Book review: 'Horns' by Joe Hill

Joe Hill's 'Horns' was recommended to me by my boyfriend, who couldn't stop raving about it. For a couple of months I put it aside, since I had a huge pile of books waiting to be read. But two weeks ago I finally picked it up, wondering what all the fuss was about. Well....the book didn't disappoint me! In fact, it really blew me away.

Ever since I was a kid I have been a devoted fan of Stephen King's books, especially his horror stories. When I heard that 'Joe Hill' was just a pseudonym and the writer was actually Stephen King's son, I was sceptical. How could he ever come close to his father's accomplishments? But I was just as surprised as many of the critics (who hadn't been told at first who Joe Hill really was) that King's son has true, unmistakable talent. He obviously inherited his father's love for the darker tale, but in writing he has a distinctive style of his own. I even thought it was better than his father's! The structure of the story is more coherent  than I've ever seen in Stephen King's books and there are frequent unexpected plot twists. The main characters really grew on me and I even shed a few tears. But most of all, the story was incredibly fascinating to read! A mystery, a battle between good and evil, a love story. And all this brought with a generous dose of dark humor! 

(Source: http://horrorhomework.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Joe-Hill-reads-from-Horns.jpg)

The story is about Ig, a guy who's girlfriend Merrin has been violently killed. Many believe him to be the murderer, even though he is obviously crazy in love with her. One day, he wakes up with horns. (What?! Yes... horns!) They do not just make him look like a demon, but also cause whoever lays eyes upon him to tell him their deepest desires. Using his new skills, Ig tries to find out who killed Merrin. During the process however he slowly starts to show typical diabolical behaviour. Is he turning into the devil himself, or are good and evil closely intertwined?
There are many playful references to the devil in this book (lyrics of various rock songs, snakes, matches, even a pitchfork!) and they make the story even more fun to read. At the same time, the book makes you wonder about good and evil and what really defines these concepts.
If you want to read an exciting, dark, romantic, often very funny book that is superbly written, make sure not to miss out on this one!

My rating: 9.0

Book review: The Passage by Justin Cronin

About a year ago I was in a bookstore in Amsterdam and noticed this book was on discount. From the front illustration I expected a drama story (apparently I have the UK edition; the US version looks completely different), but I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a vampire novel!

Since I am a big Anne Rice fan, I tend to be a little sceptical about other modern vampire stories, especially now that teen novels such as Twilight have become so popular. I like vampires to be dark, tragic and dangerous. No sparkling please! Of course I do understand the attraction of such popular fiction and those books certainly have their merit, but I simply prefer more in-depth, well written stories.

A quote by Stephen King on the backside of the book convinced me to buy it though. As a child, I was really fond of Stephen King’s horror stories and I used to bring a huge pile of them when going abroad for the holidays. So if this book was anything like it, I was surely going to enjoy it.

And boy, how I did!!! It’s by far the best book that I’ve read in a year or longer. The story sucked me in completely and I felt a lot of sympathy for the main characters. In the beginning, the story was a bit slow. But once it got exciting, it never stopped. The post-apocalyptic world that Cronin describes is frightening, frustrating and tragic, but amazingly fascinating. There’s always something terrible happening and the enemy is constantly near, ready to destroy what's left. The story truly scared me, in the same way Stephen King's novels always did. I was afraid to read on, but at the same time couldn't seem to put the book down. And the vampires….such terrible creatures!

What I loved about Cronin’s writing is that he doesn’t focus too much on the technical aspects of this future world, nor on the apocalyptic events that preceded it. Instead he describes a social group living in harsh conditions and the way in which its members manage to survive through bonds of friendship and love.

If you are looking for a really exciting and dark story to read, The Passage should be high on your list! It is very well written and the story will stay with you for a long time. Cronin will release the second part of his trilogy ('The Twelve') in October 2012, so there is even more to look forward to! I know I will for sure. 

My rating: 9.0