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truebookaddict's review
5.0
This book...wow! It's an amalgamation of a horror novel, historical fiction and an end-of-the-world tale. I loved it!
This line in the book's description..."We are all made of stars." Turns out, the Incas were the keepers of this arcane knowledge and when an important ritual fails in their time, we are taken through a timeline of places and people seeking the truth, all planning to use the knowledge for their own ends.
At first, I didn't quite know what to think, but as the book progressed from the Inca Empire through an 18th century shipwreck, on to the American Civil War to Jack the Ripper's England and finally from the Bahamas in the 80s to present day England, I was taken on an incredible journey of historical and pop culture references with a good amount of gore thrown in. Believe me, if you're not fond of gore, you won't want to read this. Yet, it's necessary to tell the story. It really is.
Much more than just a mere horror novel, Hexagram also tells a story with a message. As I'm writing this, and thinking about what I read, I am reminded of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas (which I loved as well). This quote near the end of the book really struck a chord with me:
"Look what we do as people. We've spent our entire time killing each other and everything else on this planet. We invented religion so that people can kill other people who believe in something different, or to offer some hint of better things when you've gone through your entire life serving those with power. It's bullshit. We're supposed to evolve as a species, yet it feels like all we do is go backwards. We find new and inventive ways of killing each other and ruining the planet..."
So true...and so apropos to the current state of our world.
So, as I said, so much more than just a horror novel, this one really makes you think. I like books that make me think, and books that present, and pull off, an original idea. This is that book and it's very much a must-read.
(I received an eBook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
This line in the book's description..."We are all made of stars." Turns out, the Incas were the keepers of this arcane knowledge and when an important ritual fails in their time, we are taken through a timeline of places and people seeking the truth, all planning to use the knowledge for their own ends.
At first, I didn't quite know what to think, but as the book progressed from the Inca Empire through an 18th century shipwreck, on to the American Civil War to Jack the Ripper's England and finally from the Bahamas in the 80s to present day England, I was taken on an incredible journey of historical and pop culture references with a good amount of gore thrown in. Believe me, if you're not fond of gore, you won't want to read this. Yet, it's necessary to tell the story. It really is.
Much more than just a mere horror novel, Hexagram also tells a story with a message. As I'm writing this, and thinking about what I read, I am reminded of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas (which I loved as well). This quote near the end of the book really struck a chord with me:
"Look what we do as people. We've spent our entire time killing each other and everything else on this planet. We invented religion so that people can kill other people who believe in something different, or to offer some hint of better things when you've gone through your entire life serving those with power. It's bullshit. We're supposed to evolve as a species, yet it feels like all we do is go backwards. We find new and inventive ways of killing each other and ruining the planet..."
So true...and so apropos to the current state of our world.
So, as I said, so much more than just a horror novel, this one really makes you think. I like books that make me think, and books that present, and pull off, an original idea. This is that book and it's very much a must-read.
(I received an eBook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
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