Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery

Some anthology editors out there don’t feel it’s their job to seek out, or perhaps don’t believe it’s important enough to find, diverse voices for their books, relying instead on a stable of old reliable white men whose names routinely appear on multiple tables of contents each year. And then there’s editors like Amber Fallon, whose all-women roster for Fright Into Flight came about in direct response to Stephen King’s all-male anthology of largely (and widely) reprinted stories for Flight or Fright, and Christopher Golden and Rachel Autumn Deering who give us here eighteen brand new stories about witches and witchcraft in a women’s-only table of contents.

Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery is a great collection, and the stories themselves are as diverse as the voices represented within. There’s a good amount of elasticity in the concept of witches and witchery and the authors here give us contemporary tales of urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic witch burnings, historical dramas, noir, slow burn horror, and revenge. Whatever your preferred mode of magic, odds are you’ll find something to satisfy. I was quite pleased at the organization of this book, too. No two consecutive stories are alike, and Golden and Deering assembled this antho in such a way that each successive narrative is different enough from the preceding effort that it really keeps things fresh and makes you wonder what’s up next. It’s a nicely unpredictable read.

Kat Howard kicks off the anthology with a short story about Merrinvale, a town that needed witches, even if the locals don’t exactly want to admit it and take pains at eliminating these women. Kelley Armstrong delivers a really fun PI-styled story involving a recovered grimoire and a double-crossing client. Sarah Langan issues a slow-burn horror about the stress of motherhood colliding with witchcraft in “The Night Nurse,” and good lord is it ever effective. She does a sublime job nailing that sense of creeping dread and growing paranoia.

One of my early favorites, though, came from Mary SanGiovanni. She’s a wonderful author that made her way onto my own personal Must Read list with her cosmic horror book, Chills, a few years back. I rather expected her to deliver in a big way here, and I wasn’t the least bit disappointed. “The Memories of Trees” is a really cool near-future, post-apocalyptic story where witch trials are all the rage again. The woods hold far older secrets, though, and SanGiovanni does a wonderful job playing up the aspects of ancient paganism. I loved this one!

Another standout came in Hillary Monahan’s “Bless Your Heart.” A mother fed-up with the bullying of her gay son by her town’s supposedly-Christian neighbors takes matters into her own hands. Of course, we get a nice little spin on what this entails since Mom is a descendant of a swamp witch. This one had one hell of a damn fantastic ending that was supremely satisfying to read, and gave me a few jitters, too.

Ania Ahlborn serves up a Grimm-like fairy tale about a young girl lost in the woods in “The Debt,” and while Tananarive Due covers a similar concept of youths lost in the woods, “Last Stop on Route Nine” couldn’t be more different. I’m ashamed to admit I hadn’t read Due’s work previously, but this was a heck of an amazing introduction and I absolutely must read more from her! Her writing is so freaking evocative and she built up an incredibly rich atmosphere of dread that had me on pins and needles. The story’s witchly focus stemmed from racial tensions and animosity in the South, and this socially relevant and timely tale was just superbly told. This was an easy favorite of mine.

Rachel Autumn Deering, however, is an author I have read several times in the past and she never fails to impress. She’s an author who just gets better and better with each successive story. “Where Relics Go To Dream and Die” is an excellent work of death and romance, and so eloquently written, too. I’m eager to see what she comes up with next, but this was a nice little fix after her contributions to two of last year’s standout anthologies, Lost Highways and Welcome to the Show.

One of the joys of anthologies comes in finishing a story and immediately looking up an author to see what else they’ve done. Such was the case with Chesya Burke, whose “Haint Me Too” had me scrambling to Google and adding her book Let’s Play White to my wishlist. I’m gonna be buying that one soon, and Burke is a fantastic writer whose voice I expect to become a regular staple in my reading diet.

In terms of introducing me to several new writers, or at least giving me an opportunity to finally read some I’ve been meaning to make time for, Hex Life is a definite win. I was a bit surprised, even, at just how much I ended up enjoying this book as a whole, although I’m not quite sure why that is. Editors Golden and Deering are wonderful storytellers in their own rights, and Hex Life had several talents involved that I knew would meet or even exceed expectations. A few of the stories were a bit too cozy for my tastes, while some others were just a bit shy of the mark for me, but overall this was a really rewarding read. It’s always good to see strong women at the forefront, in both the table of contents and in the narratives themselves, and Hex Life wins big in both regards. Even better, I’ve now got some new novels in my TBR pile that might not have been there otherwise, and that’s a special magic all its own.

