Book Review: Horns by Joe Hill

    

 

Years ago, I discovered somehow - I cannot remember precisely how - that the writer Joe Hill was Stephen King's son.

Really, I thought.

So I started reading his stuff. Then I discovered that he does indeed have a style that is a bit reminiscent of his father. That is meant as a compliment, not as any sort of slight or anything, or a suggestion that he failed to develop his own style. In fact, his books are different than his father. There are similarities, but there are certainly differences, as well.

One of the Joe Hill books which I read many years ago was Horns. For some reason, the title stuck out in particular, intrigued me. It was a mystery what this one was about.

Recently, I reread the book. It's funny, because while it had been a long time since the last time that I read it - surely over ten years - what struck me the most as I read it again was how little of the book I actually remembered. What I do remember was that I liked it. But it felt as if this second reading was almost my first reading of the book. 

My original goal had been to finish reading it in time to write a review of the book by Halloween.

Obviously, that did not happen. I was still over one hundred pages from being done by the time that Halloween rolled around, and I simply did not come close to dedicating the day to finishing the book and then writing a blog entry. Figured that I might as well just take my time with it now.

Now, however, it feels like it is time for that review. However, not before the usual warnings.

Before I go any farther, however, let me give the usual warnings to stop reading if you intend to read this book, because there will be spoilers ahead.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this story already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning. 

Ready?

So there is this guy named Ig. He is in mourning for Merrin, a girlfriend who was murdered a year earlier. Yet part of the problem is that the entire world thinks that he is the one who murdered her. So his life has obviously reached some new depths.

Then he wakes up one morning after a drunken night, one which he does not fully remember. And when he looks at the mirror, he sees that he has grown horns on his forehead. These are not some sort of weird practical joke, either. When he reaches out to examine them with his fingers, he realizes that he can actually feel the horns, which are sensitive. At this point in the book, very early on, there are no further explanations than this. We learn a little bit more about why he might have grown those horns later on - much later on, admittedly - but the reader simply has to accept this, take it on faith, if you will. If this bothers you, my advice is to just accept it and keep reading. The author is merely taking some artistic liberties here, which he does throughout the book, as well.

He is now living with Glenna, an old high school friend who has allowed him to move into her place. They are lovers, yet there is a sense that the relationship is not all that serious. Ig is still clearly in mourning for Merrin, his old fiancé. Glenna has some issues, like wanting desperately to be loved and accepted, low self-esteem, and issues controlling her weight. Right away, she begins to casually tell Ig some deep, dark secrets which she normally would never reveal. Certainly, at least not in such a relaxed, nonchalant manner, anyway. 

Ig makes his escape, but finds that everyone seems to act strangely around him. They seem almost hypnotized by his horns and tell him their deepest, darkest secrets. Stranger still, they do not remember their encounter with him almost as soon as it is over. It is through these means, while trying to escape this nightmare, that Ig returns home and finds out some of the darkest secrets of his family members. Both of his parents believe that he did indeed kill his fiancé. They hate what the negative attention has done to the family. His own mother expresses her wish that Ig would simply go away, vanish and start a new life somewhere else. Without keeping in touch.

Then Ig runs into his brother, Terrence, who has become a Hollywood celebrity with a late night comedy and music show. It is through his brother that Ig learns who the real killer is: Lee Tourneau, his best friend. 

At least, his former best friend, that is.

Ig goes to visit Lee at his place of employment. Lee now works for a Congressman with some larger political aspirations. He also has one bad eye, which allows him not to see the horns on Ig's forehead. Also, Ig is puzzled when the horns which seem to cast a hypnotizing fog over everyone else seem to have no impact whatsoever on Lee.

Lee has an unofficial bodyguard, Eric Hannity, who was a high school classmate to both Lee and Ig. Eric clearly has it in for Ig and, in fact, his entirely family. He has bad intentions, as does Lee. They work together to get Ig. However, Ig manages to escape and regroup. He now knows to be better prepared for Lee and Eric the next time. 

