Customer Reviews

Hex Files: The Goth Bible

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is now seven years old. People buying it should either be aware it's been out for ages, or at least appreciate that it predates Net popularity, meaning I had to get info printed in overseas fanzines to get a lot of the International responses I did. The content from certain countries will therefore seem small or incomplete. As to people saying this is pretentious, that's their assessment, which is fine, but I know what bands are Goth and which have simply had an influence on Goth. It isn't a subtle difference, and it shouldn't be hard to work out. The book stands as the best record from its time, of what was possible to find out without bankrupting myself on postal costs. People may look at it now and regard it as curious, but this is now a period piece. It stands on its own merits as having more info than was available to anyone at the time, and beautiful photos, and at no point did it set out to get to the root of what the Goth culture was, as I made it clear at the time that it was an International Guide, following my previous books which had a European bias.

I purchased and read this book to answer a question: "What is the Goth subculture?" My question remains unanswered.

This book's format somewhat resembles "The Whole Earth Catalog -- Access To Tools" edited by Steward Brand in the late 1960's and early 1970's. That catalog contained detailed descriptions of tools, books, and organizations. The descriptions helped individuals achieve their "hippie" counterculture goals. The catalog preceded the Internet, but readers' reviews of listed or new items were published in subsequent catalog editions, a form of interaction. The catalog's wide topic range and detailed discussions formed a good composite picture of the hippie counterculture.

Mr. Mercer's book does not provide equivalent detail. A five-page introduction and a three-page postscript discusses the Goth subculture, but the author speaks in generalities. The book consists primarily of Goth band and fanzine listings with some Goth organization and shop listings. The book emphasizes the Goth subculture but contains some vampire, fetish, and pagan subculture listings.

The typical listing is brief. Often only a name plus a postal address, an e-mail address, or a fax number is given. As important as the Internet is today there are fewer Internet website addresses than I expected.

Mr. Mercer's book contains much interesting photography. The Goth, vampire, and pagan subcultures are very fashion- and fetish-oriented. The photography reflects those orientations. With the exception of the front and back covers the book's photography is black and white photography.

I believe that a "bible" should define its subject. This book's brief listings and photography do not answer my original question: "What is the Goth subculture?" The front cover's photograph itself raises a question that the book doesn't answer. Without answering these questions and providing more detailed discussions this book does not qualify as a bible. And by not stressing Internet websites and newsgroups the listings within the book have questionable currency.

Mick Mercer did an amazing job reviewing and compiling this book - a task that must have been daunting, considering the amount of entries there are. One of the best things about this book is that not only does it provide the reader with information of all parts of the goth lifestyle, but Mercer has covered goth all over the world. The 2-disc cd entitled "The Hex Files," that is available as an acompaniment to the book is a definite must, especially disc 2, track 2. The song, "A Broken Heart for Carolyn" is by far the epitome of goth music: sonorous, richly textured, sad and wonderful all at once. If anyone has any information about the band (Nadezhda), I must know!

Mick Mercer's "The Hex Files" is not a sit down and read type of book. If you're looking for a detailed history of goth culture to read straight through, this isn't what you need.

The book is a reference, set up like a small encyclopedia of different countries' involvement in the goth scene. It's content includes bands, fanzines, businesses, and important individuals. The year of publication was 1997, so some of the information is a bit out of date. However, it's very common for information in this scene to quickly become obsolete, and is no fault of Mercer. For some, the book has become a bit of a keepsake to attest to the late nineties. If you are seeking a more recent publication, try "21st Century Goth," also by Mercer.

The book also include resources for those seeking out the pagan, vampire, and fetish scenes. Whether you like it or not, these have become aspects of the goth scene and therefore deserve to be included for those who are interested.

The entries contain very short commentary, ranging from a few sentences to a few paragraphs, and contains engaging black and white photos. If you're not too keen on the content, the book is worth its price merely for the great photography of bands, individuals, magazine covers, and artwork.

This book is nothing short of amazing. You will most likely not find every band imaginable or really understand the history or ideas of the gothic subculture, but if you are already into or just getting into, it will help you a lot. Alphabetically, Mic Mercer, the goth god, tries to sum up and rate every goth band, clothing company, zine, or artist that is currently around. Then The address is given for reference. Basically, it's a handbook to keeping an ever-growing scene healthy and alive. When reading this, one realizes that goth is not merely a death-ridden subculture, but one filled with vibrance and life. It is also full of some wonderful pictures.

For those of you who dont know, Mick Mercer is a journalist who documented the explosion of the "goth scene" in MANY countries and over MANY MANY years. This INDEX, while not a spoon fed description of "What is goth" or "why does my 14 year old wear black" is an EXCELLENT source of the community of dark artists across the world- the very thing the book was intended to be and executes more than successfully. The book is now several years old, and so is a testament to an era when goth still had a bit of interesting things going on...I believe now as I did when I first got the book when it came out, that it was intended for goths to be what the internet later became: a resource and reference... or to the seriously inclined a way for them to get exposure to the meat and potatoes.

If you are looking for A book to read on the sub-culture, Mick Mercer does have several books on that subject as well. He was there and lived through it in a way most of us, even those of us who have been actively "in the scene" for decades, couldnt possibly have known.

Mr. Mercer has done it again! As if his first books weren't pleasure enough, he's finally released the long-awaited, long-time-in-the-making sequel...the Hex Files. If you're looking for a glorified, poetic view of Goth, this book isn't what you want. But if you're wishing to find a grand collective of bands and contacts in the Goth world, here it is. Mick is simply amazing, and this book is proof (if you didn't already know it).

A marvelous effort in compiling a resource for anyone curious about/active in this phenmomenon. For creating an incredabily useful utility for living and a work of art in its own right, Mercer is owed a huge amount of gratitude from those of us for whom The Dark brings out the best of character. For making our lives easier to live (and a hell of a lot more fun!), the man has a special place in heaven reserved just for him.

At first when I heard about this book I thought this was just what I was looking for. A friend told me it was the perfect guide to Goth. But when I got it from the library I ran through it in just about 1 hour. It's ok as a bible, but in my opinion it lacks quite a lot. The history behind the Goth movement, information about the culture ect. Just like another wrote about the book, I think it needs a website .. so it can be updated. As the book is now it's in my opinion partly not very usefull, but with a second edition and a website it would be perfect.

This book was extremely informative, but did not give the depth of cultural perspective and history I was looking for. For this info., check out Gothic, an accompanyment to an exhibition at the Chicago Art Institute.