it works. It SO works. It's so human.

I have dozens of highlights, some paragraphs long, where I just loved the writing or the content. I love the thoughts on the Devil and God. I usually shy away from books with religious underpinnings or premise, seriously fuck all the urban paranormals with angels and demons, but this? This was fucking awesome. There's no moral condescending or preaching. It's human searching from the hearts of the devout while dealing in the muck of humanity.

I love how the plot twisted and creeped and the POV switched. The characters were so flawed and fucked up but I found it freeing rather than depressing. They weren't wholly evil, but as they confessed, you saw the root of their problems that caused them to "sin".

And the ending! OMFG.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 6 March, 2016: Finished reading
  • 6 March, 2016: Reviewed