Almost everybody in town believed that Ignatius “Ig” Perrish raped and killed his girlfriend. The tragedy and the accusation sends Ig’s life into a spiral of chaos, until one morning, he wakes up to discover horns grown on his head. To Ig, it made sense in a twisted kind of way, the horns merely being a visible symbol of what was churning up inside of him. However, they seem to have a curious effect on those around him, prompting them to reveal their most evil thoughts and desires.

Even though “Horns” begins a tad shakily, almost as if both reader and writer are testing the ground to make sure it’s solid, Joe Hill manages to switch tactics extraordinarily fast. Despite the fact that the protagonist has horns literally sprouting out of his head, Hill manages to make it sound like the most natural thing in the world. The way in which he narrates the story succeeds in engaging the reader hook, line and sinker. He manages to portray the “devil in a blue dress” with ridiculous ease.

Hill’s crowning achievement in “Horns” is its beautiful, instantly captivating structure. He wastes no time in presenting the plot, helping to keep the reader interested. The book launches straight into the action without unnecessary foreplay. The core of the story is not the “who” but the “why”. The perpetrator (who is obviously not Ig) is revealed within a hundred pages or so, but the real question that kept the readers hanging on to each word, was the reason as to why this person committed this atrocious crime.

“Horns” covers a variety of themes mostly based on human morality and the fine line between what is right and wrong. However, Hill also acknowledges a few of the baser human thoughts and feelings, such as the fear deep inside, that no one really cares about us. When Ig comes in contact with his family, they can’t help but tell him what they think of him because of the horns’ influence. Ig had some of his deepest fears confirmed within that encounter.

Through ‘Horns,’ Hill presents us with realistic characters that readers can empathize with. We all have our inner demons, and we all give in to them one way or another. What “Horns” tells us is that even through these demons inside us, we learn and live. Instead of a sobriety tale of nonsensical morals, Hill presents us with an engaging story where he acknowledges the presence of evil, but also points out the light at the end of the tunnel.

Fiction has to make sense whereas reality can simply be. The way that Hill manages to twist facets of fiction realistically shows his undeniable skill as an engaging writer. In an interesting turn of events, Hill has offered sympathy for the devil, making “Horns” innovative enough to set it apart from other works of the same genre.