On the Same Page's Reviews > The Hexologists

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I even start.

Based on other books I've read that follow a similar structure (a couple solves mysteries together in an SFF setting), I was fairly optimistic going into this. It's my first novel by the author, and I've mostly heard good things about his previous series. I'm definitely taking it off my TBR now, though, because my biggest issue by far was the writing.

Now I've been known to enjoy some purple prose every now and then, and I don't mind it when I encounter words I don't immediately understand because I can usually understand them in context, or look them up if I'm curious. But this read like the author had a thesaurus by his side, and just substituted words for fun. Why use nostrils when you can use nares, right? In fact, the entire book smacks of "aren't I so clever?" in a very pretentious way, that made me really dislike my reading experience. And the writing isn't the only thing that gives off this vibe.

One of the things that really stood out to me was how he built his characters. Let me start by saying that they can be summed up as "very clever" (Iz) and "very empathetic" (Warren), and they are both extremely horny all the time even though they've been married for ages. Is this important? I wouldn't think so, but I guess the author does, because he makes sure to repeat this often. The sexual innuendo was cringe-worthy, and I say that having read books like Ice Planet Barbarians (which, btw, got a higher rating than this book, because for all its faults, it was at least entertaining). But what made me raise my eyebrows was the dynamic between Iz and Warren. It seems clear to me that he wrote them with traditional gender roles flipped. Warren does most of the cooking, he's the sweet one, he gets very emotional, he's a bit clingy. Meanwhile, Iz is the one who decides their course of action. She's brusque (but not emotionless!), she's very smart, and, unlike Warren, she would not spend her time nursing him if he got sick, but would instead go out and figure out a cure. There is a lot of focus placed on these characteristics, and the contrast between them is often mentioned. Normally I'd be really into this setup, but it all felt so calculated and blatant, and I can't help but feel like this, again, is the author going, "look at me! Aren't I so clever to have reversed their gender roles? Don't I have modern sensibilities?"

But the most egregious issue is honestly how boring the entire book is. It's much too long for the story it's telling, which isn't that interesting anyway, and the characters have very little to recommend them. The only saving grace was the inclusion of Felivox.

Also, for a book that's supposedly funny, I didn't even crack a smile.

Anyway, if you're looking for a couple solving mysteries together, may I recommend that you skip this one and instead, pick up either The Conductors (it's a debut and the writing was a bit rough, but I really liked the characters and the plot was good enough) or The Spare Man (great characters, fun plot, overall a really good time).