Horror Aficionados discussion

Our second August Group Read is Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Remember to use spoiler tags and have a wonderful scary time!

I have been wanting to read this forever and I grabbed awhile back on a deal so time to read it. :) Looking forward to August which is next weekend. Yay! :)

Same! Just waiting for my copy to arrive!

Ooohoho yes, sign me up with this one! I've been meaning to read it for the past couple of years.

I read Widow's Point earlier this year so if my library has Hex I'll take it out for this group read.

I've read this before but that was long back. Can't wait to revisit!

Looking forward to this one! I've had the book in my bookcase for years at this point but never actually read it :( Finally have an excuse to read it! :)

I was reading the book on a flight traveling for work. The gentleman sitting next to me asked me what I thought of it. I said I wasnt sure yet as I just started reading. He then told me he knew the author and told me he hoped I enjoyed it. I remember thinking, small world.
When I got off the plane I looked up the author and it was the guy sitting next to me on the plane. I really did enjoy the book. It being so different from anything I read before. Hope you all enjoy it also.

Holly wrote: "I was reading the book on a flight traveling for work. The gentleman sitting next to me asked me what I thought of it. I said I wasnt sure yet as I just started reading. He then told me he knew the..."
Oh wow, that's crazy! And he didn't even go "that is me"

Holly wrote: "I was reading the book on a flight traveling for work. The gentleman sitting next to me asked me what I thought of it. I said I wasnt sure yet as I just started reading. He then told me he knew the..."

I'll second that it's a small world. How fun it would have been if he'd identified himself. You could have gotten your book signed.

I’m excited about this one! It’s a billion years wait for Widow’s Point for me but I already had this one loaded up on the Kindle, apparently I felt intrigued about it at some point and forgot lol. Here’s to hoping that’s a good omen!

Hex is like, honestly such an incredible pick for August. The whole idea of a modern little town hemmed in by a 17th-century witch, it feels so unnerving and kinda unique, you know? I’m really looking forward to reading it with the group, a long with everyone else and yeah I’ll keep the spoilers safely tagged 🧹👻

I have always wanted to read Hex but have never gotten around to it. I am really happy that the book won, because it's a perfect reason to read the book finally. Also, the book I vote for almost never wins the poll, and this time it did!

That was a heck of a first chapter! Great stuff so far I’m roped right in.

I am going to start reading it next week sometime - in the middle of the other group read here so want to finish it before moving on to this one. :)

Well, it’s a page turner. I’m about 31% in already and man am I stressed. The teens are stressing me out. The adults are stressing me out. The witch is stressing me out. Everyone is stressing me out. Lol! The nervous energy and anxiety is really well done. Full 5/5 for me, so far.

I kinda love the way it started, (view spoiler)[ I was so confused by the way Jocelyn threw a napkin over Gramma, for a moment I was like why is she so mean to her grandma!?! lol (hide spoiler)] you’re just thrown straight into the story.

Also how is it that Tyler’s comment of ‘a supermarket enchiladas rolled up in cellophane you’d rather not eat’ the perfect description 😂

I checked this out of the local library. Not ready to start yet, since I'm participating in the group read of WIDOW'S POINT.

I'm anxious to hurry through these books so I can read all the spoiler notes - - but time isn't on my side right now (apologies to Mick).

I will be starting this book in a day or so - trying to get through another book at the moment. lol

I’m about 57% of the way in. I will avoid saying too many spoilerish things so everyone can catch up first. But I have one big gripe. (view spoiler)[ This man mentions nipples FAR too often. It’s been at least 5x now and I don’t think I’m exaggerating that number. (hide spoiler)]

Made it to the end. Not 100% sure how I feel about it. Gonna have to think on it a bit. LOTS to unpack there.

I started it a day or so ago and will give a thought or two (view spoiler)[when I first started reading it the story seems like it was already going on for some reason - there doesn't seem to be any background buildup to the story - the reader is just tossed into a story that seems to be already in progress. The family just seems strange for some reason - I am having a hard time connecting with them. Will see how I feel about them as time goes on. (hide spoiler)]

Marie wrote: "I started it a day or so ago and will give a thought or two [spoilers removed]"

I think it’s that way by design and you do get more background and answers fairly quickly. I had the same experience. I re-read the first chapter thinking I had missed something because I was so confused about what was going on and who any of these people were.

Alyssa wrote: "Well, it’s a page turner. I’m about 31% in already and man am I stressed. The teens are stressing me out. The adults are stressing me out. The witch is stressing me out. Everyone is stressing me ou..."

Also over 30%ish and I agree.

The teens in particular are far too reckless for kids who grew up in Black Springs. At this point I feel like, why can’t everyone sit together and talk it through. (view spoiler)[Also why hasn’t any of the adults come across the Ectoplasm stuff the teens find? (Unless I’m not far enough ahead) I’d have thought they’d also be doing their own experiments to end the curse too… (hide spoiler)]

Also the Holst family are messy. Jeez.

Naz wrote: "Alyssa wrote: "Well, it’s a page turner. I’m about 31% in already and man am I stressed. The teens are stressing me out. The adults are stressing me out. The witch is stressing me out. Everyone is ..."

