5 Star Reviews
Newest first
15th May 2012
I heartily recommend this book
Great plot
Original premise
Endearing Characters
Wonderful setting
Well written
-What's not to like.
Hexult transports you to a different world, but a simple world, a 'real' world, not the normal dystopian worlds of science fiction.
15th March 2012
Top class SF
This is one of the best new SF stories I have read in a long time. I hope the couple who collaborated to create it continue this standard of writing. A real pleasure after seeing some of the rubbish e-books which are supposed to be in the english language. A well thought out story line with plenty of possible questions unanswered for the future volumes. Thank you.
15th November 2011
A Great Adventure - Highly Recommended
I bought this based on the interesting premise (plus I fancied a rest from Jack Reacher so guess I am not the target audience for this book)and was not disappointed in the slightest. Read from start to finish in a couple of days which is a first for me since I bought the Kindle back in February. Hexult has a great plot and spirit of adventure with just enough threads dangling at the end to leave me waiting eagerly for the next book. Well done!
22nd October 2011
Earlier reviews give a good plot summary. I will simply add that I would be very happy for my tween children to read Hexult. It would capture their imaginations without leaning toward inappropriate topics. A great read!
6th September 2011
After several weeks of giving books less than stellar reviews, it was a refreshing and welcomed change to read Hexult. It is an adventure story aimed at tweens and while it will certainly appeal to middle grade and young adult readers, it is an enjoyable read for adults too; 5 out of 5 stars.
The author sets the drama of the shipwreck quickly and maintains a high level of adventure throughout the story in the form of raiders, an ill-tempered wizard, and islanders hardened by death and war. I liked how the unlikely, yet very strong, friendship between mailman Aulf and runaway/fighter/outcast Ingar was established from the start; it made me invested in them as characters and also in their relationship.
The other two main characters, twins Jacob and Elya, are equally as endearing and effective at capturing the reader. Their knowledge of science, or magic to the islanders, was very entertaining and drew some interesting parallels to mankinds continuing fear of things we cannot understand.
The writing style of Hexult is very clear and concise and a great level for a book aimed at tweens; it will sharpen a younger reader's vocabulary but is not too inaccessible.
I have no real criticisms of Hexult. It has a real childlike innocence and sense of wonder about it that make it a great book, especially for its younger target audience.
Hexult is an exciting tale of adventure from beginning to end and leaves the reader knowing that good trumps evil anyday.
24th August 2011
A Great Read
A great book. We really enjoyed reading it to our children.
"A brilliant story, full of adventure and science. Different to other books as the whole world is frozen and the facts helped me easily picture the ice world. I wanted to carry on reading and not stop. I liked Ingar because she was always really wild and free and I liked Elya because she had loads of brilliant ideas." Lauren (age 11)
"It gets into the exciting bit very quickly. I liked Gabriel as he's mysterious. Hector and Ivor made it more exciting but they are just bullies. I can't wait for book 2." Sam (age 9)
24th July 2011
Ice ships
Written for beings the age of my grandchildren, but I stayed with it and enjoyed the images that rose up in my mind. Images of ice-ships sliding beneath wind-filled sails between islands heated by the Earth's thermals. A volcanic fissure in the ice-field, known as the Vajra - an interesting name (Sanskrit for diamond thunderbolt). The author has a gifted imagination.
Glaciologists might have a question about the height of sea-level - but never mind that. It is a thoroughly good tale of the coming-of-age of youngsters who must needs fend for themselves.
9th July 2011
Great adventure for adults and children alike!!
In the land of Hexult, Aulf delivers the mail between a set of islands aboard the sailboat known as the Aurora. With his crew of one, a small waif of a girl named Ingar, they fly with the wind aboard the Aurora, no one around with a vessel fast enough to catch her. But in this land a boat doesn't fly over the smooth surface of water. Instead they slide across a frozen sea of ice, a white wonderland very different from the one you and I know.
