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verosnotebook 's review for:

The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
4.0

"Trolley rails, power lines, and overflowing gutters stitched the capital city together with all the forethought of a field surgeon.”

The first think you notice upon starting this book is the language. Bancroft borrows from the Victorian tradition, opting for a beautiful and complex prose, and adds to it a good dose of fantastical vocabulary and humour. I personally loved this, but I reckon it will not be to everyone’s liking. Still, the result was so evocative of this gritty world. Imagine, a 19th century industrial city, starting to use electricity and other new technologies, but one stitched together by magic.

The next thing I enjoyed was our main protagonists. How often are we given a happily married couple who have a true partnership? Not often. The author not only gives us a wonderful team in Iz and Warren but also uses them to challenge the usual preconceptions of how a marriage should behave. In the same vein, we have a lot of social commentary, mostly how the working classes suffer at the hands of the nobility.

And this leads me to the plot, which at the core is a mystery. As we follow our ‘detectives’, we are thrown in a world where nearly everything is possible. Expect the unexpected! I perhaps liked this a little less than the other aspects, but still had a great time. Looking forward to their next adventure.

"I deliver answers, but I answer to no one.”