Audio review: Horns by Joe Hill

Ig Parrish has been living in hell. The murder of his high school sweetheart left him the prime suspect and while there was never enough evidence to convict him -- probably because he's innocent -- that's not stopped everyone around him from being certain of his guilt. But when Ig wakes up with horns, everything changes. At first he's not even sure they're real, but then everyone around him starts revealing their darkest, most private thoughts and desires. Ig's shaken but he soon realizes the power his horns wield and it might mean finally finding the person behind Merrin's murder. 

Joe Hill knows how to tell a truly twisted and entertaining story. Horns is at once disturbing and disturbingly funny. Latest news is that the movie is set for production and Daniel Radcliffe is set to play Ig. Seems like and odd but intriguing choice to be sure. I'm pretty anxious to see it on the big screen, though.

Per my audio MO, I listed to the majority of this one on audio before switching to the physical copy for the last 1/4 of the story. Narrator Fred Berman does a really fabulous job here injecting just the right amount of emotion and sarcasm into the reading. I also appreciated his pacing in reading and his attempts to change voice with new characters. It was quite amusing and appropriate for the tone of Hill's story.

If you're a horror fan and you're not reading Joe Hill yet, I just have to ask, why the heck not? The guy comes from a legacy of horror! And it's really hard not to point that out. He definitely stands alone and there's no need at all to mention his dad in reviews but any horror fan worth their salt would have to run out and buy Hill in finding out that he's King's son. So far I've read all of his novels, his short story collection (which is utterly superb), and his name on any anthology is enough to make me buy it. I'd really hoped Locke & Key would make it through the pilot process, too. Sadly it seems it's not to be. Oh, well, I'll live. I hear Hill has a new book in the works (and his brother does, too).