3 Star Reviews
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14th October 2011
Book Review: Hexult by Perry Aylen
Genre: Young Adult (Adventure)
Hexult is the first book written by UK author, Perry Aylen. Hexult world frozen over with ice. Much knowledge has been lost over time. When Aulf and Ingar rescue two shipwrecked twins who look very different from anyone they know, but have a surprising resemblance to a prophesy that threatens the icy land, people fear them. The twins, Jacob and Elya, possess knowledge and items that are unheard of and seemingly magical to these people putting them in danger for their lives.
"When the seas rose and the Earth froze much knowledge was lost. And in this world of ice a little knowledge goes a long way." This quote from the summary of Hexult was all it too to peak my interest in this book. Hexult is a highly original story of adventure. It shows us a World where ignorance is not always bliss. With the loss of common knowledge among the people, it reminded me of our own histories where innocent people were falsely accused of witchcraft because they were a little different from the rest. A simple compass is seen as something magical.
Hexult was an enjoyable story. This is the type of book I would have loved to read in Elementary or Middle School and is highly appropriate for that age group.
21st July 2011
Beautiful tale
What a refreshing idea! Literally, refreshing. With the heat tormenting me, reading about a world of ice made it all better, at least for my mind. I'll be honest, I'm quite torn between a 3 and 4 butterflies rating. I'd give it a 4 for originality, age-appropriate tale-like structure, content and characters, but a 3 for the chemistry I had with said characters. Admittedly, I am well above it's target; so, to make up my mind what rating I'd give it, I thought, if I had a kid, would I give him/her this book to read? And it's a definite "YES", something I wouldn't quite say for some titles out there. But my reading experience does point more to the 3 segment, therefore, I rate Hexult a 3 (and a half) out of 5.
The atmosphere is very much tale-like, if a bit...chilling. A world engulfed in ice, where some knowledge truly does set you apart - that setting got my full attention right from the beginning. I loved the description of the environment, it is both built and presented beautifully.
The characters are interesting, especially the twins. As I kept reading, I had these flashbacks of an animated series I used to watch when I was younger, I'm not sure I remember the name, but it was about these twins traveling together, and when they'd hold hands they did some sort of Magic thing; anyway, I really loved the series, and I've been since a big fan of twins. It was a great pleasure for me to follow twin adventures, if I may call them so.
The plot itself is quite engaging, and I could definitely see a successful movie made based on Perry Aylen's work, I believe it would translate into a big time success. If I could have had something different about it, I think I would have liked the characters to be a bit more...charismatic? There's something endearing about some of them, the twins especially, but maybe someone could have been just a tad more edgy perhaps, but that's a very personal aspect of course.
As usual, I can't keep from commenting about the cover. I love the cover, I mean, just looks at it; it's beautiful!
All thing considered, I find Hexult to be a very charming tale, that I do recommend with a dear heart. It has that sprinkle of fairytale charm that we find so little of lately.
17th July 2011
My Thoughts
First off, Hexult is not at my reading level or my particular taste in books. This book is more geared toward children and the middle school age group. With that information out of the way, I do find the world of Hexult to be imaginative and enticing. Although, it did take me quite a few chapters before I was able to get the gist of the story and indulge in the characters. As the story went on and the more interesting Hexult started to become, the easier it was to lose myself in Perry Aylen's words. But, I think that the world of Hexult could have been deeper, more exciting.
Aulf, one of the main characters is sweet and energetic. He captivates the audience with his never-ending generosity and love for Hexult. Ingar was just as equally interesting.
All in all, Hexult was an okay read. But, do not hesitate to pick this one up for your children. They adventure and the magic of an unknown world will be sure to captivate a young person's mind.