One day while delivering the mail, Aulf and Ingar come across a wrecked vessel and find two young teenagers inside, barely alive, almost frozen to death. Their father was killed with the destruction of their boat, leaving the twins, Elya and Jacob, with no family. But Jacob and Elya have a lot to offer the people of Hexult, if only everyone was as willing to listen to them as Aulf and Ingar, because the people from the land of ice have never seen a lodestone, or witnessed a blacksmith heat and pound out steel, and they've never watched anyone carve out a lens of clear ice and use it to trap the rays of the sun, enabling the user to build a fire. Fire could be the difference between life and death if caught out on the ice during the night.
Reliable communication is a big dilemma between the islands and the twins have suggested the building of light towers may just be the answer to their problem. In the top of the towers would be mirrors and these could be used to flash messages between the islands, doing away with the need for a carrier. No one would have to worry anymore about a message getting confiscated by raiders-whose numbers grow daily, raising the level of fear and conflict among the people. But not everyone is pleased with the idea. There is one in particular who is afraid the twins might undermine his authority and destroy the respect he has created through superstitious fear in the people. He'd like to take credit for the idea of the light towers himself and does what he can to bring the twins down.
I'm far past the age for target readers of Hexult, but I enjoyed every last page of this wonderful adventure. I can just imagine kids going to their parents after reading, curious about the workings of a compass, or trying to build a magnifying glass from a chunk of clear ice. Any novel that can raise a child's curiosity about nature and science, and inspire the need to learn, is a wonderful deal in my eyes. And if an adventure can be gained with Aulf, Ingar, Jacob and Alya in their imaginations while they do so, then so much the better. I loved the novel and plan to purchase a copy for my eleven-year-old niece. I'm afraid she can't have mine. That one is reserved for my own adventure. :) You might have to get two, like I did-one copy for you, one for the kids. I'm sure you'll enjoy this novel as much as I did.
21st June 2011
A must for every 7 to 14 year old's bedroom bookshelf!
I've done some digging and this is the first book of a new UK author. Well hats off to the guy. This is a highly original piece. Set in a future ice-age where technology is thrown back so that even a compass is considered magic, the adventure unfolds around a group of youngsters who bring 'magic' to the isolated islands of Hexult that are seperated by vast sheets of ice. Trouble ensures for them as those with power vie to gain the advantage that the group can provide, and are willing to undertake 'dirty tactics' to get it.
I can easily see this book being read by parents to their children who will be eagerly awaiting bedtime (why wasn't it published a few years ago when my kids were small!). A must for every child and young adult's bookshelf. Good job and looking forward to the sequel.
31st May 2011
A Cold World
Not normally my type of book, but I'm so glad I tried it. I was totally immersed in the world to the extent I'd be feeling cold just reading it. It seemed like it was the start of an epic set of adventures, I hope so.
25th May 2011
Narnia for grown-ups!
If you loved the C.S. Lewis Narnia books as a child, you will almost certainly enjoy this. It's a proper adventure story, which grabs your attention from the beginning, and continues to be a page-turner throughout. The characters are engaging, but somewhat mysterious; and the world within which the story is set is fascinating. Highly recommended!
17th May 2011
Wonderful Imagination
Loved the setting of this book. The frozen world of Hexult is brought vividly to life , along with a civilisation that is an intriguing mix of past and present. I love the notion of a postman hero speeding over the ice between islands, delivering the mail. This story is an enjoyable mix of drama and good old-fashioned adventure, with likeable and believable heroes/heroines, which also deals with the more serious issue of prejudice and how we react to people who are different to ourselves.
Best of all, it has pirates!
Bertie Dawson
16th May 2011
What a refreshing read!
I was drawn into the story straight away, the writing is very accessible. It starts with Aulf and Ingar sailing across the ice and coming across a wreck. It throws up many questions which, I'm pleased to say, are answered throughout the story. The characters are well defined and the story is nicely paced, not action-packed, but never slow.
I think science-fiction is a misleading genre and would simply call it 'adventure' as although it is in a future world, there is nothing there that differs from the technology we have today. I particularly like the fact that although there obviously needs to be many explanations of the world and their society, there are no 'info-dumps' but rather the information is woven seamlessly into the story.
I would thoroughly recommend Hexult to any adult who would like something simple, yet different, and to any teenager who wants a change from vampires and Angst.
Anne Shmitt