What do you think?
Rate this book
De Onvoorziene
De regels zijn simpel. Iemand vertelt een griezelverhaal, zo eng en zo gruwelijk mogelijk. Er wordt geloot en diegene die wordt uitgekozen moet geblinddoekt, op de tast vijftig stappen het bos in doen. Hij die bang wordt en zijn zaklampaanknipt of zijn blinddoek afdoet, valt af.
Vier jongens spelen dit spel 's nachts als ze gaan kamperen bij een afgelegen, verlaten meer in de bossen. Geen van hen voorziet echter de angst die deze huiveringwekkende beproeving met zich meebrengt. Wanneer de gruwelen ui de duistere hoeken van hun geest weten los te breken, raken ze al gauw verweven in een levensgevaarlijk spel met een nietsontziend kwaad, waarin de gens tussen fantasie en werkelijkheid geen betekenis meer heeft...
Vier jongens spelen dit spel 's nachts als ze gaan kamperen bij een afgelegen, verlaten meer in de bossen. Geen van hen voorziet echter de angst die deze huiveringwekkende beproeving met zich meebrengt. Wanneer de gruwelen ui de duistere hoeken van hun geest weten los te breken, raken ze al gauw verweven in een levensgevaarlijk spel met een nietsontziend kwaad, waarin de gens tussen fantasie en werkelijkheid geen betekenis meer heeft...
364 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Olde Heuvelt
48 books3,050 followersThomas Olde Heuvelt (1983) is the international bestselling author of HEX. The much-praised novel was published in over twenty-five countries around the world and is currently in development for TV by Gary Dauberman. Olde Heuvelt, whose last name in Dutch dialect means “Old Hill,” was the first ever translated author to win a Hugo Award for his short story "The Day the World Turned Upside Down".
His new novel ECHO will be out with Nightfire Books in the US and Hodder & Stoughton on February 8, 2022. International publication of his novel ORACLE, which topped all the bestseller charts in The Netherlands in March '21, will follow soon thereafter.
Thomas lives in The Netherlands and the south of France and is an avid mountaineer.
Praise for HEX:
“This is totally, brilliantly original.” —Stephen King
“Creepy and gripping and original.” ―George R.R. Martin
“Spielbergian in the way Olde Heuvelt shows supernatural goings-on in the midst of everyday life... It’s a fabulous, unforgettable conceit and Olde Heuvelt makes the most of it.” ―The Guardian
His new novel ECHO will be out with Nightfire Books in the US and Hodder & Stoughton on February 8, 2022. International publication of his novel ORACLE, which topped all the bestseller charts in The Netherlands in March '21, will follow soon thereafter.
Thomas lives in The Netherlands and the south of France and is an avid mountaineer.
Praise for HEX:
“This is totally, brilliantly original.” —Stephen King
“Creepy and gripping and original.” ―George R.R. Martin
“Spielbergian in the way Olde Heuvelt shows supernatural goings-on in the midst of everyday life... It’s a fabulous, unforgettable conceit and Olde Heuvelt makes the most of it.” ―The Guardian
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 5, 2019
Thomas wrote to me "I'm very curious what you think about my ever first book",
Took some time for me to actually pick it up, not because I thought I wouldn't like it,
But because this book is pretty rare and unread, I didn't want to damage it by reading it.
Luckily I'm really cautious with books so after reading it's still as new.
At first, I didn't really know what to think about this book, it took a little while to really get into it,
But after the first 70 pages, it really started to get me.
It's really fun to dive into the first book Thomas wrote and published,
To see what started the more recent fantastic HEX and Echo.
You will notice that it is not written as good as his more recent works,
However, it already has that "Olde Heuvelt" vibe that I got get to know when I first met Thomas 10 years ago.
The book is about 4 young teenagers, wanting "more" out of their school holiday,
They decide to go camping in secret, far in the woods at the banks of a little lake,
Ofcrouse, when the night starts falling in, they build a little campfire, and what happens when teenage boys are alone in the woods around a campfire? They start telling ghost stories.
It gets scarier with every tale told, and after each tale they each have to take turns walking blindfolded into the woods for about 50 paces, they can't, however, get afraid.
If they get afraid, bad things will happen, their fear will become reality, and the hunting begins..
I won't say anymore, you'll have to read it for yourself!
Took some time for me to actually pick it up, not because I thought I wouldn't like it,
But because this book is pretty rare and unread, I didn't want to damage it by reading it.