Oh man. I am so excited for everyone to finish this because I don’t think there is any way for me to add my two cents that won’t spoil the story. But I definitely had similar thoughts about these characters lol.

I just took this out of the library. I don't know if I'll get to it this month. I have two other books I'm reading right now.

Alyssa wrote: "Marie wrote: "I started it a day or so ago and will give a thought or two [spoilers removed]"

I think it’s that way by design and you do get more background and answers fairly quickly. I had the s..."

Thank you for that info Alyssa - I will hang into it some more to see what happens. Glad that is wasn't only me that was wondering about it. :)

Started this the other day, around 100 pages in and thoroughly enjoying it. The Author seems to have laid out a well done town and character build, for what i can imagine is going to be a good and thought out middle and end to this. Fingers Crossed anyway. :)

Hex is much more than a simple story about a terrifying witch. Its greatest strength is the way it explores what fear can do to individuals and an entire community.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I will just follow along at this point. I had to lay it down. It was doing nothing for me. But I will be curious what everyone else thinks about the story. :)

P180 so roughly approaching halfway (not quite ready to read your spoilers yet Alyssa, but I really want to!! 😆 I’m so intrigued to know what people think about this one! )

Cos damn, the Holsts are still messy (view spoiler)[ kudos to the author for making me feel simultaneous pity and intense dislike for Griselda and Jaydon. They’re ignorant, racist, homophobic and Jaydon assaulting Katherine was soooo unsettling. Not to mention Griselda’s illogical animal sacrifice. Wtf 😳

The cycle of violence is continuing. And they are some messed up individuals. But I feel like their increasingly unsavoury behaviour is foreshadowing of what’s to come with the rest of Black Springs residents. (hide spoiler)] Philip Zimbardo eat your heart out. Gosh.

Edit: Also.. Grim gets some really intense intrusive thoughts 🫠

Naz wrote: "P180 so roughly approaching halfway (not quite ready to read your spoilers yet Alyssa, but I really want to!! 😆 I’m so intrigued to know what people think about this one! )

Cos damn, the Holsts ar..."

Oh man Griselda straight up made me so angry. I feel like she’s 100% (view spoiler)[meant to be an outlandish caricature of how some of us come to be the abusers through our own experiences of pain and abuse. Jaydon is symbolic of handing down those generational curses. You can’t even feel bad for their horrific past because of their current actions. (hide spoiler)]

Grim really gives me the same vibes. I feel like he represents how we see a lot of people turn from rational thinkers into extremists. (view spoiler)[ I feel like so much of it has to do with his job also being to try to force people away from the town and seeing how many won’t listen and don’t heed the warnings. (hide spoiler)]

I just started reading, looking forward to it because it sounds like a good one! The picks this month were great!

Alyssa wrote: "I’m about 57% of the way in. I will avoid saying too many spoilerish things so everyone can catch up first. But I have one big gripe. [spoilers removed]"

😂 lol, that’s the authors tell. (view spoiler)[ as soon as he mentioned Claire’s big forehead, it gave me Echo flashbacks where he consistently talked about a characters amazing abs and pecs. Here it’s nipples. (hide spoiler)]

I’m on p210 now 😱 and what is going ooonn

It’s got a lot of creepy moments (view spoiler)[ Tyler searching for fletcher was actually pretty eerie (hide spoiler)]

The collective hysteria and paranoia is probably worse than Katherine at this point (view spoiler)[ I feel sorry for her at this point.. kill em all Katherine! Especially Jaydon… what a creep. (hide spoiler)]

Also (view spoiler)[ how can Steve just not be bothered to see what the issue is with his teenage son!! Sure Tyler what’s to try and solve it independently, but that doesn’t mean you should just not be bothered to try and leave him to it… you’re the parent! He’s still only 17. Again, this could all be solved better with open communication 🤦‍♀️ (hide spoiler)]

I began reading today. Two chapters in and not only am I disliking the writing style and dialogue, I am getting very confused. I'll see how further I can go.

Naz wrote: "I’m on p210 now 😱 and what is going ooonn

It’s got a lot of creepy moments [spoilers removed]

The collective hysteria and paranoia is probably worse than Katherine at this point [spoilers remove..."

Good to know this is just a fun author quirk! I was reading it like what is happening this can’t be serious is this ragebait? lol!

Steve is so tough because initially I thought he was the only good guy but (view spoiler)[it was about this time in the book that I started thinking maybe he represented people who attempt to intellectualize their way out of everything. Which can be equally as unstable as overly emotional behaviors. It seems like he is really unwilling to examine his own bias and his own faults and instead attempts to stand superior to his fellow townspeople. Even the way he speaks about his wife and other son up to this point constantly gave me side eye. He ironically, seems to have a bit of a Messiah complex. (hide spoiler)]

Anabella wrote: "I began reading today. Two chapters in and not only am I disliking the writing style and dialogue, I am getting very confused. I'll see how further I can go."

