Joe Hill’s critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning debut chiller, Heart-Shaped Box, heralded the arrival of new royalty onto the dark fantasy scene. With Horns, he polishes his well-deserved crown. A twisted, terrifying new novel of psychological and supernatural suspense, Horns is a devilishly original triumph for the Ray Bradbury Fellowship recipient whose … Fellowship recipient whose story collection, 20th Century Ghosts, was also honored with a Bram Stoker Award—and whose emotionally powerful and macabre work has been praised by the New York Times as, “wild, mesmerizing, perversely witty…a Valentine from hell.”
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Being the son of Stephen King is a lot for anyone to live up to, but when you follow in your father’s footsteps and become a novelist, you can be sure that the bar is set pretty high. Not to worry, Joe Hill lives up to his father’s literary legacy and can hold his weight in the fantasy-horror genre.
Horns is one of those books whose premise is so simple, yet so deliciously complex. What if you woke up one morning with the ability to hear the thoughts of everyone around you? This is the situation Ignatius (“Ig”) Perrish finds himself in– along with a wicked hangover and a pair of horns sprouting from his head. Is it a hallucination? Has he finally snapped? No one would doubt it. Ig’s comfortable life was destroyed the previous year when his girlfriend Merrin was raped and murdered. Ig has spent the year in a drunken stupor under a cloud of suspicion. But the horns are real, as are the awful thoughts of the people around him. The only question is, can his newfound talent lead him to Merrin’s killer?
This is a beautiful, brutal novel that is at turns funny and disturbing. I loved it– and am now a Stephen King AND Joe Hill fan!
What would you do if you could pull out everyone’s worst fears & secrets? Would you use it to your advantage? Or would it drive you crazy?
This is my favorite Joe Hill book (and I like them all), as it delves into the dark areas that everyone has, and gives a look into the psyche of a man whom everyone else perceives as the villain.
This book was psychotic, sad, humorous, mysterious, and did I say psychotic? Imagine waking up with a pair of horns growing out of your head and every person you encounter suddenly has a compulsion to tell you their darkest thoughts and actions. Twilight Zone is a kid’s show compared to this!
After pissing his pants, the main character: Ig decides to make the best of this unbelievable situation. The love of his life was murdered and he didn’t do it. But lucky for him, he can find out who did. Process of elimination…Ig’s got a whole bunch of ugly to get through. Joe Hill’s writing engaged me from the first chapter. I mean, I couldn’t believe what I was reading but I loved it! The beginning is incredibly dark, the middle is a lot of flashback content (some helpful but most was very long-winded and unnecessary IMO), and the end is a fast ride on the highway to hell…literally.
Horns was a great horror novel that I enjoyed very much. It had its highs and lows but I would definitely recommend it to fans of the genre. It has been adapted to film and TGIF because I’m watching it this weekend!
My favorite quote:
“You think you know someone. But mostly you just know what you want to know.”
I had read another of Joe Hills’ books prior to this but was a little unprepared for this one. I really didn’t know what to expect, and at first was a little sceptical. But even just a few pages in found that I was hooked. A terrific book, greatly recommend it
Only Joe Hill book so far that kept me in bed two days straight, unable to stop reading. Excellent blend of horror and humor. There is a certain plot trope that I usually hate, but in this case it was handled fairly well.
Story about love gone wrong but with a twist. Young man wakes up thinking he did something wrong after a night of drinking and finds he has grown horns. He discovers that no one can see them but him and he has the power to make people admit things that they have done. He goes around his town trying to find out who has killed his childhood sweetheart. The book is filled with crazy twists and is both a little dark and scary, but what would you expect from Steven Kings son.
This was the first book I read as an ebook on the tiny screen of my phone… and it sucked me in so completely, so immediately, and held on so tight, I completely forgot I was reading it on a tiny little screen. Great book…
I just finished this book. Horns had many twists and turns I did not see coming, I love that! It was easy to care for and root for the characters. In other books, it is not always easy to understand what the lead character is thinking or feeling, then to be able to understand the thought process that brought them to the place where they find themselves is a rare gift. This is the second book by Joe Hill I have read and I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to more by this author.
I was initially put off reading this because the book cover I saw had Harry Potter with horns on his head…yeah, no. I should have remembered the old adage: Never Judge a Book by it’s Cover!
Yet knowing how much I enjoyed NOS4A2, I gave it a shot.
Glad I did!
What a fun, twisted tale this was!
What a fun, unexpected read.
3.5 Rounded to 4
I absolutely loved NOS4A2 so I was all over this one for my 2020 Spooktober reads, howeverI didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. For me, it definitely didn’t live up to all the hype I’ve seen.
I wasn’t invested in this story and had a hard time finishing it. It was slow and bland more than thrilling. Of course, being a horror, there are the scattered shock scenes thrown in, but even those were just ok.
He’s a good writer and I know, just like his dad, I won’t enjoy all of the books he writes so this will just be chalked up to a read but kinda wish I skipped
The movie is fantastic, and the book is better. Yes, there are differences between the two. Everyone thinks Izzy is guilty of his girlfriend’s murder, even though there’s no hard evidence. Then he wakes up one morning with horns growing from his head. Nobody remarks on them (or even sees them) unless he persists, but the horns have their own devilish influence- anyone Izzy talks to says everything they’re thinking. It’s helpful to him, since he’s looking for Marren’s real killer. Very original, spooky, and even a sort of happy-ever-after,
didn’t like it. returned it.
I love horror/fantasy and this book checks all my boxes. I just did a re-read last weekend and remembered exactly why I love this book so much. A unique story told by a great author. Amazing character development and a story that you feel you are part of as you read.
Joe Hill is a fantastic writer!
This is Joe Hilo’s second book and he weaves a story worthy of being the son of Stephen King.
This is the second Joe Hill book I’ve read (the first being Heart-Shaped Box) and I absolutely loved it. It’s an intriguing blend of fantasy, crime, mystery, religion, and psychological horror. It throws you into a world of loss, grief and sin. You experience the main character’s childhood love and trauma, his utterly satisfying transformation into the devil (or demon) himself…and a truly terrifying antagonist that is all to easy to imagine in today’s society. This book will stick with me for a while. It is adult and graphic, along with Mr. Hill’s other work, so keep that in mind before reading. Now I’m off to read Mr. Hill’s other works!
Ugh. I picked this up because I LOVED the movie. Let’s just say, the book is not the movie. Yes, the basic story is there, but it’s told in such a convoluted and repetitious way I couldn’t bear to finish it.
The book starts out strong with Ig waking up after a rough night to find horns sprouting from his head and people telling him their deepest darkest desires. You really start to feel for Ig (whose girlfriend has been murdered) when he goes to his parents and learns they think (because they can’t help but be brutally honest thanks to Ig’s new powers) he’s the murderer (as does most of the town).
Then, you’re thrown into a LOOOONNNGGGG string of flashbacks/backstory that completely yank you out of the story. I kept wanting to care about Ig’s story, but the backstory goes on too long and is revealed in such a weird, disorderly jumble I wondered if Hill simply tossed his chapters up in the air and then randomly selected their order.
It could have been a really strong novel had the flashbacks been interspersed better with the “Now” story, but instead they went on too long and both sides of the story lost their momentum.
Original and haunting describe this one perfectly. If you haven’t read all available Joe Hill books, do so immediately. He is an incredible talent!
There must be something in the DNA. Joe Hill certainly inherited a unique talent from his father