Luckily I'm really cautious with books so after reading it's still as new.
At first, I didn't really know what to think about this book, it took a little while to really get into it,
But after the first 70 pages, it really started to get me.
It's really fun to dive into the first book Thomas wrote and published,
To see what started the more recent fantastic HEX and Echo.
You will notice that it is not written as good as his more recent works,
However, it already has that "Olde Heuvelt" vibe that I got get to know when I first met Thomas 10 years ago.
The book is about 4 young teenagers, wanting "more" out of their school holiday,
They decide to go camping in secret, far in the woods at the banks of a little lake,
Ofcrouse, when the night starts falling in, they build a little campfire, and what happens when teenage boys are alone in the woods around a campfire? They start telling ghost stories.
It gets scarier with every tale told, and after each tale they each have to take turns walking blindfolded into the woods for about 50 paces, they can't, however, get afraid.
If they get afraid, bad things will happen, their fear will become reality, and the hunting begins..
I won't say anymore, you'll have to read it for yourself!
July 23, 2024
Het eerste deel van het boek kroop heel erg onder mijn huid, minstens net zo veel als het proloog van Echo. Een sterk verhaal, halverwege verzwakte het een beetje, maar het einde gaf me weer kippenvel. Op een aantal momenten herkende ik details die je later terugziet in de 'grote' boeken.
August 4, 2025
Given the quality of Olde Heuvelt's later work, this first novel, written at 16, would deserve a solid 3***. It bulges with the talent so evident in his best-selling books, but suffers from flaws perhaps inevitable in a first book.
The out-of-his-comfort-zone publisher failed to properly edit the book, resulting in countless errors and an overabundance of words. (Although Olde Heuvelt himself has somewhat fixed that in this beautiful numbered, limited re-issue.) An avid admirer of Stephen King, Olde Heuvelt has obviously let himself be inspired by It, with a generous helping of The Body (filmed as Stand by me), with many scenes paying explicit homage to the source material, to put it kindly.
But assigning it three stars for being less excellent than his later work seems kinda unfair. It's still great writing, incredible to think Olde Heuvelt wrote this at 16, and a scary ride. For that alone, I'd give it 3.5, and round up.
And the unpublished short story included in this re-issue clinches the issue. The melancholy poetry in that brief tale foreshadows the brilliance of Harten Sara, an brings this edition of Olde Heuvelt's first book to four stars for me.
The out-of-his-comfort-zone publisher failed to properly edit the book, resulting in countless errors and an overabundance of words. (Although Olde Heuvelt himself has somewhat fixed that in this beautiful numbered, limited re-issue.) An avid admirer of Stephen King, Olde Heuvelt has obviously let himself be inspired by It, with a generous helping of The Body (filmed as Stand by me), with many scenes paying explicit homage to the source material, to put it kindly.
But assigning it three stars for being less excellent than his later work seems kinda unfair. It's still great writing, incredible to think Olde Heuvelt wrote this at 16, and a scary ride. For that alone, I'd give it 3.5, and round up.
And the unpublished short story included in this re-issue clinches the issue. The melancholy poetry in that brief tale foreshadows the brilliance of Harten Sara, an brings this edition of Olde Heuvelt's first book to four stars for me.
January 19, 2026
3,5⭐️
De wind zal ze meenemen, zoals de wind het beeld meenam van vier jongens, die op een warme nazomermiddag in het meer gingen zwemmen en de beste tijd van bun leven hadden.’
Het duurde best wel lang tot ik lekker in dit boek zat. Ik vond de personages best verwarrend. Op het moment dat de spanning echt begon had ik daar geen last meer van. Vanaf dat moment vloog het boek ook zo voorbij omdat ik er best wel lekker in zat. Ik vond het ook wel een keer fijn dat er niet teveel bijpersonages in zaten maar vooral personages die ook echt belangrijk zijn voor het verhaal.
Wel vond ik het verhaal rond het einde soms een beetje vaag, waardoor ik soms terug moest lezen en er even uit kwam. Toch wist het boek me snel weer in spanning te brengen.
Zelfs op deze leeftijd weet Thomas een enorm spannend boek te schrijven.
De wind zal ze meenemen, zoals de wind het beeld meenam van vier jongens, die op een warme nazomermiddag in het meer gingen zwemmen en de beste tijd van bun leven hadden.’
