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sandygx260's review against another edition
4.0
I'm too tired to explain why this series did not rate a five. Too much, too much, and too much sometimes adds up to not enough. Still, if you the reader love the weird, this is beyond weird.
primereads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
3.5
Men would rather marry a Mayan death goddess and bring about the end of the world then go to therapy.
emilyrpf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kentcryptid's review against another edition
4.0
I've just finished reading this series, and I don't really know how to start reviewing it. I'm just sitting here, mildly stunned, going "...huh." It's one of the weirdest things I've read in a while and in some ways kind of a hot mess, but I've been totally gripped by it over the last few days.
I loved the mix of Aztec gods and Old West mythos, the lovely, flowing, writing style and the underlying theme of the triumph of outsiders. However, the plotting was often hard to follow and odd things (like the author's decision to write one character's dialogue entirely in dialect - always hard to pull off) grated on me.
Also, I made the mistake of getting invested in a couple who weren't end-game and so was bummed out by the ending of the final book, but that isn't the series' fault.
I loved the mix of Aztec gods and Old West mythos, the lovely, flowing, writing style and the underlying theme of the triumph of outsiders. However, the plotting was often hard to follow and odd things (like the author's decision to write one character's dialogue entirely in dialect - always hard to pull off) grated on me.
Also, I made the mistake of getting invested in a couple who weren't end-game and so was bummed out by the ending of the final book, but that isn't the series' fault.
extinctpanda's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing end to the series! Everything came together wonderfully and the character development was perfect (and had me in tears).
The writing itself is also incredibly refreshing and unique. I never wanted to put it down.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who is after a fantasy that has both an interesting and exciting plot AND characters that you get invested in.
The writing itself is also incredibly refreshing and unique. I never wanted to put it down.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who is after a fantasy that has both an interesting and exciting plot AND characters that you get invested in.
dagsywagsy43's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Gore
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars ~ I loved the first two books in this series, loved them like a word baby conceived and birthed just for me to gather close and bask in its beatific abundance of perfection… Then, that word baby grew up. And where the storyline had once pleasantly gorged itself on Gemma Files imagination and mellifluous prose, that gift for inflated allusion and nuanced captivation took a wrong turn somewhere for me in A Tree of Bones, and has left me with that feeling so many of us devoted readers have experienced at one time or another—I think this book would’ve been twice as good if it’d been half as long. While I can’t say that the end to the Hexslinger Trilogy is a complete disappointment, not at all, I do find that I’m left somewhat underwhelmed by its conclusion given how deftly its author had crafted the story up to this point.
What had worked so beautifully for me in A Book of Tongues and A Rope of Thorns was Files’ gift for structure. Like an expository architect, she built this world from nothing but a band of outlaws and a post-Civil War untamed West; then she threw in some lust, greed, religion, magick, Pinks, a bit of a steampunk feel, and now, a creepy new species, and BOOM! She architected an alternate universe filled with some delicious imagery, a whole passel of conflict between some hell-borne Aztec gods, a collection of hexes of all ilk, a dead-talker, and the humans who fell into the line of fire—whether by design or by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This world is a glorious amalgamation of allegory and cautionary tale, all woven around an ex-Reverend whose fall from grace and ultimate betrayal had some seriously deadly complications for his lover, Chess Pargeter—gunslinger turned hexslinger turned god—a character who came full-circle, a character I loved so much and who ended up living up to his given name of Cheshire in a way Mr. Carroll might’ve been proud of. Until, in A Tree of Bones, he fell somewhat pale in comparison to his former self. Chess’s characterization as a prickly, contrary, ornery, sharp-tongued sumbitch was a thousand-and-one percent fabulous. I loved every single one of his heathen-ous and unapologetic ways—everything about him screamed antihero on steroids—but through a feat of exposition that evolved into a redemption story of sorts for our misbegotten hero, Chess softened and lost some of his mojo.
For the first two-thirds of A Tree of Bones, the narrative reads more cumbersome and meandering than did the psycho-cool-crazy of its predecessors. At one point, Chess remarks, “Feels like tryin’ to swim a tub of molasses,” and I couldn’t help but feel a certain kinship with him because that’s what reading this book felt like at times. When he was dropped into English Oona Pargeter’s version of hell at the end of A Rope of Thorns, a Seven Dials slum in 19th century London, I couldn’t wait to see what the author did with it. The scenery was pretty to “look” at, without a doubt, and it provided the opportunity for Chess to be confronted by his multitude of past sins, but overall, the pages and pages of narrative ended up reading like an unnecessary detour that slowed down the pace of the book and didn’t add much in the way of revelatory or relevant storyline. There were several such detours, in fact—point of view changes that I felt detracted from rather than added to the story—which is why I said at the outset that this novel could’ve been twice as good being half as long. The verbosity that elated and mesmerized me in the first two books acted as foil to the plot progression in this installment.
What did work in this novel, and truly, there’s a lot that did, were the characters who ended up Chess’s allies. Ex Pinkerton agent and Chess’s lover, for a time, Ed Morrow; Yancey Kloves; Songbird; Yiska, a two-spirited Navajo warrior; and Sophy Love, who’d begun an enemy but ended up, with her young son, becoming an integral cog in this brave new world. Their importance to Chess, to his death and resurrection, and to what would end up being a battle to save the country and its people from the goddess Ixchel, is undeniable and I’ll miss spending time with them in this diabolically brilliant wonderland.
While I’m on the subject of characters, one who didn’t get nearly enough page time by my count is the Rev, Asher Rook. As the narrative ambled off in directions that were, for me, unwelcome, Rook’s lack of presence was a glaring omission which left me wishing this novel had been limited to his and Chess’s points of view. While probably not the most complex of characters ever designed—Faustian bargains have been a staple of fiction for centuries; and mythology full of men who have traded their souls for a lot less that godhood; and history is full of characters who have done the wrong thing for convoluted but what they think are the right reasons—Rook is nevertheless such a slick and charming character that I found myself wishing we’d have got a closer look into his thought processes through what became his own redemption story. This was, overall, Rook and Chess’s story to tell, theirs an ill-fated romance wrapped in a much grander package in which Rook’s lust for his red-headed hexslinger couldn’t conquer his lust for power and immortality. While the culmination of Rook’s arc was bittersweet and emotionally effective, I wanted more of him leading up to it. Did I cry when his storyline reached its climax? You bet I did.
In the end, my mad respect for Gemma Files’ wordsmithing is intact, even if my reading experience with A Tree of Bones offered a fair share of lows mixed with the highs. Was this the case of a world that had grown to such an expansive state that its author had a difficult time corralling all of it together to form a linear and structured conclusion? I don’t know, but I do know I still love this trilogy enough that all three paperbacks will make their way to a place of honor on my bookshelf.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach Reviews
What had worked so beautifully for me in A Book of Tongues and A Rope of Thorns was Files’ gift for structure. Like an expository architect, she built this world from nothing but a band of outlaws and a post-Civil War untamed West; then she threw in some lust, greed, religion, magick, Pinks, a bit of a steampunk feel, and now, a creepy new species, and BOOM! She architected an alternate universe filled with some delicious imagery, a whole passel of conflict between some hell-borne Aztec gods, a collection of hexes of all ilk, a dead-talker, and the humans who fell into the line of fire—whether by design or by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This world is a glorious amalgamation of allegory and cautionary tale, all woven around an ex-Reverend whose fall from grace and ultimate betrayal had some seriously deadly complications for his lover, Chess Pargeter—gunslinger turned hexslinger turned god—a character who came full-circle, a character I loved so much and who ended up living up to his given name of Cheshire in a way Mr. Carroll might’ve been proud of. Until, in A Tree of Bones, he fell somewhat pale in comparison to his former self. Chess’s characterization as a prickly, contrary, ornery, sharp-tongued sumbitch was a thousand-and-one percent fabulous. I loved every single one of his heathen-ous and unapologetic ways—everything about him screamed antihero on steroids—but through a feat of exposition that evolved into a redemption story of sorts for our misbegotten hero, Chess softened and lost some of his mojo.
For the first two-thirds of A Tree of Bones, the narrative reads more cumbersome and meandering than did the psycho-cool-crazy of its predecessors. At one point, Chess remarks, “Feels like tryin’ to swim a tub of molasses,” and I couldn’t help but feel a certain kinship with him because that’s what reading this book felt like at times. When he was dropped into English Oona Pargeter’s version of hell at the end of A Rope of Thorns, a Seven Dials slum in 19th century London, I couldn’t wait to see what the author did with it. The scenery was pretty to “look” at, without a doubt, and it provided the opportunity for Chess to be confronted by his multitude of past sins, but overall, the pages and pages of narrative ended up reading like an unnecessary detour that slowed down the pace of the book and didn’t add much in the way of revelatory or relevant storyline. There were several such detours, in fact—point of view changes that I felt detracted from rather than added to the story—which is why I said at the outset that this novel could’ve been twice as good being half as long. The verbosity that elated and mesmerized me in the first two books acted as foil to the plot progression in this installment.
What did work in this novel, and truly, there’s a lot that did, were the characters who ended up Chess’s allies. Ex Pinkerton agent and Chess’s lover, for a time, Ed Morrow; Yancey Kloves; Songbird; Yiska, a two-spirited Navajo warrior; and Sophy Love, who’d begun an enemy but ended up, with her young son, becoming an integral cog in this brave new world. Their importance to Chess, to his death and resurrection, and to what would end up being a battle to save the country and its people from the goddess Ixchel, is undeniable and I’ll miss spending time with them in this diabolically brilliant wonderland.
While I’m on the subject of characters, one who didn’t get nearly enough page time by my count is the Rev, Asher Rook. As the narrative ambled off in directions that were, for me, unwelcome, Rook’s lack of presence was a glaring omission which left me wishing this novel had been limited to his and Chess’s points of view. While probably not the most complex of characters ever designed—Faustian bargains have been a staple of fiction for centuries; and mythology full of men who have traded their souls for a lot less that godhood; and history is full of characters who have done the wrong thing for convoluted but what they think are the right reasons—Rook is nevertheless such a slick and charming character that I found myself wishing we’d have got a closer look into his thought processes through what became his own redemption story. This was, overall, Rook and Chess’s story to tell, theirs an ill-fated romance wrapped in a much grander package in which Rook’s lust for his red-headed hexslinger couldn’t conquer his lust for power and immortality. While the culmination of Rook’s arc was bittersweet and emotionally effective, I wanted more of him leading up to it. Did I cry when his storyline reached its climax? You bet I did.
In the end, my mad respect for Gemma Files’ wordsmithing is intact, even if my reading experience with A Tree of Bones offered a fair share of lows mixed with the highs. Was this the case of a world that had grown to such an expansive state that its author had a difficult time corralling all of it together to form a linear and structured conclusion? I don’t know, but I do know I still love this trilogy enough that all three paperbacks will make their way to a place of honor on my bookshelf.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach Reviews
lopi's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this series, all-in-all. There's not enough books that feature gay romances that also have a solid plot that doesn't surround just the romance but this series is exactly that.
I loved Chess' characterization as the protagonist; what with his hot-headness and irrational stubbornness. He felt real. I loved almost all the characters in this book, I felt there was a great mix of clashing personalities and motives that really kept the dialogue fresh and interesting.
As far as the plot goes, I did feel lost sometimes. Book Two is probably my least favorite in the trilogy only for the fact that it was so Aztec-lore heavy. There was an extreme amount that both lends to the rich world-building Files has done but also at times lost me as a reader. Especially when it came to Ixchel and the Enemy. Book 2 gave so many different and confusing descriptions of them being both sister-mother-daughter/brother-father-son, not to mention they're 6+ other names each and they hazy background; it was hard to keep up. Book 3 was more successful in weaving the Aztec with the plot and solidifying exactly Ixchel and the Enemy as characters.
I'm very glad I found this series and I'm crestfallen that not a lot of people have heard of it. I don't give 5's that often but I believe this book/series deserved it overwhelmingly!
I loved Chess' characterization as the protagonist; what with his hot-headness and irrational stubbornness. He felt real. I loved almost all the characters in this book, I felt there was a great mix of clashing personalities and motives that really kept the dialogue fresh and interesting.
As far as the plot goes, I did feel lost sometimes. Book Two is probably my least favorite in the trilogy only for the fact that it was so Aztec-lore heavy. There was an extreme amount that both lends to the rich world-building Files has done but also at times lost me as a reader. Especially when it came to Ixchel and the Enemy. Book 2 gave so many different and confusing descriptions of them being both sister-mother-daughter/brother-father-son, not to mention they're 6+ other names each and they hazy background; it was hard to keep up. Book 3 was more successful in weaving the Aztec with the plot and solidifying exactly Ixchel and the Enemy as characters.
I'm very glad I found this series and I'm crestfallen that not a lot of people have heard of it. I don't give 5's that often but I believe this book/series deserved it overwhelmingly!
evewithanapple's review against another edition
5.0
I initially bought the first book in this series on a recommendation from someone who knew I was desperate for more speculative fiction with queer characters. That wasn’t an accident. Maybe I would have picked it up even without that factor, but it’s what drove me to buy it, and I’m so, so happy I did.
Queer readers, and general media consumers like me don’t have much in the way of representation, and what little we do have tends to be of the token variety. (“Okay, you can have a queer character, but only one! And that’s it!”) I remember back when I was in high school and encountered The L Word and went “this is unrealistic! how are all the women they’re running into lesbians!” I’d already internalized the idea that queerness was something that, if not doomed to misery, severely limited your choices and movements.) Even media that does have more than one queer character tends to be an Issue Show/Specialty Show, like Queer as Folk. Which is all well and good, if you like that sort of thing or are REALLY DESPERATE (and I’m not judging; I mainlined QaF in a month) but if you want to see yourself represented in genre fiction, you’re pretty shit out of luck.
