#DWJMarch: Hexwood

Jacket Blurb: When Controller Borasus receives a strange letter from Earth he is both curious and alarmed. Someone has activated an ancient machine and is using it for most trivial purposes. Surely no one would dare to tamper with Reigner seals in this way? Yet the effects of such interference resonate throughout the universe, so he decides to go to Hexwood Farm to investigate…

On Hexwood Estate, Ann watches the mysterious comings and goings with interest. She knows something deadly is going on – or is Hexwood simply altering her too?

If you were cooking up stories and experimenting with mixing recipes, and for some reason you used both fantasy and science fiction, mixed in some Arthurian legends, bits of dystopia and portal fantasy, a pinch of Norse mythology, and then gave it a nice thick glaze of escape rooms, you would wind up with something very like Hexwood.

Yes, I love it.

Some Tips on Reading Hexwood

• Keep a character list as you go along. A lot of characters have more than one name, nicknames, or are going under a fake name.
• Keep track of timelines??? I mean it’s pretty much impossible, but make a list of anything weird or contradictory you notice about how time is passing, how different characters remember (or don’t remember) certain events, etc.
• Don’t trust any of the characters. Pretty much all of the characters in this novel are supremely confident that they know what’s going on and what’s real. Most of them are wrong at least once.

Of course, you can ignore all of the above tips and still enjoy the book, so if you would rather do that, go for it! The first time I read Hexwood I had no idea what was happening most of the time, and it still became one of my favorite books. Peeling back the layers of what’s going on, both in the plot and with the characters, is really well-paced and structured and it just MAKES ME REALLY HAPPY, OKAY?

Also did you know you could rebel against tyranny by keeping everyone well-stocked on thrift clothes? Hexwood will show you how!

Truly Horrifying Hexwood Covers

 

That one with Mordion in the red coat will give me nightmares.

#DWJMarch: wandering through Hexwood and other bits and bobs

I’m rereading Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones for the first time in years. I’m about a hundred pages in and trying to a. remember everyone of importance that’s been mentioned, and b. figure out all the other people they are.

So far this reading is making more sense than previous readings, but we’ll see how it goes. I know there’s layers and layers of shenanigans and I’m only on the top layer.

How is March Magics going for you all? I’m on a social media break so I’m sure I haven’t seen lots of fun DWJ-related things, but I recommend this Howl’s Moving Castle-inspired poem by krobats. I also found this thoughtful post from Emerald City Book Review on A Blink of the Screen by Terry Pratchett and The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones.