nelli_lakatos's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately I didn't like this book. I don't liked the writing style, it was really confusing sometimes. I was bored when read this book, I just finished it because it was short.
I ended up giving two stars but just because it have some scenes what I liked.
I ended up giving two stars but just because it have some scenes what I liked.
booksofgloom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
misterkyle1901's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
radicalrachelreads's review against another edition
5.0
How was I to know I needed some philosophical horror in my life? Maybe I did know and that’s why I bought the Hexis ebook after some man on Facebook mentioned he’d be reading it soon. This January is “ladies first” for me. My whole month’s reading list will be books of horror by women. If the authors are indie authors, even better. Why wait when this book meets all the criteria, I thought. I dove right in as soon as I bought it and could not put it down. I read through the night - highlighting my way through this glorious gem of a book. I was perplexed. I was enlightened. I was amused. I was disgusted. I was mesmerized.
It’s nearly dawn as I write this review because I had to get it out. I need a book club discussion for this book! It’s like nothing I’ve read before. This book will be occupying my headspace for quite some time.
It’s nearly dawn as I write this review because I had to get it out. I need a book club discussion for this book! It’s like nothing I’ve read before. This book will be occupying my headspace for quite some time.
oddly's review against another edition
4.0
Though this is a slim book at 138 pages, don’t let its size fool you. There is much more than meets the eye between these pages. The explanation of the title, a philosophical term, is an epigraph to the book, and the definition itself is obfuscating, serving as a warning of what the reader is about to get themselves into.
This book is not an easy read, nor was it meant to be. It doesn’t follow a typical narrative and in fact, I wouldn’t call it a narrative story at all. But if you are interested to dig into each chapter, it is well worth the effort.
In short, it is the story of a woman who kills a man again and again, each effort, though deliberate and extravagantly detailed, ends up being in vain.
Though that is the content, I saw the book, not as a narrative about a murderous woman but rather as a metaphorical tale about power and expected gender roles. Hexis stems from “having,” and this idea of possession is at the forefront of the book. The woman is desired by the man she detests, and it is not so much that she detests him as she does not want to be possessed. They are caught in a constant struggle between “the haver and the had,” and as Aristotle notes, “the process will go on to infinity, if we can have the having of what we have.” It turns the brain around a bit, no?
The unnamed woman knows where her power lies, or at least the only power she thinks she has access to—her sex. She manipulates the men around her to accomplish her grim task and though she succeeds, she also fails because the story comes back around and puts her on the bottom again every time. I wondered what the outcome might be if she broke away from that societally created power structure and took a different angle.
This book goes to some dark places and was uncomfortably descriptive on more than one occasion. But that is the joy of good horror—it gives us something to shy away from while at the same time we confront it. Again and again. A hexis type of struggle.
This book definitely is not for everyone, but I do enjoy a book that wrestles with my understanding, even if there isn’t truly a narrative.
Another brilliant cover by Matthew Revert. My thanks to Clash Books for my copy of this one to read and review for the Ladies of Horror Fiction team.
This book is not an easy read, nor was it meant to be. It doesn’t follow a typical narrative and in fact, I wouldn’t call it a narrative story at all. But if you are interested to dig into each chapter, it is well worth the effort.
In short, it is the story of a woman who kills a man again and again, each effort, though deliberate and extravagantly detailed, ends up being in vain.
Though that is the content, I saw the book, not as a narrative about a murderous woman but rather as a metaphorical tale about power and expected gender roles. Hexis stems from “having,” and this idea of possession is at the forefront of the book. The woman is desired by the man she detests, and it is not so much that she detests him as she does not want to be possessed. They are caught in a constant struggle between “the haver and the had,” and as Aristotle notes, “the process will go on to infinity, if we can have the having of what we have.” It turns the brain around a bit, no?
The unnamed woman knows where her power lies, or at least the only power she thinks she has access to—her sex. She manipulates the men around her to accomplish her grim task and though she succeeds, she also fails because the story comes back around and puts her on the bottom again every time. I wondered what the outcome might be if she broke away from that societally created power structure and took a different angle.
This book goes to some dark places and was uncomfortably descriptive on more than one occasion. But that is the joy of good horror—it gives us something to shy away from while at the same time we confront it. Again and again. A hexis type of struggle.
This book definitely is not for everyone, but I do enjoy a book that wrestles with my understanding, even if there isn’t truly a narrative.
Another brilliant cover by Matthew Revert. My thanks to Clash Books for my copy of this one to read and review for the Ladies of Horror Fiction team.
tales_of_a_succubus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
What's it about?
Best described as a stream of consciousness, a woman runs into the same man (or maybe multiple) again and again, visualizing how she will murder him.
Sex and murder are the name of the game in this novella. It explores some of the honest truths women have and is done in a sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying way. It's dark. We never do learn her name or who the man is. It's mainly a narrative, if anything but a fucked one. It's like being in a scattered brain that is clearly struggling with her mental health. It almost reminds me of a character study, and it is a fascinating one at that. We never really know what happens...was it all in her head? Did she actually murder someone? Did the man only die one of these times and are we left to figure out which time it was?
Going into this blind may be the best way to do it. I wouldn't do too much research, enjoy the ride.
