Book Review - Horns

Horns by Joe Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before I read this book (though after I read Heart Shaped Box, Joe Hill's debut novel) I learned that the author is Stephen King's son. Cool! I love Stephen King! I thought it was pretty awesome of him that he was using a nom de plume instead of cashing in on his dad's fame, but from what others told me, they were disappointed in his writing, because he doesn't write like his dad.

It's true. This does not read like a Stephen King novel. If you expect his kid to write knock-offs of his dad's work you're going to be disappointed. If you're a Stephen King fan, you may actually not be interested in his style, characters or plotlines.

That said, if you're a fan of books by Chuck Palahniuk, you'll probably LOVE Joe Hill's style, characters and plotlines. Seriously. He's not derivative, but he's very similar stylistically and in a good way. Being as I'm a big fan of both those authors, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that I really liked this book.

What would happen if you woke up after a drinking binge one day to discover horns growing out of your forehead? Even worse, what if people were so affected by those horns that they'd tell you their deepest desires, looking for approval for their sins, and somehow couldn't remember either talking to you or the fact that you were suddenly be-horned?

This is a fun, trippy, scary, gory, intriguing, and entertaining book. It has some spectacular gore... which I mostly skimmed, I have a weak stomach (what, in a Palahniuk fan? I know, I know!!). It has some fascinating characters that reveal some truths about human nature and the human condition as a whole. There are some wonderful moments about secrets in families, and some hilarious rolled-my-eyes bits of dialogue. While some of the characters and scenarios were a bit cliched, there's a root to them that makes them cliche, the way they pop up over and over in literature and in life.

Overall, an interesting book. Definitely kept me intrigued to the last page.

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Book Review - Mercy

Mercy by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Allie has a pretty good life. She has a husband - the town sherriff and clan head of the Scottish clan that inhabits her small town - that she adores to the point of worship. She lives in a town so pretty that tourists mistake the houses for a recreation/tourist attraction, and where she has her dream job - owning her own florist shop. She has a lovely mother-in-law who she is great friends with. Everything seems peachy until a distant cousin on her husband's side drives into town one day with a corpse in his truck, and admits in front of most everyone that he's just killed his wife.

On the same day Jamie - the distant cousin - arrives, so does Mia, a drifter and traveller who becomes Mia's assistant as she and her husband seek to sort out the tale of the wife, dead from a mercy killing because she was dying of an incurable cancer. The four lives intertwine in ways that will make you clench your teeth, and maybe your fists, and shake your head.

I discovered Jodi Picoult a few years ago thanks to my local book club and have been slowly making my way through some of her older titles. This book was pretty good - but not as much of a stunner as her later books are. The plot stumbles here and there and has moments of either too much or too little exposition. There's also some terminology used in some places that I found mildly offensive and I had to wonder if she would use the same terms today, twenty years later.

Overall though, this is a solid book. Picoult's strong suit is always her characters, and I can't find fault with those here. They are detailed and drawn precisely to the point where you'd swear they were someone you actually knew. You fall for them, particularly Allie if you're like me, and you become invested in their lives, which keeps you reading through the murky bits.

Definitely a good book, and quite a throwback for me since it's set in the early 90's. A friend pointed out to me how funny-odd Seinfeld is now, because with cell phones so much of the storyline would be pointless - there are several points like that in this book, as well.

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