Hex

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So,” he said, still panting, his hands high on his hips. “Mulder and Scully been lining the coffers again?” A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. the secular nature of small-town Dutch communities and the down-to-earthness of its people. If a sane person sees a disfigured seventeenth-century witch appear in a corner of the living room, he runs for his life. If a Dutch person sees a disfigured seventeenth-century witch appear in a corner of the living room, he hangs a dishcloth over her face, sits on the couch, and reads the paper. Finally, I have to praise the quality of the translation and the way the changes were implemented from the original Dutch version of this book for the US edition. Since I have no basis to compare the two versions, I can’t really comment on the actual changes themselves, like the one that switched the location of the setting from a small town in the Netherlands to one nestled in the Hudson Valley region in upstate New York, but I can say that they were done really well and the transposition felt practically seamless (pardon the pun). I was really impressed, and if anything, this exercise showed me that the things that terrify us and keep us up at night are pretty much universal.

Este escritor holandés, nacido en 1983, nos es desconocido (al menos a mí) en este país, pero lleva publicando desde hace ya casi dos décadas. Y no solo publicar, sino que se ha llevado un Hugo y varias nominaciones y premios más por algunas de sus historias cortas. Hex starts off really well, the creep factor was so high that reading it at half five in the afternoon felt far too close to bedtime for comfort. For me, it's not so much that it features a witch, but that the witch acts more like a ghost. Who can turn up in your house, at any time. Awful. Just awful. THOMAS OLDE HEUVELT is a Dutch author of several novels, including HEX, and many stories of the fantastic. He has been called “One of Europe’s foremost talents in fantastic literature” by BBC Radio. Olde Heuvelt has been nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy awards for his short fiction and is a multiple winner of the Paul Harland Prijs for best Dutch work of the fantastic.

About the Collaborators

Tengo que empezar hablando de la edición del libro. Creo que Nocturna Ediciones ha hecho un gran trabajo, tanto con la portada como con el detalle que separa cada uno de los capítulos: una página totalmente negra que representa la ceguera de la bruja. Ha sido un gusto pasar hoja tras hoja durante el único día que me ha durado el libro. Thomas Olde Heuvelt's HEX is a treat for all fans of dark fiction . . . a modern spin on the witch's curse story that forces us to take a closer look at ourselves. Who is really evil after all? It's may not be who you think. This is just the beginning and I can't wait to read his next one.” —Ann VanderMeer First published in Dutch in 2013, HEXwould become the author’s English language debut novel just three years later, receiving high praise from peers like Stephen King, who called it, “totally, brilliantly original,” and George R.R. Martin who raved, “ HEXis creepy, gripping and original… sure to be one of the top horror novels of 2016.” HEXis reminiscent of vintage Stephen King, and I can think of no higher praise. Chilling, moving and . . . profound.”—John Connolly la humanidad ha demostrado una y otra vez su tendencia a cruzar límites que no debería cruzar. Y tenemos muchísimas razones para creer que, si abre los ojos y empieza a pronunciar sus hechizos, moriremos todos. Por eso la mantenemos oculta. No conviene que la entendamos..., no debemos entenderla. Katherine es una bomba de relojería paranormal."💀

Haunting stories have been done numerous times, but this one did offer up something new in my opinion.

About the Author

The writing style seemed very blunt. I was always aware I was reading a book instead of being told a story, if that makes sense. Miedo, superstición, fanatismo, un paseo por el lado oscuro y retorcido de las personas. Son muy cabrones algunos. La bruja va aparte.

I]ntriguing premise . . . Heuvelt develops his characters enough to give their tragic lives resonance” — Publishers Weeklyit’s a dark and fairly astonishing story. it’s so deadpan, direct, expository at the beginning that you trust it implicitly, confident that you have the lay of the land - but reader assumptions built upon character assumptions = a passel of asses. O]ne of the most original, clever, and terrifying books to be published in the 21st century”. —New York Journal of Books

Me ha gustado la forma en la que está escrito, y sobre todo la historia que rodea a la bruja, además de ese temor inimaginable y desenfrenado que provoca, como también que se logre abordar este tipo de caza de brujas, pero en la actualidad y desde otro punto de vista, siendo en el fondo lo mismo. This was certainly an attempt by the author to be funny, but it didn’t work for me: I thought it was neither funny nor scary. Most of the time I was just wondering if the author intentionally wanted this to be comical or not. But the dude characters are just as boring and one-dimensional as the nasty fat pâté lady. I did not care about anyone in this book. For a novel that's supposedly about a town, I had virtually no sense of anyone in the community. They were all cardboard cutouts with vaguely silly names. Like a silly haunted tram ride at Universal Studios. And yes, that can be a problem with a lot of horror: either you are ridiculous and over the top or you are scary and dark with very little or none humor.

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El mensaje final y las reflexiones que va dejando por toda la novela como si de migas de pan se tratara es para quitarse el sombrero. HEX is creepy and gripping and original, sure to be one of the top horror novels of 2016.”—George R.R. Martin Oh, how scary could this be, I asked myself. It can’t be as creepy as everyone says, I foolishly thought. Seriously, a story about a three-hundred-and-fifty-year-old witch who just appears wherever she wants around town, and all everyone does is throw a dish towel over her face or otherwise pretends she’s not there. The whole business sounded more comical than frightening, to be honest. In between all those edge of the seat moments though is quiet comtemplation, observations of human nature that dig into those dark recesses of humanity, to that part of all of us where we are still children hiding from the boogey man. This is proper old school horror where often what you don’t see is far worse than what you do – it reminded me of King when he’s right on it, messing with your head and getting you jumping at shadows. Hex had that in spades, it grabs you and does not let go, is paced to perfection, written beautifully and basically just scares the crap out of you.