Hex Code

by Julian Stuart

It's Wednesday night on the support desk, and Kaylor is over it. Then a call comes in from a user with a frozen Grimoire and a problem so big it could only be a full moon night.

7k, urban fantasy/horror with a twist of tech.

Genres: Historical Fiction

21 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Banana]

What happens when someone calls tech support with a 911 magical emergency? NO PRESSURE!

I loved the inventive weaving together of high tech and magic spellcraft.

While short, Hex Code captures a number of themes from our current times. The camaraderie of downtrodden wage slaves, the patronizing, utter bullshit of corporate management by numbers. The theme of magic calls to my mind the growing trust people are putting in faith based ideas and simultaneously, the growing mistrust of technology as people's dependence on it increases and our comprehension of how it works disappears.

Stuart is a skillful writer who brings the scene to life. I recommend this story.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a terrible/excellent habit of reading this author's work without knowing anything about the plot or themes, and they have never let me down. Awesome work, Julian!

I loved the skilled build up and pacing, the very real characters, and the diversity nods. I'd recommend Hex Code to readers who like to mix magic with their technology, to anyone who has ever worked on a helpdesk, and frankly to anyone who up for a good story.

This is a quick read (roughly an hour) that is best devoured in one sitting.

[K. Caine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a delight of a story that I'm still thinking about it days later. The story is fascinating in and of itself--the main character is working tech support via phone, only for grimoires instead of traditional computer software, and the worldbuilding is absolutely exquisite, sucking us in immediately, and pulling us along a very tight-paced, wonderfully written high-stakes story arc. There's such a great atmosphere in this story, and it beautifully melds the parts of the story that may be familiar to the reader--whether it's tech support, call center work, or witchcraft--with the central conflict in the story, which ratchets the tension higher and higher until I was absolutely on the edge of my seat.

I highly recommend this story--and am eager to begin reading the next of Stuart's books.