Het duurde best wel lang tot ik lekker in dit boek zat. Ik vond de personages best verwarrend. Op het moment dat de spanning echt begon had ik daar geen last meer van. Vanaf dat moment vloog het boek ook zo voorbij omdat ik er best wel lekker in zat. Ik vond het ook wel een keer fijn dat er niet teveel bijpersonages in zaten maar vooral personages die ook echt belangrijk zijn voor het verhaal.
Wel vond ik het verhaal rond het einde soms een beetje vaag, waardoor ik soms terug moest lezen en er even uit kwam. Toch wist het boek me snel weer in spanning te brengen.
Zelfs op deze leeftijd weet Thomas een enorm spannend boek te schrijven.
August 12, 2024
I read the renewed limited edition of this book.
Also read the original yeaaaars ago and somehow always rememberd it made an impression. Did not remeber why, still kind of don't know but I'm glad it did because it did make me read all the other amazing books Thomas wrote after this debut.
I forgot enough of the book to, again I suppose, be surprised/shocked and also kind of sad.
You can also see shadows of the books to follow in my opinion :)
Also read the original yeaaaars ago and somehow always rememberd it made an impression. Did not remeber why, still kind of don't know but I'm glad it did because it did make me read all the other amazing books Thomas wrote after this debut.
I forgot enough of the book to, again I suppose, be surprised/shocked and also kind of sad.
You can also see shadows of the books to follow in my opinion :)
July 10, 2024
Indien mogelijk,gaf ik nog meer sterren.
Één van de mooiste boeken die ik ooit heb gelezen, dit werd geschreven op 16 jarige leeftijd..?!
Ik wil geen spoilers geven dus laat ik het op het volgende : deze kroop onder mijn huid,de vriendschap tussen de jongens is/ was prachtig en meer dan krachtig!
Hoe is het mogelijk dat deze schrijver mij nog steeds van mijn sokken kan blazen,beste auteur ooit.
Één van de mooiste boeken die ik ooit heb gelezen, dit werd geschreven op 16 jarige leeftijd..?!
Ik wil geen spoilers geven dus laat ik het op het volgende : deze kroop onder mijn huid,de vriendschap tussen de jongens is/ was prachtig en meer dan krachtig!
Hoe is het mogelijk dat deze schrijver mij nog steeds van mijn sokken kan blazen,beste auteur ooit.
Read
January 27, 2021I dnf it!!!!
March 19, 2009
I have read this book with a lot of pleasure. There were some slips of the keyboard that annoyed me a little, I'm curious who proof readed the book before the real printing started...
But, back to the contents, as that is the most important. Like Imalready said in my updates while reading it is a book about 4 boys who go out camping in the woods, near a lake. They tell each other horror stories, and after each story one of them goes into the woods, blindfolded. The one who puts on his torch first or removes the blindfold loses the game.
The game and the fear it brings to the surface awakes something horrible. All boys are afraid of it, but only one of them knows it. He has survived it for quite some time already. When the night passes, events unfold themselves quickly and sometimes it is hard to tell how much time passes. But, the end of the story of that night is unexpected and I found it sad. Not unbelievable, just sad that it had to be that way.
Luckily the author did not choose a happy ending for his book. It would not have fitted in my opinion. Things take a turn and people learn to live with what happened, but... it'll never be as good as it used to be.
Very impressive first book!
But, back to the contents, as that is the most important. Like Imalready said in my updates while reading it is a book about 4 boys who go out camping in the woods, near a lake. They tell each other horror stories, and after each story one of them goes into the woods, blindfolded. The one who puts on his torch first or removes the blindfold loses the game.
The game and the fear it brings to the surface awakes something horrible. All boys are afraid of it, but only one of them knows it. He has survived it for quite some time already. When the night passes, events unfold themselves quickly and sometimes it is hard to tell how much time passes. But, the end of the story of that night is unexpected and I found it sad. Not unbelievable, just sad that it had to be that way.
Luckily the author did not choose a happy ending for his book. It would not have fitted in my opinion. Things take a turn and people learn to live with what happened, but... it'll never be as good as it used to be.
Very impressive first book!
August 16, 2011
So this is the first book of Olde Heuvelt and in the beginning I wasn't really into it. It was about 4 young friends who got a little camping planned before the end of summer. But I thought that it got interesting the moment the real action began. After that it was a fine story, not really my favorite since there are a few things that are repeated, a lot. But other then that a fine first book for his age when he wrote it and I hope that he will get better so I'm going to read his other books and see how it goes.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews