Customer Reviews

Hexwood

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

"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.

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.

I read this book not because of the cover, but because I read all of these great reviews on Amazon.com. I am also a fan of Diana Wynne Jones, so I couldn't wait to get started on this book. It is hands down the most confusing, enthralling, beautiful, and joyful book I have ever read. It is impossible to accurately describe the plot without confusing people and myself even more. What I can say is that once you pick up this book, you won't be able to put it down... except to eat. Though my parents had to take it from me, since I was reading it at the dinner table.

If you are a fan of science fiction & fantasy, or you appreciate a deliciously complicated plotline, you must read this book. It instantly became one of my favorites, and I know I will read it many times in the future. P.S., I know I won't thoroughly enjoy a story unless there is romance. Those of you who are like me, rest assured: you will get your bit of romance.

I've been reading Diana Wynne Jones since I was nine years old (my first book was "The Lives of Christopher Chant" which I read during one really long car ride to the beach - I couldn't look up from the book!!). BUT despite a slight prejudice for her early books which I read first, "Hexwood" blew me away and has quickly become one of my favorites. This book combines everything I love about her writing into one great book; complete with complex plot, believable and unforgettable characters, and surprise endings (I LOVE her surprise endings!). If you've never read Diana Wynne Jones you might find it difficult as a first exposure to her writing (you might want to try one of her other books first), but if you're a diehard scifi/fantasy fan no doubt you'll be able to jump right in. Also I definitly agree with one of the other reviewers who said the cover is disappointing - don't let it be a deterrent. One last point: don't open this book unless you know you have a free 4 or 5 hours ahead of you - because once you start reading you won't be able to put it down until you've reached the end!

But then, few of Diana Wynne Jones's enchanting, multi-layered fictions ever were. I read some of her work when I was eleven or twelve, and I couldn't make head or tail of it. And I wasn't exactly a slow child: testing in kindergarten diagnosed my reading level as collegiate. I'm in my twenties now, and she's one of my two current favorite authors along with Roger Zelazny. I don't know why her books are still almost exclusively marketed to the YA crowd. Some combination, I'm guessing, of an adult fantasy market not in the mood for much that's new or different, and child characters/ simplicity of language.

The simplicity of language is a great quality in this context -- I don't think I've seen a book 'for adults' that matches this degree of complexity and manages to hang it all together so well. To truly enjoy this one, you have to come prepared for it. Be ready to connect the dots without any numbers to guide you along. (Well, a few numbers, but they're well-disguised.)

If Hexwood were a video game, I'd have been referring to the walkthrough regularly. Read very carefully, ask yourself at every turn who you think this character or that might be and what the last tantalizing piece of evidence to drop tells you about the story.

I did so -- seeing clearly in the first few pages that I would have to -- and, as usual, the finale blew me away. Heck, draw a map of characters as you go, if you're the visual type. The marvelous resolution is worth the effort.

This is an astonishing book, with the most complex, well-thought-out plot and appealing characters that I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The style is deceptively simple and clear, hiding a fog and fluxion that all makes an impossible kind of sense - by the end. I have read this book at least ten times, each time being seduced into buying a reality that I know can't be. My favorite Jones books are Howl's Moving Castle, Deep Secret, A Tale of Time City, and A Sudden Wild Magic, but for me this one blows them all away because of Jones's masterful handling of time and reality. Not to mention the subtle romance, the bewitching secondary characters, and the dragons...my only question is, however do young people "get" this book?

I cannot begin to say how glad I am that this woman, Diana Wynne Jones, is on planet earth, writing at this time.Without her imagination, the world would be a much less interesting placeand my world would have lost some of its most delighful and magical hours.Each of her books is different. Hexwood is a complex, brilliantly conceived and executed work, and yet is equally suited to adults and children.The virtual reality aspect is handled flawlessly, the characters are believable and fascinating. A blow by blow description of the plot would not give any adequate sense of the book. The only thing to do is buy it and read it for yourself. I long for a sequel, but feel that way about everything she writes. I truly envy anyone reading Wynne Jones for the first time. There is so much to be delighted by!

This book is so incredibly different from Diana Wynne Jones' other books that at first I didn't know it was written by the same author. I was quickly caught up in a whirlwind plot, and I just sat and read for as long as I could. It's cleverness astounded me, and I found myself reading it over and over taking in the smallest details.

Diana Wynne Jones is one of the best authors for young-adults (and adults). She mixes fantasy and science fiction into intricate, suspenseful and exciting novels. In my opinion, Hexwood is her best book, and most ambitious. It is the story of Anne, a girl from a country town in England who finds a 'monster' rising out of a metal box in the park near her house. From then on, Anne is drawn into what may sound like a strange, but delightful story - full of robots, castles, knights and aliens; which moves around, in and out of order, until the reader is almost totally consumed (or literally lost) in the story, before the masterful conclusion. It is in fact, an exciting fast-paced book that readers of all ages will have trouble putting down, after they get past the initial, slightly bewildering chapters.

The mix of genre hightens the magic plot twists, for which Jones is most famous for. Very worthy of being my most admired book for it's sheer ingeniousness (and favourite!)