From the Bookshelf of Undead & UnRead Book Club - Frisco Public Library…

Hex (Robert Grim #1)

Thomas Olde Heuvelt,

Nancy Forest-Flier (Translator)

Start date: March 13, 2019

Finish date: April 9, 2019

Discussion: 2019 Meetings

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2019 Meetings

November - Enclave
By Amy · 1 post · 8 views

last updated Oct 14, 2019 01:24PM

October - John Dies at the End
By Amy · 1 post · 9 views

last updated Oct 14, 2019 01:22PM

What Members Thought

Mar 19, 2019 Amanda Kratz rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2019-undead-and-unread-book-club

I will begin by saying this is a book club read. It is not something I would have picked up on my own. I’m sure there is an audience that would love this book. I am not that audience. In fact I would have quit on page 140 if not for book club. I will say that the middle/end did pick up a bit and I was captivated by the plot but all the unnecessary gruesome details just disturbed me.

First this is a translated book. The original was written in Dutch, it became a hit. The author then rewrote the st I will begin by saying this is a book club read. It is not something I would have picked up on my own. I’m sure there is an audience that would love this book. I am not that audience. In fact I would have quit on page 140 if not for book club. I will say that the middle/end did pick up a bit and I was captivated by the plot but all the unnecessary gruesome details just disturbed me.

First this is a translated book. The original was written in Dutch, it became a hit. The author then rewrote the story for an American audience and then redid the ending. He refers to it as Hex 2.0 The first part of the book is translated. The new ending was written by the Dutch author in English and added on. Honestly I think there were some translation issues because the ending reads so much better than the beginning. The first part is so disjointed and awkward transitions are weird. There are multiple POVs in the book and then every once in a while a weird omnipresent POV but like you are watching a TV clip or something.

Originally the story was set in a Dutch town but as it was redone he move it to American and added a Salem Witch trials kind of tie in to it. I mean seriously Colton Mathers = Cotton Mather. it’s kind of ironic in this one is a witch hunt to find the witch hunters. Anyway I ramble.

The plot is that the town of Black Springs is cursed/haunted by a dead witch (Katherine). Once you spend the night in the town you can never leave (except for about a week a year on vacation). People who leave have a sudden urge to commit suicide and have to return back to the town. The witch in the beginning is a bit funny to be honest. The whole town tries to hide the fact that it is haunted because they don’t want the information to escape. If the witch appears in the middle of a festival they just put a giant plastic Easter bunny cut out over her. If she appears in someone’s house they just cover her with a towel and go on like nothing has happened. There is an entire team, Hex, dedicated to watching her and trying to hide her existence. Because the town is trying to prevent any type of information leak they have put caps and restrictions on all internet access. The teens in the town are upset because they lack twitter & Facebook (But they are allowed YouTube) but all their information is monitored. A group of them decide that they don’t want to live under this oppression and decide to start recording the witch and conduct little experiments in an effort to change the councils mind to let them have unrestricted internet. (It does not ever go viral as the jacket summary says)

I will say as the plot goes along I found it oddly captivating. Really I just wanted to know why the witch does the things she does, how is she still alive, what ends her curse, etc. (Prepare for disappointment - you never find out). There is no character development. There are so many characters, none of them are really fully rounded out. I was so frustrated at the end, I just wanted her motivation. That’s all just a reason. Maybe in the Dutch version with the different ending you find out.

There were so many weird over descriptive scenes. They were jarring and weird just for shock value. Imagining pounding a man’s testicles with a mallet on your mom’s cutting board or a woman pouring pate out of her lady parts to feed 400 children. Yup. I can’t unread it.

Random weird names of places ex: The church in town is called Crystal Meth Church which they refer to all the time as just Crystal Meth. The jail in town is called Doodletown. Dunno why this just bothered me.

Like I said this book does have an audience and will appeal to many. It’s weird, gritty, suspenseful but just too out there for me. ...more

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Apr 08, 2019 Amy Gideon rated it liked it

Shelves: undead-and-unread, horror, audiobooks, 2019-reading-list

This was alright. If I didn't have to read this for book club I would have quit. Dude doesn't write women well and he has a nipple/boob fetish that's irritating.

It's basic social commentary on society and love/family using the whole witch hunt metaphor. Nothing really new. I did like the ending though. Predictable, but he did a good job of creating a creepy atmosphere.

...more

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Apr 05, 2019 Lawrence rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Slow build, disappointing ending

I loved the slow build. Authors writing style reminded me a lot of Stephen King with his inclination to give superfluous information on the characters. Story was more character driven than I wanted in a horror novel but it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Did not enjoy the ending. From the slow build for 85% of the book, I expected a bigger finish.

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