Horns

Joe Hill's Horns was a helluva read. The story grips you from the start, when  Ig Perrish wakes up after a drunken night with horns inexplicably sprouting from his skull. The horns have a strange effect on those who see Ig--they cause people to tell Ig their sinful desires, as if they hope for his approval. In him, they see their own personal demons. Ig learns more than he wants to know about those closest to him, and also learns more about the unsolved murder of his girlfriend, Merrin. As Ig attempts to bring justice to the murderer of Merrin, he struggles between his newfound "devilhood" and his humanity.

“You think you know someone. But mostly you just know what you want to know.” -Joe Hill, Horns

Besides being an excellent crime novel with a surreal twist, Horns also has a theological side. It questions the devil's place; questions if he really is the bad guy he is often portrayed as. The demonified Ig certainly seems to be more superhero than villain as he tries to right wrongs. Ig muses at one point that both God and the devil punish sinners, so wouldn't make them on the same team? What he doesn't reflect on, however, is that the devil tempts people to sin. People that see the devilish Ig are urged to sin, and Ig himself gives into sinful impulses from time to time when he begins to lose his humanity. Yet Ig learns to control his devilish tendencies more strongly and proceeds to use his devilish powers for good, making him more of an anti-hero.

Horns was a skillfully told story with an interesting and vivd cast of characters. Hill's growth as a writer is apparent, as Horns is a more unique and wonderfully absurd read than his debut novel, Heart Shaped Box. While the theology in Horns may be a bit twisted, the story is still a captivating tale of murder, mystery, and the supernatural.