This is a smart, philosophical book. I loved the physics references. It made me wonder what her particular job was at times, although the details were never revealed. This won't be for everyone but...try it out. You don't need to understand everything. It's a twisted mindfuck and sometimes that's what the doctor called in.
There were moments that I had a hard time processing or following along so I had to significantly slow down my reading pace. Some moments got repetitive but I kept in mind that these are real time thoughts. This isn't a bad thing, but he aware it's not a quick read.
I'd recommend this to: anyone who likes character studies, wants to be in a murderer's mind, and wants something different.
Best described as a stream of consciousness, a woman runs into the same man (or maybe multiple) again and again, visualizing how she will murder him.
Sex and murder are the name of the game in this novella. It explores some of the honest truths women have and is done in a sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying way. It's dark. We never do learn her name or who the man is. It's mainly a narrative, if anything but a fucked one. It's like being in a scattered brain that is clearly struggling with her mental health. It almost reminds me of a character study, and it is a fascinating one at that. We never really know what happens...was it all in her head? Did she actually murder someone? Did the man only die one of these times and are we left to figure out which time it was?
Going into this blind may be the best way to do it. I wouldn't do too much research, enjoy the ride.
This is a smart, philosophical book. I loved the physics references. It made me wonder what her particular job was at times, although the details were never revealed. This won't be for everyone but...try it out. You don't need to understand everything. It's a twisted mindfuck and sometimes that's what the doctor called in.
There were moments that I had a hard time processing or following along so I had to significantly slow down my reading pace. Some moments got repetitive but I kept in mind that these are real time thoughts. This isn't a bad thing, but he aware it's not a quick read.
I'd recommend this to: anyone who likes character studies, wants to be in a murderer's mind, and wants something different.
spookishmommy's review
4.0
"Every girl wants to be someone else. The commonality between them is that they hate themselves."
Hexis was an EXPERIENCE unlike any other. To fully understand what I mean, you must take this journey yourself. It wasn't until after I finished that I found out Charlene Elsby is a DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. This explains so much. Basically, she's a genius and while I found that a lot of Hexis may have gone over my head, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am eagerly awaiting more from Elsby.
Hexis was an EXPERIENCE unlike any other. To fully understand what I mean, you must take this journey yourself. It wasn't until after I finished that I found out Charlene Elsby is a DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. This explains so much. Basically, she's a genius and while I found that a lot of Hexis may have gone over my head, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am eagerly awaiting more from Elsby.
cheesedance's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
lauriereadslohf's review against another edition
4.0
Hexis is a slim book but it wasn’t a quick read. It’s told in what I can best describe as a stream of consciousness but it’s a lot more than that and a lot more than my brain can comprehend but I enjoyed it quite a bit! It’s dark and painful and is sometimes even darkly humorous and it tells SO many truths about being a woman in this world we live in.
“He just sat there, the most natural thing in the world, drinking his fucking coffee like he hadn’t fucking ruined me.”
I don’t think we ever learn names here but we’re told this story by a woman who repeatedly encounters a man who did her all kinds of wrong. He has hurt her, betrayed her, damaged her and she wants him dead, as you do. She is justifiably and fiercely angry and she takes care of business over and over again because this fucker simply will not stay dead.
There’s sex and there is murder and there’s also loads of internal dialogue. It was rather like being in my own scattered head at times (minus the murdering and some other things, ha). It goes sideways and backwards and then sideways again and it did indeed confuse me but it also fascinated me and kept me reading. Was this real or did she have a wildly imaginative imagination? I’m still unsure but her fury boils over in each chapter and it’s a pretty damn glorious event every single time it happens. But know that this is not a “fun” read as it deals with the aftermath of trauma or at least that’s how my brain processed it.
This book was a bit much for my brain. I’m not going to lie. Give it a read if you want to expand your horror horizons and also your brain.
“He just sat there, the most natural thing in the world, drinking his fucking coffee like he hadn’t fucking ruined me.”
I don’t think we ever learn names here but we’re told this story by a woman who repeatedly encounters a man who did her all kinds of wrong. He has hurt her, betrayed her, damaged her and she wants him dead, as you do. She is justifiably and fiercely angry and she takes care of business over and over again because this fucker simply will not stay dead.
There’s sex and there is murder and there’s also loads of internal dialogue. It was rather like being in my own scattered head at times (minus the murdering and some other things, ha). It goes sideways and backwards and then sideways again and it did indeed confuse me but it also fascinated me and kept me reading. Was this real or did she have a wildly imaginative imagination? I’m still unsure but her fury boils over in each chapter and it’s a pretty damn glorious event every single time it happens. But know that this is not a “fun” read as it deals with the aftermath of trauma or at least that’s how my brain processed it.
This book was a bit much for my brain. I’m not going to lie. Give it a read if you want to expand your horror horizons and also your brain.
stranger_sights's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You can read my full review at: https://mediadrome.wordpress.com/2020/06/24/hexis-by-charlene-elsby/
Think of it like a mental exorcism – and I mean that in the best possible way. It may not feel warm and fuzzy, but by the time it’s done, you’re probably going to find yourself feeling a little freer.
Think of it like a mental exorcism – and I mean that in the best possible way. It may not feel warm and fuzzy, but by the time it’s done, you’re probably going to find yourself feeling a little freer.
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