Hexwood [Paperback]

Diana Wynne Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1996

Presents an adventurous tale of Ann Stavely, a young, curious girl, who comes upon a sorcerer in a nearby wood and attempts to figure out the mystery as to why it is that those who visit Hexwood Farm never seem to leave. Reprint. K. SLJ.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Somewhere in the middle of this rather bewildering novel, its heroine, Ann, realizes that she is not--as she and the reader had thought--the 12-year-old daughter of suburban London grocers, but is in fact a 20-something rebel from another galaxy. Ann (whose name is really Vierran) has come to earth as the unwilling handmaiden of the evil Reigner Three who, along with four other Reigners, controls most of the known universe. An ancient and powerful machine known as the Bannus has been reactivated and poses a threat to the Reigners' rule. Vierran must join forces with Mordion, the Reigner Servant, in order to keep from becoming a pawn in Reigner One's dastardly scheme to breed future Servants. These are just a few of the plot-lines that come together in a confusing finale that invokes the legends of King Arthur as well as the gods and heroes of Northern Europe. Certain moments in the muddled narrative will reward the persevering reader: Mordion's long-repressed recollection of his sad and brutal childhood possesses a spine-chilling intensity. But on the whole, Jones is not at her bewitching best. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Futuristic, virtual-reality technology melds with the realm of Faerie to liberate the galaxy from the corrupt Reigners who have controlled it for the past 1,000 years. Set in an English village in 1992, the novel's web of events is catalyzed by a bored employee of Hexwood Farm, a secret outpost of the interplanetary rulers. He tampers with the Reigners' old, computerlike machine, the Bannus, hoping it will cough up a hobbit-and-dragon role-playing game. But the Bannus's game is for real, and it sucks the players it chooses-including transcendental souls like Arthur, Merlin, and Fitela-into its field of influence and forces them to act (without changing their natures) within its own scenarios. Unleashed in the Wood (which has power of its own, being a part of the eternal, enchanted forest), the machine is able to stage a battle to dethrone the unrightful Reigners and to choose the best possible new ones. The battlefield the Bannus and the Wood create is Arthurian, complete with castle, sorcery, knights, and dragons. The characters' ages and physical forms often change, though not so fast that readers will lose track of what's going on. Time, too, is fluid. Jones's knife-sharp prose delves with psychedelic clarity into the shared subconscious of humankind. The book is humorous as well, with lines that call Douglas Adams, Monty Python, and James Bond to mind. A wide range of readers will find it marvelously mind-stretching. They may even be tempted to read it twice.
Vanessa Elder, School Library Journal
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140379347
• ISBN-13: 978-0140379341
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,478,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Diana Wynne Jones spent her childhood in Essex and has been writing fantasy novels for children since 1973. With her unique combination of magic, humour and imagination, she has been enthralling children and adults with her work ever since. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. She is married with three sons, and lives in Bristol with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Confusing... in a good way, June 24, 2001

By 

M. Smitherman (Montana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hexwood (Hardcover)

I read this book because of the reviews... I had read one other book by Diana Wynne Jones, and loved it. Feeling like I needed a break from the formula fantasy novels that are all alike, I gave Hexwood a try. From the first page, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down. I even had it at the dinner table, which my parents didn't like, but it was such a wonderful book!

Hexwood Farm is at the edge of a town near London. Inside the farm is the Bannus, a machine that plays with time and identity. It has been turned on, and nobody can turn it off. Ann, a girl living by Hexwood Farm, is sick in bed. Through her window, she sees people going into the farm--and not coming back out. She ventures into the wood to see what's going on, and she is swept into the confusing and time-warping field of the Bannus. She meets Mordion, a man who says he's been asleep for a century; but Ann knows he entered Hexwood Farm just a day ago. And Hume, the boy who is a different age every time Ann sees him. Ann wonders just who is real and who isn't; and after all, if they aren't who they seem to be, is she who she thinks she is?

This book moves at a fast pace, and the action starts right away. Time, places, and identities are changed and warped so often that it's useless to try and straighten it out. It's much more enjoyable to let yourself be carried along in the confusion. At first I was extremely frustrated trying to read the book, but after a few chapters I got into the story, and I loved it. When I finished, I nearly cried. Not because it was a sad ending, but because I couldn't believe I was done. I wanted it to go on forever.

Despite a misleading cover and a confusing start, this book instantly became a favorite. It's worth reading, and it will stay in your mind for weeks after you're finished reading.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different and unusual, July 10, 2003

By 

Barb Caffrey "writer-for-hire" (In a Midwest State (of mind), USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hexwood (Paperback)

"Hexwood" is a very strange novel, but extremely rewarding. It's not much like other stuff Diana Wynne Jones has written; although there are humorous moments, it's decidedly not lighthearted, it's not written in a straightforward manner (as it's instead written in five sections), and the time-sense of the novel is rather skewed.

No matter. This is one of the few books I've read cover to cover, then turned back to re-read immediately. I did that for two reasons; Ms. Jones' use of language is extremely moving, especially when talking about Mordion and Vierran's halting romance, and I really wanted to figure out what this whole odd time sense thing was all about.

The main reason the novel is written in five parts is to keep you guessing; it's an intellectual puzzle that's almost impossible to describe. The simple stuff is that there really are people behind the scenes controlling everything on Earth (and in the galaxy as a whole), people called Reigners. They're not very nice people; Reigner One is particularly offensive. And they've co-opted many other, better people to act in their stead as enforcers, crippling them emotionally in the process.

I enjoyed figuring out the twists and turns of the most convoluted plotline I've ever read, while I reveled in how Ms. Jones managed to show people who were emotionally shell-shocked from years of abuse find love, laughter and meaning despite it all.

Five stars, highly recommended for anyone with a good amount of patience and a love for mysteries.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Book!, March 27, 2002

By 

neurondoc (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hexwood (Hardcover)

I am not a big fantasy fan -- I like hard SF better. However, I like Diana Wynne Jones's books a lot. I read Howl's Moving Castle on recommendation of a friend and loved it. At the age of 34, I bought Hexwood in a 1st edition hardback on a whim and thought it was fabulous. It is a weird combination of archetypal fable, Arthurian legend, romantic story, and futuristic SF tale. It reminded me of the movie Pulp Fiction with its complete disregard of a linear timeline. I was consistently surprised as I read along, waiting anxiously for the next plot twist. Jones manages to keep all her plot twists in order and ties everything up at the end. The only drawback about this book is that it is probably too advanced for most teenagers.