Hex

A first novel written when the author was 17. Hex is a pacey, sci-fi adventure thriller, both engrossingly written and confidently plotted. It is at the same time a metaphor for the was societies so often deal with those who are different. Set in the 23rd century, it focuses on Wraith and his sister Raven, a girl with a mutant gene that enables her to interact with computers. 'Hexes', as they are known, are being either exterminated or used for gruesome medical experiments. Wraith and Raven discover that their younger sister has been taken away, suspected of being a Hex and they are determined to rescue her, if she is still alive. The book has a bleak edge to it - one Hex who is unmasked finds that her own father is suddenly afraid of her and there are unbearable descriptions of tortured children for whom there is to be no miraculous rescue - the prison that holds them is blown up. Within the conventions of the genre which allows for rather representational characterisation, this darker element is perhaps less troubling than it might have been. Nevertheless, this book is a considerable debut from a young writer from whom there will clearly be much to look forward to.