Book Read: March 25, 2010

Horns: A Novel By: Joe Hill 0061147958 Published by: William Morrow Genre: Pages: 384 Author’s Website:  http://joehillfiction.com Author’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/joe_hill Recommendable for people who: People who like fantasy/thriller… Good vs. Evil fiction

Synopsis: {from Joe Hills website}

At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

But Merrin’s death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .

Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It’s time for a little revenge. . . . It’s time the devil had his due. . . .

My thoughts:

I really liked this book.  When it comes to the whole “good vs evil” novel I am pretty much hit or miss, love it or hate it.  For me this book fell in the LOVE IT category.  You know when you read a book, and then afterwards you sit thinking about it.  That’s a good book.  There was even group discussion on this one over on Goodreads.

This book is a battle of good and evil, a love story, a story of friendship and betrayal, a murder mystery…

Im going to quote one of my posts from that discussion because it pretty much sums up my thoughts on the book.

I think what he meant was that had he not met/loved/had the love of – Merrin, the devil is the route his life would have taken. What else can become of someone who truly never KNOWS love? To not know love, to not know happiness? Happiness and self esteem allow for selflessness and the ability to "follow the right path" and "make the right choices". If you are unhappy in life, unhappy with self, you dont care about the choices or consequences….

But he did meet her and have her for a time, so rather then just be – he became more.

Then, GOD took away the one thing he cherished, and he felt like he’d "peeked behind the curtain". He no longer saw GOD as the LOVING GOD, and the opposite of the faithful is the unfaithful. Which is what he became without Merrin. The Devil (the ultimate opposite of the faithful) with a soul, a conscience, a knowledge. The Devil in the blue dress. heh.

whoa – I think I’ve had enough coffee for today.

I definitely recommend this book to people who like supernatural stories, thrillers, mysteries, and romance.

Purchased:  May 30, 2009 Read:  Feb 2010

Hannibal Rising by:Thomas Harris 0385339410 9780385339414 Published by: Delacorte Press Genre:  Thriller Pages: 336 Author’s Website: www.randomhouse.com/features/thomasharris/ Author’s Twitter: Recommendable for people who: Hannibal fans (of course), historical fiction lovers, thriller & crime drama fans

The Book:

HE IS ONE OF THE MOST HAUNTING CHARACTERS IN ALL OF LITERATURE.

AT LAST THE EVOLUTION OF HIS EVIL IS REVEALED.

Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck.  He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him.

Hannibal’s uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle’s beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki.

Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal.  With her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France.

But Hannibal’s demons visit him and torment him.  When he is old enough, he visits them in turn.

He discovers he has gifts beyond the academic, and in that epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death’s prodigy.

My Thoughts:

Hannibal Rising is not the "scare fest" I expected it to be. Not like the other Hannibal books at all really. I found I could not put it down though.  I have read a lot of other reviews on Hannibal Rising, and most of them are BAD reviews.  I’m not sure I understand the low marks.  This book wasn’t intended to be the "thriller" "horror" "gore" fests of the adult Hannibal, but a way for his "fans" to see "how" exactly he became who he became.

I have to say, I rather enjoyed the book.  I mean, I started and managed to finish it in one sitting.  That says something in itself right there, doesn’t it?  My interest in starting the book was to learn why Hannibal became "the monster". My attention to finish the book was because of the description of the times, the love for his sister, the remorse and angst, the intrigue.  And then I cried.

“The little boy Hannibal died in 1945 out there in the snow trying to save his sister. His heart died with Mischa. What is he now? There is not a word for it yet. For lack of a better word, we’ll call him a monster.”
- Hannibal Rising, p. 243

I don’t mean a small shed tear, like one would spill if they’d just READ something sad. I mean full on gails, that made me put the book away for a moment to gather myself. At that moment, my heart truly ached for the boy Hannibal, I grieved for and with him.

The evoking of emotion is a necessity for good writing. In my opinion this book is just that. GOOD WRITING.

Despite numerous bad reviews elsewhere, I still recommend this book.  Just go into it knowing you are going to be reading about a very young Hannibal.  Hannibal BEFORE the evil Hannibal you already know.  You will find you care for him, worry for him, and in the end – understand him.