Horns – Joe Hill
Hachette Livre Gollancz, 2010
437 pages
RRP: AU$32.99
ISBN: 978-057-507917-5

Reviewed by Kate Smith

Horns was an interesting read, however I was initially thrown off by the blurb on the back, the phrasing of which made me imagine the story would be very different in terms of tone.  Once I had reconciled expectations and reality, I was able to settle in to enjoy a generally well written tale of a man’s journey to discover why he lost everything.

Set a year after the brutal murder of the protagonist’s girlfriend, Horns slowly unfolds events both directly related to the murder and those relating to the background of the characters.  The morning after the first anniversary of his girlfriend’s murder, Ignatius Perrish wakes up to find he has begun to grow horns.  These horns give him the power to influence people’s thoughts and make people tell him things about bad deeds or thoughts in their past.  This allows Ignatius to discover elements of events that led up to the murder.  In the course of the story, Ignatius discovers how his horns work and his skill with them grows as Ignatius himself develops.

While people freely confessing their misdeeds may appear to some readers as a clumsy device to advance the plot, the manner in which it is accomplished does not necessarily detract from the enjoyment of the story.  This also allows the author to show the murder as a product of many years and events.  As the story progresses, so does Ignatius, however the path of this transformation is not completely or convincingly smooth.  In general, though, the characters, supernatural aside, develop well.

The concept as stated on the back cover of the novel does not necessarily promise all that it provides, however it is a diverting read and an enjoyable way to pass several hours.