Horns: A Novel by Joe Hill
 Book Read: March 25, 2010 | Horns: A Novel By: Joe Hill 0061147958 Published by: William Morrow Genre: Pages: 384 Author’s Website: http://joehillfiction.com Recommendable for people who: People who like fantasy/thriller… Good vs. Evil fiction |
Synopsis: {from Joe Hills website}
At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.
Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.
But Merrin’s death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .
Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster 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. . . .
My thoughts:
I really liked this book. When it comes to the whole “good vs evil” novel I am pretty much hit or miss, love it or hate it. For me this book fell in the LOVE IT category. You know when you read a book, and then afterwards you sit thinking about it. That’s a good book. There was even group discussion on this one over on Goodreads.
This book is a battle of good and evil, a love story, a story of friendship and betrayal, a murder mystery…
Im going to quote one of my posts from that discussion because it pretty much sums up my thoughts on the book.
I think what he meant was that had he not met/loved/had the love of – Merrin, the devil is the route his life would have taken. What else can become of someone who truly never KNOWS love? To not know love, to not know happiness? Happiness and self esteem allow for selflessness and the ability to "follow the right path" and "make the right choices". If you are unhappy in life, unhappy with self, you dont care about the choices or consequences….
But he did meet her and have her for a time, so rather then just be – he became more.
Then, GOD took away the one thing he cherished, and he felt like he’d "peeked behind the curtain". He no longer saw GOD as the LOVING GOD, and the opposite of the faithful is the unfaithful. Which is what he became without Merrin. The Devil (the ultimate opposite of the faithful) with a soul, a conscience, a knowledge. The Devil in the blue dress. heh.
whoa – I think I’ve had enough coffee for today. 🙂
I definitely recommend this book to people who like supernatural stories, thrillers, mysteries, and romance.