Horns - Joe Hill

Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8.8/10
Theme: 8.9/10
Atmosphere/Worldbuilding: 9.4/10
1000wnty Final Score: 9/10

This book was tragic & made me pretty emotional, not gonna lie. But more on that later. The exposition wastes no time getting to the point & showing that Ig (our MC) has grown horns that compel those around him to share their darkest desires & sins. Given the fact Ig's girlfriend was murdered & no one knows who did it (although, Ig is the main suspect), the horns make for an interesting plot device that pushes the plot forward, but also challenges Igs relationships with those around him.
I think the characters were written amazingly well. Ig, the prime suspect for the rape and murder of his girlfriend Merrin, is by no means perfect. Although flawed, the love he has for the people close to him & his selflessness makes him someone to root for. The residents of his hometown falsely suspecting him makes his character, and the ending, a tragic one. Lee, the two-faced villain, who no one had a good read on who or what his intentions were until the end, was a very entertaining antagonist. Your emotions & thoughts on Lee are flipped on their head throughout this book, as if you'd been betrayed by him just as Ig has. The author does a good job of making you hate this character so that Igs actions towards becoming a "monster" are justified.
The themes of love, betrayal & religion are explored really well. Lot of symbolism in things like Merrins' cross, Lee's hair, &, of course, the horns themselves. The settings in this book are themselves used as symbols too, such as The Treehouse of the Mind, the Foundry, & the Evil Knievel trail. These places are revisited time & time again & feel familiar to the reader by the end of the story.
Horns made me very sad because of how tragic it was. Parts of it feel almost unsatisfying as you know that Ig didn't get the ending he deserved, & Lee didn't suffer enough. But overall, it was an amazing read & nearly impossible to put down.