I love stories about magic. I love stories abut mystery. And I love stories of adventure. So when I came upon The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft, I knew I had to give it a try. (Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the gift copy!)

The Hexologists follows a wife-and-husband duo of adventurers, the Wilbys, who are asked to investigate a supposed royal heir by the Crown. (Echoes of A Scandal in Belgravia?) The Wilbys are unique not just because of their daring and extreme competence with adventures – Iz is a hex-caster, a master of a dying art form. Accompanied by their portalmanteau (think Rincewind’s Luggage), the Wilbys start digging into the potential heir, only to uncover a broader set of conspiracies…

Worldbuilding galore…

The first thing that sticks out in The Hexologists is the depth of Bancroft’s worldbuilding. He’s developed multiple competing magic systems, fantasy creatures (including dragons), and a royal political system in an alternate universe. With these systems, Bancroft starts to develop an alternate steampunk-esque universe – one where older forms of magic evolve out of fashion as alchemy drives an Industrial Revolution. Technology, it would seem, follows the same paths, even in magical settings.

Bancroft develops some of these systems more than others – we spend a lot of time with the inner working of alchemy and hexology, and less with sorcery (for example). While it’s not always clear how the systems work, they do seem to play by a set of rules, and it’s easy to believe there’s real thought underneath them. This is less true of, say, the political systems, where we’re dealing with the bones of a monarchy that we assume operates similarly to those we know. It would be interesting to ponder whether these competing forms of magic significantly alter power dynamics, but this isn’t the book for that type of exploration.

Instead, the worldbuilding gives a sense of expansiveness to the Wilbys’ experiences as Hexologists. The Wilbys consistently reference prior escapades as they figure out how to handle this one. As they do so, you get a sense of exactly how big this world is – and how impressive their success truly is.

Adventures over mystery

If you like your adventure stories with a more flesh-out cast, however you may be a bit disappointed. The Wilbys are well-explored – particularly their relationship and their sense of adventure. The other characters in the story are… less so. In fact, Iz and Warren are not huge royalists, so we don’t get to meet the royal characters until late in the story. And the other major players in the plot play more cameo roles than fully fleshed-out ones. It’s a bit like reading a second or third book in a series instead of the first.

This makes for an interesting contrast, as the stakes are both technically high but feel kind of mid-impact. Bancroft’s writing implicitly relies on an understanding of characters that are almost stock – the mad king, the supportive sister, the beautiful nurse. And as you can imagine, for an avid reader, this can somewhat sap the mystery of its power.

Now, if this were sold me as a pure fantasy adventure, that would have been fine! Fun book, some neat worldbuilding. But if you’re telling me it’s a mystery – it should not only be solvable, but the solution should rely on an interesting puzzle. The Hexologists takes more of the cozy mystery / adventure story route, with a big action sequence and a bit of an exposition-dump at the end, for those who haven’t pieced together the tropes. The mystery element may have been a bit better served with richer character exploration and less expansive worldbuilding – or, because I love both, a longer book.

Reader’s notes & rating (⭐⭐⭐✨)

I had a great time reading this, I just wish I’d known more accurately what it was going in. Come for the worldbuilding and fun, quippy adventure – not for the mystery element. Still, I’d be happy to read the next entry in the Warrens’ logbook. Three and a half stars.

The Hexologists will be published on September 26, 2023.