Fair. I found the story explains itself rather quickly once it gets going, it is not one of those that's continuously ambiguous. The writing style is 100% unique. From my understanding it wasn’t written in English initially so I wonder if that had a part in why it sounds so odd sometimes. However, this author definitely has some choice writing patterns I am not a fan of and I mentioned them in one of my above spoilers, so I understand fully!

Yeah I just realized that the author is Dutch. Well that makes more sense.

Rohit wrote: "Hex is much more than a simple story about a terrifying witch. Its greatest strength is the way it explores what fear can do to individuals and an entire community.
My review:
https://www.goodreads..."
Absolutely. There's much more than just a good horror story here. I'm going to hold off on reading your review until I've finished the book - just in case of spoilers. Thanks for posting it here.

Started a couple days ago and breezing through this much faster than I did with WIDOW'S POINT. Hoping to finish this weekend.

That first chapter was a real hook. I was also a little confused and had to re-read a section of it. (view spoiler)[ I thought the "Granma" reference in the living room corner was an elderly family member suffering from dementia. A cool way to introduce it and throw the reader off a little bit. (hide spoiler)]

Just read the first chapter in Part Two. (view spoiler)[ Very unsettling. Things went from worse to . . . . tragic. (hide spoiler)]

Michael wrote: "Started a couple days ago and breezing through this much faster than I did with WIDOW'S POINT. Hoping to finish this weekend.

That first chapter was a real hook. I was also a little confused and h..."
Same here! I thought it was their actual grandmother and thought "How rude they just throw a dishcloth over her like that!" Then as I read further I was more confused and had to reread the beginning of Ch.1 to then understand (view spoiler)[ "Ohhh it's an ancient dead witch whose existence is normalized and accepted..."
I missed key sentences in the beginning like Steve saying, "I thought the whole idea was to divert attention away from her?" and Marty responding with, "You know the master's style." After rereading Ch. 1, this is the part that made me realize this... evil thing... is a part of this society and there are rules/regulations that come with it (her) because a "master" was referenced. Which I'm not far into the book, only 20% but curious who the leader of all of this is if not the guys running the Society and HEX program. (hide spoiler)]

Janae wrote: "Michael wrote: "
That first chapter was a real hook. I was also a littl..."

lol 😂 Yesss! I was confused for a moment, I thought why they are bullying poor little Gramma.

Alyssa wrote: "Steve is so tough because..."

Totally agree! I gotta say I got minor cringe when he talked about Tyler’s girlfriend, how she was the sort of girl who was attractive without makeup and perfect for his son 🫠
(view spoiler)[ Jocelyn feels underdeveloped and Griselda is just batshit crazy. I don’t think the author is good at writing a nuanced female character (hide spoiler)]

But now I have a sense of foreboding for Steve (view spoiler)[ at the start when Tyler asks Steve who he would choose between him and Matt or him and blacksprings (hide spoiler)] I wonder if this will come back to bite him in the ass in some way.

Naz wrote: "Alyssa wrote: "Steve is so tough because..."

Totally agree! I gotta say I got minor cringe when he talked about Tyler’s girlfriend, how she was the sort of girl who was attractive without makeup a..."

Your speculation about Steve is spot-on. (view spoiler)[ And, an unintentional understatement. I too wondered about what was coming after that question about who you would save - an individual or the town? (hide spoiler)]

Finished yesterday.
If anyone is getting tired of reading this and getting impatient - - hang in there. This became worth it for me.

Here's my review . . . . . .
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I re-read this book after years and had a blast yet again. The witch is so so creepy. Creepier still are the townsfolk. Amazing book!

Anabella wrote: "I began reading today. Two chapters in and not only am I disliking the writing style and dialogue, I am getting very confused. I'll see how further I can go."

Okay after over 150 pages or so in I'm started to get nervous. My anxiety is rising.

Michael wrote: "your speculation about Steve..."

(Only p.221 so far)

The question literally gets brought up again a few pages from where I left it 😂 I guess my spidey senses anticipated it. I didnt realise I’d paused at such an intense moment in the book. Poor Tyler. (view spoiler)[ Jeez, it didn’t seem like Steve needed much convincing on who he would choose though. What’s his issue with Matt? it’s always Jocelyn's problem (although I guess he didn’t want a second child, and maybe he’s more attached to Tyler because of the guilt, since it’s Steve’s fault he was born on Black Springs) (hide spoiler)]

@Damini: 💯 these townsfolk always feel one step away from getting their pitchforks out.

Michael wrote: "Naz wrote: "Alyssa wrote: "Steve is so tough because..."

Totally agree! I gotta say I got minor cringe when he talked about Tyler’s girlfriend, how she was the sort of girl who was attractive with..."

Excellent review! You are spot on that I found myself not really liking a single one of the characters, but I love when a book shows intentionality in that regard. A horror book full of well written and purposefully unlikeable characters can seem hard to come by these days (in my personal opinion, of course). I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this book because the beginning really did do a number on my confidence but once it picked up man did it take off running. The ending wasn’t entirely surprising, I feel like the author was hinting at how he would portray the town as a whole throughout the story, but I absolutely love that Tyler threw that question at his parents so early on. It truly did set the tone for the emotional damage to come.