Having been captivated by NOS4RA2 (2013), I looked forward to another story by Joe Hill (who will for many years be referred to, of course, as Stephen King’s son), so I picked Horns. Horns is an earlier work by a few years (2010); if I hadn’t known that already, I think I would have been able to tell upon reading.
Horns is a fast, entertaining read. And it’s gripping enough. It has layers of good and evil and a story just complex enough to keep twists involved and the reader engaged. And it has Hill’s wonderfully descriptive language helping the reader easily see the scenes painted. But it lacks the depth and intensity of the latter NOS4RA2. It lacks the edgy suspense and unpredictability. It lacks that magic that takes a good work of scary fiction and makes it superb. I hope this absence is merely a sign of Hill’s growth as a writer, as the latter work was beyond spectacular. Thus, I’m excited still to read more from Hill.
If you haven’t read any of Joe Hill’s pieces, I recommend you skip straight to NOS4RA2. If you read earlier works and did not find the scare you sought, try that later one again.
And if you’re looking for some entertaining fast reading, Horns is still good—-just not *as* good. 😉