Horns by Joe Hill. It was by chance, before I read the book, that I caught an interview on a late night show with Mr. Hill, did I learn that Mr. Hill was in fact, Mr. King. Joe King, son of Stephen King. I spent most of my teenage years slightly obsessed with Stephen King. Joe Hill wanted to use the pseudonym to separate his work from that of his father’s so it could stand on its own merit. And boy, does it ever.
I adore this book. It took me forever to get through it, but holidays and the end of a semester work/exams threw me off. Sometimes, being an adult sucks. But this book was amazing. Strong characters, plot twists, love and murder. Just when you think you know where it’s going, the table flips.
The story begins with main character, Ignatius “Ig” Perrish, young 20-something, waking after a night in a drunken stupor and a killer hangover. He looks in the mirror and discovers he is sprouting what appear to be horns from his temples. Naturally, he freaks out a bit and slowly discovers these horns give him special powers, which he hones as the story goes on. We also learn that Ig’s beloved girlfriend, Merrin, was raped and murdered, and poor Ig is the prime suspect. He knows he didn’t do it and sets out to find out the truth – what happened to Merrin?
Horns is not your usual “Good vs. Evil” story. There are points that made me think, “Hey, wait-a-minute here… that makes sense.” It does revolve a lot around “God vs. Satan” and can God be evil and Satan be good?
“God loves man, we are told, but love must be proved by facts, not reasons. If you were in a boat and did not save a drowning man, you would burn in Hell for certain; yet God, in his wisdom, feels no need to use His power to save anyone from a single moment of suffering, and in spite of his inaction He is celebrated and revered. Show me the moral logic in it. You can’t. There is none. Only the devil operates with any reason, promising to punish those who would make earth itself Hell for those who dare to love and feel”
“Him and God are supposed to be at war with each other. But if God hates sin and Satan punishes the sinners, aren’t they working the same side of the street? Aren’t the judge and the executioner on the same team?”
Ig struggles with figuring all this out and feeling comfortable with what he is becoming and learning that other people’s truths are not always what they perceive to be.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, I’m excited to for the story-line, but I’m a little disgruntled in some of the character casting. The casting of Lee Tourneau was way off. Read the book, you will see what I mean!