We’re fed the idea of the wicked witch, all dressed in black, her haggard face glaring evilly back at you, from a very young age. But what if all witches weren’t evil? What if they did what they did for a good reason? Of course, not all witches are altruistic, but what if some of them were? That’s where Hex Life comes into play. Within the collection, you’ll find all kinds of witches with all kinds of motives. Are you brave enough to take a chance?

Witches have been a favorite subject of mine for a long time. Despite the Wicked Witch of the West and all of the evil witches Disney has given us over the years, I was still drawn to them. So, when I stumbled across this anthology, I knew it was something I needed to read. I’m happy I did because it did not disappoint me in any way. The witches in Hex Life are as varied and unique as the authors writing them.

An Invitation to a Burning by Kat Howard. You go into this thinking one thing and discover it’s quite something else. An excellent way to kick off the anthology.

Widow’s Walk by Angela Slatter. This was probably my favorite of the group because it focuses around three older women, all witches, and the community they live in. It’s sort of like what would happen if Sleeping Beauty’s fairy godmothers grew to be old and bitter, but still cared for the innocent.

Black Magic Momma by Kelley Armstrong. I love her Women of the Otherworld series and getting a bit of Eve’s origin story was a nice surprise.

The Night Nurse by Sarah Langan. This was one heck of a creepy story, but I loved it. As an overwhelmed mother, I could relate to it on a personal level. However, the ending was a bit of a surprise.

The Memory of Trees by Mary SanGiovanni. An odd and, for me, a confusing, story about nature battling back against technology.

Home by Rachel Caine. I’ve always wanted to read her Morganville Vampires series so this was a nice little introduction to her writing style and some of the characters. Definitely makes me want to delve into the series more now. A bit of humor and a lot of fun.

The Deer Wife by Jennifer McMahaon. The only romantic story in the bunch, very sweet and different from your usual fare. There is a heart-stopping moment near the end that nearly made me cry, too.

The Dancer by Kristen Dearborn. I love a story with supernatural powers. I think this was less witchy and more Firestarter, but one of the best stories in the collection in my opinion. I really felt for the young girl in this as her family was creepy and abusive.

Bless Your Heart by Hillary Monahan. Nothing makes me happier than a good revenge story. Especially when the revenge is so well deserved. Bonus points for mom going to such great lengths to defend her son who is being buillied for no other reason than because he’s gay. A bit of a warning though because this one gets rather gross rather fast.

The Debt by Ania Ahlborn. This was an odd, yet intriguing story. It was very fairy tale-like in its structure, but dark and foreboding as well. The end caught me off guard, to be honest.

Toil & Trouble by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Madaug Kenyon. This one started strong and lost me about halfway through. I generally enjoy the Dark-Hunters books so I’m not sure what went wrong with this story. I’ll blame it on me though.

Last Stop on Route Nine by Tananarive Due. This wavered between alternate universes and ghost story but was wholly frightening as well. The heavy overtones of racism only added to the oppressive and scary atmosphere. One of the best in the collection.

Where Relics Go to Dream and Die by Rachel Autumn Deering. I finished this story and was left utterly confused. I’m not sure what really happened in the end, but still somehow enjoyed it. Weird, I know, but that happens to me sometimes.

This Skin by Amber Benson. What a creepy, frightening story! It’s tough being a teenager, but it has to be even tougher to be one who’s homicidal. Really enjoyed this one a lot, despite the creep factor.

Haint Me Too by Chesya Burke. Historical fiction is a huge draw for me, so finding a witchy story sed during the times of sharecroppers intrigued me. It also enraged me because of the way Shae and her family are treated by the white people in the story.

The Nekrolog by Helen Marshall. I went back and forth on this story. It was long and interesting, but I also got confused a time or two. There are a couple of point-of-view and time period changes that threw me off. But overall, it was a decent story.

Gold Among the Black by Alma Katsu. I’m a sucker for a poor waif living in a castle as staff kind of story. Every girl deserves her prince (or princess), right? Jesper was the best part of the story and I’m glad that Greta got what she deserved in the end.

How to Become a Witch-Queen by Theodora Goss. Tied with Widow’s Walk for the number one position, honestly. A unique and fun spin on Snow White that left me smiling at the end. There were so many little things about this story that made me happy. It was the perfect story to end the collection with because it left me feeling good.

Overall, the authors came together to create an exciting and varied collection of stories. They hit many time periods and genres that there’s sure to be something for everyone in this anthology. While there were a few names that drew me to this collection – Kelley Armstrong and Sherrilyn Kenyon for example – I also discovered many new-to-me authors that I’m excited to explore.