Search - Horns

Wow! I really enjoyed this book! I literally could not put it down! It had a terrific plot, wonderful characters and a devilishly different premise (ha-ha). Seriously, I cannot get over how much Hill's writing as improved since his debut novel, _Heart-Shaped Box_. It is so rare for a a second novel to outshine the first by this much! I really enjoyed it!! It was a more mature book, and I am very interested to see what Hill writes next!

first book by this author and not impressed at all--so much filthy language and the story started out pretty good but then he reverted to the past and it was so boring that I lost interest and just quit, tried to fast forward a time or two but couldn't get back into the story line after so much awful language and so many boring pages.

I also could literally not put this book down. I woke up early just to see where it would go next. So much to think about with this one. Mr. Hill's writing is superb. Long time since I read about characters who really mattered as much as these. you will be thinking about the ideas brought forth in this murder mystery long time after you finish reading it. What the devil did you think from Stephen King's son??? hee hee hee.

I thought this book was terrific. Dense plotting, interesting characters, and a touching, if very dark, story. It's not for the feint of heart. I only take a half point off because there are moments, particularly during the flashback portions, when the pace slackens a little.

Ig Perrish and Merrin Williams were the perfect couple. Their love was the love that everyone wants but very few people get. But one horrible night Merrin is raped and murdered, and Ig is the prime suspect. They’d just had a lover’s quarrel. Ig was never found guilty, but he was never cleared either. Now a year later Ig wakes up to discover horns coming out of the top of his head. Horns that make everyone who sees them tell him their deepest and darkest desires and secrets.

Hill's writing on the sentence level is gorgeous. He eloquently evokes everything about small New Hampshire towns. He also is talented at drawing three-dimensional male characters; the females are not as well-done, however.

Yet, the story itself fell apart at the end for me. Where it started out as a literary paranormal suspense, at the end it becomes something Nicholas Sparks would write if he was on crack. I, honestly, was not expecting a tragic love story. I was expecting horror and demons and the worst of humanity. I can only handle mushiness if I'm expecting it, and honestly the ending just felt so ordinary compared to the rest of the book.

It’s hard to categorize this book. It’s definitely not the horror book I was imagining. I’d call it literary paranormal suspense. It’s a classic tragedy wrapped in mystery and the paranormal. It didn’t work for me, because, well, classic love tragedies tend not to. However, I could see some people loving it. Perhaps people who loved The Notebook and paranormal romance equally well.

Check out my full review.

I read Heart-Shaped Box and really liked it... I've read Horns and LOVED IT! The amount of maturation and sophistication that is in this latest from Joe Hill is stunning! It carries on the family legacy without copying his dad. Much like his dad, the most obvious bad guy is really not the worst, and you will find yourself rooting for him much as you did for Tony Soprano. I highly recommend this book...I couldn't put it down!