Book Review of The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

 

Name of Book: The Hexologists 

Author: Josiah Bancroft 

ISBN: 978-0-316-44330-2

Publisher: Orbit 

Part of a Series: Hexologists Book One

Type of book: Fantasy, 1800s to 1900s steampunk fantasy, marriage, couple, secrets, determination, role reversal, Victorian Era, state secrets, royalty 

Year it was published: 2023 

Summary:

The first book in a wildly inventive and mesmerizing new fantasy series from acclaimed author Josiah Bancroft where magical mysteries abound and only one team can solve The Hexologists.

The Hexologists, Iz and Warren Wilby, are quite accustomed to helping desperate clients with the bugbears of city life. Aided by hexes and a bag of charmed relics, the Wilbies have recovered children abducted by chimney-wraiths, removed infestations of barb-nosed incubi, and ventured into the Gray Plains of the Unmade to soothe a troubled ghost. Well-acquainted with the weird, they never shy away from a challenging case.

 

But when they are approached by the royal secretary and told the king pleads to be baked into a cake—going so far as to wedge himself inside a lit oven—the Wilbies soon find themselves embroiled in a mystery that could very well see the nation turned on its head. Their effort to expose a royal secret buried under forty years of lies brings them nose to nose with a violent anti-royalist gang, avaricious ghouls, alchemists who draw their power from a hell-like dimension, and a bookish dragon who only occasionally eats people.

 

Armed with a love toughened by adversity and a stick of chalk that can conjure light from the darkness, hope from the hopeless, Iz and Warren Wilby are ready for a case that will test every spell, skill, and odd magical artifact in their considerable bag of tricks.

Characters:

Main characters are Isolde and Warren. Isolde is best described as the brains in the duo which can be either a hit or a miss for some people. She is logical, somewhat emotional and very determined to do what she can no matter what. (I also suspect that she might be on the spectrum scale). She also hides what seems to be harmless secrets from Warren. I definitely like Warren because he is complete opposite of Isolde in that he is warm, caring, emotional, emphatic, and takes very good care of Isolde. He loves and accepts her the way she is. The secondary characters definitely start out strong, but the ones I hope that will be paid a lot of attention aren't, as sad as I am to say. (I definitely like Felivox the dragon and enjoyed Isolde's mother.) 

Theme:

Opposites attract

Plot:

The story is written in third person narrative primarily from Isolde's point of view. I definitely have to say that the characters are the author's strength. I found myself to be confused by the world they inhabited and about the mystery. I also think what I found confusing or frustrating is when does the world take place? Is it 1800s? Or fantasy Victorian Era of sorts or is it 1900s? From the writing style I would definitely put this in Victorian Era, but from the technology and whatnot, its not a Victorian Era. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Before settling down to write fantasy novels, Josiah Bancroft was a poet, college instructor, and aspiring comic book artist. When he is not writing, he enjoys recording the Crit Faced podcast with his authorial friends, drawing the world of the Tower, and cooking dinner without a recipe. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Sharon, their daughter Maddie, and their two rabbits, Mabel and Chaplin.

Opinion:

Simply put, I have discovered that I am not the right audience for the book. In theory I should have liked and enjoyed it because of the quirky marriage couple, the strong bond they have as well as the dry humor within the pages. And yet, my reading journey didn't go as well as I anticipated. I had a hard time understanding or finding humor after first few pages, and I also couldn't really understand why Warren married Isolde. Maybe its because in this novel a lot of Isolde's "weaknesses" are put on display which doesn't make her very likable character and makes her very prickly or hit or miss type? Warren seems to portray a lot of strong and awesome characteristics that any person will hope to discover in a spouse. The novel is really good, and while written well with awesome characters, humor and an interesting fantasy world, I am simply the wrong audience for the book. 

This was given for review

3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)