Horns by Joe Hill

[Benni]

Anyone had the chance to read this yet? Definitely one of the best books of 2010.

[Read Blood]

Thought this was a spectacular book. I read Heart Shaped Box when it came out as well and Joe Hill definitely has some great talent for writing. You can check out my review of Horns here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/127081273

[Benni]

Thanks for linking your review! After I read Horns, I immediately added Heart Shaped Box to my to-read list. I found your rating for HSB, but interested in hearing your thoughts on that book as well.

[Read Blood]

Although it has been a little while since I read it, different things with Heart Shaped Box still stick out in my head. The book definitely has its creepy moments. But as I am finding with Joe Hill it isn't the jump out and shock you kind of creepy that will keep you up at night, unless of course it is because you can't put the book down and have to know what happens. The story follows Judas a sort of has been rock star that collects all this weird memorabilia. Well he gets his hands full when he finds a suit that is haunted by a pretty sadistic spirit of a guy named Craddock something or other. Like I said it has been a while and I should revisit it again. The is a pretty intense home music studio scene and some scenes with this rocking chair that I particularly remember. I don't want to spoil any of it for you so please, post back your review after you read it and we can discuss it further. Happy Reading!!!

[Stephan]

How horrorific is it, anyway? I mean, Horns sounded like a non-Horror reader like myself could appreciate it, but you make HSB sounds like it's full-blown horror.

[Read Blood]

Oh no, don't get me wrong. HSB is more to me like a psychological / supernatural / paranormal esque' kind of book. But in a way I guess that would be considered horror? I don't know... The book is not something like Clive Barker, Jack Ketchum (The Girl Next Door & Off Season), Richard Matheson (Hell House). This book is NO Hell House. But I have been a horror fan for just as long as I have been reading fantasy and it is really hard for me to judge what other people would consider horror. But I think that your right with your thoughts on Horns. I don't really think that would be considered horror but, to give the novel credit it deserves, there were places in it that book that were a liiiiiiiittle creepy. Benni can probably agree with me that the scene in the treehouse with Ig and his girl was a little anticipation / nervous making. Stephan, what defines horror for you?

[Marty]

One of the things I absolutely love about Joe Hill's work is that for all the horror or terror of a situation, no matter how many bad things happen, or how much utter crap the main characters have to wade through, the stories have a very large heart, and the journeys are always beautiful and bittersweet.

These are horror stories, but they have an enormous heart.

Horns is one of my top five reads of 2010. Absolutely Brilliant.

Anyone else read Locke and Key by Hill? I'll be reviewing it for the site pretty soon, hopefully.

[Benni]

I don't think Horns was a a horror horror novel, and the horror stemmed more from the horror of realizing certain depravities of human nature. But Marty is right in that in Horns, the stories do have a lot of heart.

I read the first Locke and Key and found that it was too dark and disturbing for me in terms of what I had been expecting. But now that I've read and loved Horns, I'm going to go back to reading Locke and Key again.

[Michelle]

Great review! I find the dark side of human nature is often more horrifying than the supernatural. I've been planning to read this for a while but I might get onto it soon after reading.

[Stephan]

I find the dark side of human nature is often more horrifying than the supernatural.

That is a worthy theme to explore, actually. While the supernatural can be horrifying, I find the dark side of human nature touches on reality enough to make it so scary. Yet, I feel that darkness is often overly stereotyped. In the real world, I am very much fascinated by exploring the causes of darkness, both in myself (not that I have such a huge dark side, fear not! ) and in others. People are never black and white and hardly ever willingly choose to let their dark side rule. I find that these causes are under explored in literature.

[Michelle]

That's why it's so horrifying. There are almost always causes. But that means that under certain circumstances almost anyone is capable of becoming a monster to some extent or another.
Especially me...
That last bit is mostly a joke. Mostly.

[Aloren]

I enjoyed it. I also read heart shaped box but thought Horns was better. I want to try Locke and Key but have not been able to yet. Horns just had so many very well written parts to it. Heart Shaped box was more frightening to me, but Horns had so much more depth and feeling in it IMO.

[Aldric]

I liked both a heck of a lot. I think I read Horns because of this thread. Pretty sure that's where I'd heard of it.

Heart Shaped Box was one of the scariest things I've read in a long long time. It doesn't maintain the extremely high level of terror throughout the entire book, but the first 80+ pages were so scary. I rarely find books to be truly scary, so it was a bit of a novelty for me.

I think I actually liked HSB more than Horns, but Horns was very good, and people here seem to have liked it better. I'll basically be reading anything (novel) that Joe Hill puts out from now on. Don't know that I'll ever read his graphic novels. I don't really do graphic novels.

[Aloren]

Yeah I feel the same a little. I dont know if I can get into them or not. I used to like manga as a teen but have not read any graphic novels since then. But I will be watching for him to put out anything new. I followed him on twitter. I did not know until after that he is Stephen Kings son. He used Joe Hill because he did not want any success to come from his dads name. Admirable of him and his success is deserved in its own right. I find his writing much different than his fathers. I am a fan of both now.