A series like Hexslingers, with so many queer characters I honestly lost count would have been unbelievable to me when I was sixteen. A series with a queer person as a protagonist and queer people as supporting characters who all come together to save the world- to be heroes? It would have been unfathomable. A series where all the queer romances are explicit, the straight couple is the odd one out, and their queernees is intrisically tied to their heroism, where it’s acknowledged that growing up queer in a homophobic world can be incredibly damaging but it’s not a sentence to be forever alone, that you can find love more than once, that you can build a safe place for yourself, that you can save the world- I can’t even begin to describe what that would have meant to me as a teenager. I don’t think I can begin to describe what it means to me now. When Charlie’s character showed up at the end of Tree of Bones, I laughed, but it was a laugh of familiarity- I think most queer readers can see a bit of themselves in him, who “knew early on that [he’d] never fit in, so decided to stand out,” and who idolizes Chess because HOLY SHIT! A QUEER PERSON! A HERO! A HERO FOR ME! And I think Chess does have some wish fulfillment potential for queer readers- I know he did for me- because here’s a queer person living in a society even more intensely homophobic than it is now, who looks around, shrugs, and says “fuck y’all; I am what I am.” Or someone like Yiska, who’s so thoroughly at peace with herself that she’s not afraid to go after what she wants, or Songbird who finds a sense of peace and self for the first time in her life in the arms of another woman. These are intimately familiar stories to me. I just never thought I’d see them side by side with a genre that I love, that I want to spend my life writing in, and that I’ve always felt shut out of.
So: thank you so, so, so much for writing this. I don’t think I can ever explain properly why it means so much, so all I can say is “thank you.”
Queer readers, and general media consumers like me don’t have much in the way of representation, and what little we do have tends to be of the token variety. (“Okay, you can have a queer character, but only one! And that’s it!”) I remember back when I was in high school and encountered The L Word and went “this is unrealistic! how are all the women they’re running into lesbians!” I’d already internalized the idea that queerness was something that, if not doomed to misery, severely limited your choices and movements.) Even media that does have more than one queer character tends to be an Issue Show/Specialty Show, like Queer as Folk. Which is all well and good, if you like that sort of thing or are REALLY DESPERATE (and I’m not judging; I mainlined QaF in a month) but if you want to see yourself represented in genre fiction, you’re pretty shit out of luck.
A series like Hexslingers, with so many queer characters I honestly lost count would have been unbelievable to me when I was sixteen. A series with a queer person as a protagonist and queer people as supporting characters who all come together to save the world- to be heroes? It would have been unfathomable. A series where all the queer romances are explicit, the straight couple is the odd one out, and their queernees is intrisically tied to their heroism, where it’s acknowledged that growing up queer in a homophobic world can be incredibly damaging but it’s not a sentence to be forever alone, that you can find love more than once, that you can build a safe place for yourself, that you can save the world- I can’t even begin to describe what that would have meant to me as a teenager. I don’t think I can begin to describe what it means to me now. When Charlie’s character showed up at the end of Tree of Bones, I laughed, but it was a laugh of familiarity- I think most queer readers can see a bit of themselves in him, who “knew early on that [he’d] never fit in, so decided to stand out,” and who idolizes Chess because HOLY SHIT! A QUEER PERSON! A HERO! A HERO FOR ME! And I think Chess does have some wish fulfillment potential for queer readers- I know he did for me- because here’s a queer person living in a society even more intensely homophobic than it is now, who looks around, shrugs, and says “fuck y’all; I am what I am.” Or someone like Yiska, who’s so thoroughly at peace with herself that she’s not afraid to go after what she wants, or Songbird who finds a sense of peace and self for the first time in her life in the arms of another woman. These are intimately familiar stories to me. I just never thought I’d see them side by side with a genre that I love, that I want to spend my life writing in, and that I’ve always felt shut out of.
So: thank you so, so, so much for writing this. I don’t think I can ever explain properly why it means so much, so all I can say is “thank you.”
aggie's review
5.0
An amazing end to the series! Everything came together wonderfully and the character development was perfect (and had me in tears).
The writing itself is also incredibly refreshing and unique. I never wanted to put it down.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who is after a fantasy that has both an interesting and exciting plot AND characters that you get invested in.
The writing itself is also incredibly refreshing and unique. I never wanted to put it down.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who is after a fantasy that has both an interesting and exciting plot AND characters that you get invested in.
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