Meanwhile, Ig has returned back to the foundry at the edge of a patch of woods, near a river, where he first met Merrin, and well as Glenna and Lee. A lot of memories. Ig had not specifically made a point of running away, if you will. Yet, he just kind of stayed there at the Foundry. And he finds that he now has some other special powers. Specifically, he seems to attract snakes, who follow him everywhere that he goes. At first he is horrified. Later, however, he warms to them. They become almost his only true friends in the world, he feels. 

There is a memory which comes back to Ig. It is when he and Merrin found an idyllic and seemingly professional treehouse somewhere in the woods near the Foundry. Try as he might later on, Ig never could find it again. When they visit it, it becomes one of their most intimate and magical moments together, although there is something strange that happens right towards the end. Someone begins to try and enter, banging on the door and almost managing to break through. It freaks them both out, but once they finally make their escape, there is simply no trace of anyone there. 

Very strange. 

Another confrontation with Lee and Eric is inevitable, Ig knows. Yet despite this knowledge, Ig is taken completely by surprise when Lee sneaks up on Ig while he is sleeping in the foundry. He does serious harm, then places Ig inside of his own car, the Gremlin, and sets Ig on fire before the car starts rolling down the hill and into the river. Lee watches the car catch fire and then roll into the river, where it is submerged. Lee figures that this is the end of his old friend Ig. 

However, we see that Ig has not only survived, but thrived. The horns have apparently turned him into the devil, or a devil, in more ways than one. Now, the fire actually fully restored his health. Ig then manages to escape the car, knowing that Lee likely thinks him dead. Ig has a confrontation with the father of Merrin, and knows yet another conflict with Lee is inevitable. This time, we sense that Ig will be better prepared. He is absolutely determined to kill Lee, once and for all. 

Ig returns to his new home in the Foundry. There, he is a bit surprised to get a visit from Glenna. He sends her off, advocating for her to go on with her own life and, for all intents and purposes, to forget Ig. So she leaves, but also leaves behind her phone. Ig uses this to invite Lee to the Foundry. Now he can expect the final confrontation to be to his advantage, using the element of surprise. 

Meanwhile, however, Ig is surprised by the sudden appearance of his brother Terry. Ig desperately tries to get rid of Terry, and finally has to try and hide him away when he hears Lee approach. This is the point where a lot of things happen, and fast. Terry gets bitten by one of the snakes. Meanwhile, Ig is somehow again overwhelmed, this time by Eric, who roughs him up, and then by Lee, who has a shotgun. Lee was not surprised at all and came ready, having heard from the real Glenna. So he is not taken by Ig's impersonation. Once again, he seems to be killing Ig, quite literally.

Yet Ig finally responds, effectively headbutting Lee in the gut, but with his horns piercing into Lee's belly. Ig twirls his head to tear into Lee's insides more severely, doing irreparable damage. Then, a snake crawls into Lee's mouth very quickly. Lee forgets all about his stomach issues and tries whatever he can to get the snake out of him, but it is too late. He suffocates on the snake, which blocks his breathing passage.

After that, Ig crawls outside and, with trouble, douses himself with the remaining gasoline. Then he lights himself on fire. The first time he went on fire, he turned red enough to look like he had a bad sunburn. This time, he turns an even deeper shade of red, resembling the devil more than ever. He returns to the treehouse, where he and Merrin had arguably their finest moment, where Merrin is waiting for him. They finally marry, although it was never meant for this world, for his life here on Earth. 

We also find out that the banging on the treehouse all of those years ago was the older version of Ig, trying to warn his younger self (and the young Merrin) of what will happen, to cherish what they have while it lasts, and be prepared for the disasters to come. Now, there is of course no need.

Right at the end, we see Terry return to the site of the Foundry. We learn that he has quit his successful show business career and late night talk show, and intends to start a new life in New York City. Glenna happens to be there, eating lunch. She comes often to the Foundry, but she also happens to be moving to New York City. We get the definite impression that they are attracted to one another and will soon be a romantic couple.

All in all, a fun and well-written book. Hill has the gift of character building that his father has. The situations in this book might not be believable, yet you are able to largely forget that because the characters mostly do feel realistic. It helps the reader to engage in the book. Again, not an overly serious read, but a good one nonetheless.

Highly recommended.