Okay, so, sometimes sci-fi gives me problems. If it's heavy on the science or if the plot structure is a little different than the norm, it can take me a while to get into it. Dune, for instance, or Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom-- they both gave me some trouble when I first started reading them, but I stuck with it and eventually really enjoyed myself. So too is my experience with Hexwood!

Hexwood starts off weird, continues to be weird, and then never really clears up the weirdness. It does get easier to understand, however, around page 50. But one of the main points of the plot is that the characters are part of a field that runs a program that runs possibilities. It's constantly changing time (seasons, years, etc.), events, people, and so on. It can all get horrible confusing, and I'm still not sure that I entirely understand everything that happened. I'm not sure I'm supposed to, but I would have liked the book better if I did. Eventually I had to stop worrying about what was going on when and just hang on for the ride, and I made it to the end okay.

Besides the confusing bits, the plot is both exciting and horrifying. There's some really nasty characters in here, and they're not afraid to do nasty things. Reigner One, for instance, does genetics experiments with children of his enemies, and runs Ender's Game-like programs to train more children into being his Servants. Skeevy skeevy skeevy! Made me feel all icky, so I was really glad when he got his comeuppance.

There were some good characters, of course, that did good things. I liked Ann and Mordion, one of the Servants, and I adored their little romance subplot. The ending scenes were really fantastic, with lots of action and revelations and tidying up and so on. For all that, though, I never entirely understood what was going on, and I don't know if that's a failing in myself or in the text. But then, I've never much liked DWJ's sci-fi books.

(But at least I understood all of A Tale of Time City!) ( )

After having read it a couple of times, I decided Hexwood is good. While it is terribly confusing - it's a mixture of fantasy, science-fiction, timeslip/time travel with a very strong Arthurian element - it's very clever. Due to the Bannus messing around with how the characters perceive their reality, and the main character Ann having a telepathic connection with four people she only knows by her own names for them, characters have a habit of appearing in more than one guise.
It's not as real and moving as Fire and Hemlock (one of my favourite Diana Wynne Jones novels) - it's less about relationships than identity, responsibility and rulership - but it's equally thought-provoking. I just had to read it more than once to understand it. ( )

Very confusing. After two readings, several years apart, I'm still not sure what's going on. I'm usually pretty good with time travel and complicated plots and ambiguity, but this book is apparently way out of my league. ( )

This novel plays with time and versions of reality, but it allows you to experience the confusion then comprehension along with the characters. A strange wood, otherworldly overlords, assassins and ordinary (or so it seems) girls, dragons and knights, this book has it all, along with DWJ's usual talent for compelling characters and interesting worlds. ( )

This was a better book than either its horribly designed cover or badly written blurb would indicate. In fact, it was a great book. Diana Wynne Jones is a wonderful author - why didn't I hear about her until I was 25? ( )