HEX

Investigates the possible meanings of hex-sign barn decorations, both historically and at the present.

The English language debut of the bestselling Dutch novel, Hex, from Thomas Olde Heuvelt--a Hugo and World Fantasy award nominated talent to watch Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay 'til death. Whoever settles, never leaves. Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear. The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past. This chilling novel heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in mainstream horror and dark fantasy. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear. The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated by being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers, decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past."--Front dust jacket flap.

The greats of fiction Stephen King and George R. R. Martin lead the fanfare for HEX, so be assured that Thomas Olde Heuvelt's debut English novel is both terrifying and unputdownable in equal measure. Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay until death. Whoever comes to stay, never leaves. Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Blind and silenced, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. So accustomed to her have the townsfolk become that they often forget she's there. Or what a threat she poses. Because if the stitches are ever cut open, the story goes, the whole town will die. The curse must not be allowed to spread. The elders of Black Spring have used high-tech surveillance to quarantine the town. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break the strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into a dark nightmare.

In Pennsylvania Dutch country, the remnants of one of the oldest European magical practices found in America remains: Hex, also called Hex und Speilwerk or Pow Wow. The author, a third-generation Hexenmeister, teaches the actual practices and examines the history of the Swiss-German traditions from which Hex is derived, and includes instructions for practicing Hex. Diagrams.

Hex is the subject of books by Martin Gardner and Cameron Browne. Hex theory touches on graph theory, game theory and combinatorial game theory, with elegant proofs that the game has no draws and that the first player can win. From machines built by Claude Shannon to agents using Monte Carlo Tree Search, Hex is often used in the study of artificial intelligence. Written for a wide audience, this is the full story of Hex, inside and out, with all its twists and turns: Hein’s creation, Lindhard’s puzzles, Nash’s proofs, Gale’s Bridg-it, the game of Rex, Shannon’s machines, Bridg-it’s fall, Hex’s resilience, Hex theory, the hunt for winning strategies, and the rise of Hexbots.

Hex Strategy is the first book to offer a comprehensive look at the game of Hex, from its history and mathematical underpinnings to discussions of advanced playing techniques. This is first and foremost a book on strategy aimed at providing sufficient knowledge to play the game at any level desired. Numerous examples illustrate an algorithmic approach to the game. Hex Strategy is a book for board game enthusiasts, recreational mathematicians and programmers, or simply those who enjoy games and puzzles.

The two-time Hugo Award-winner expands the universe of his Coyote saga. The danui, a reclusive arachnid species considered the galaxy's finest engineers, have avoided contact with the Coyote Federation. Until, that is, the danui initiate trade negotiations, offering only information: the coordinates for an unoccupied world suitable for human life-a massive sphere, composed of billions of hexagons. But when the Federation's recon mission goes terribly wrong, the humans realize how little they know about their new partners...

Every town has an attraction-a reason to visit and not just drive on through. For Barrington County, the June 1595 hunt and subsequent burning of the murderous witch, Willow Kellar, is what has provided the quaint little town centuries of notoriety, especially since Willow hexed the town just as she died, and promised that the families responsible would all die bloody, horrible deaths, eventually. The continually looming hex, now a famous legend, is strategically used to attract tourists to Barrington County's annual Harvest Festival. People from all over are drawn to visit the historic site of the Kellar burning. For Nathalie, Dean, Luke, and Sadie, four Barrington teenagers, this is nothing new. They anticipate a normal and wonderful summer with the upcoming festival, especially since love is in the air. Then strange things start to happen. It turns out the summer won't be normal after all, because sometimes, legends come true.

The traditional Pennsylvania Dutch folk practice of painting colorful, round geometric designs directly on barns was adapted to a detached disk format in the mid-twentieth century. Ivan E. Hoyt is one of the most celebrated artisans of hex sign painting, and in this detailed how-to book he shares his knowledge, providing information on tools, step-by-step instructions and photographs, design ideas, and painting tips. Projects include rosette, star, tulip, maple, and oak designs.

Having drifted through thirty-three years of life, Ruby Murphy has put down roots in a rootless place: Coney Island. A recovering alcoholic who is fanatical in her love for animals and her misanthropic friends, Ruby lives above a furniture store and works at the musty Coney Island Museum. One day, Ruby is on the subway heading into Manhattan when the train stalls between stations. An elegant blond woman with a scarred face strikes up a conversation, and a misunderstanding between the two women leads to an offer Ruby decides she can’t refuse. The woman needs her boyfriend followed, and she thinks Ruby is the woman to do it—and do it right. Ruby’s life has been flat and painful lately. The Coney Island Museum isn’t doing much business, Ruby’s live-in boyfriend has moved out, and her best friend Oliver is battling cancer. Ruby agrees to follow the woman’s boyfriend, Frank, a man who works at Belmont Racetrack and seems to hang out in odd places with bad company. Ruby soon finds herself pushed headfirst into horse racing’s seamy underbelly. This is a dangerous world where nothing is as it appears, and people and horses seem to have limited life spans. When Ruby finds herself staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, she begins to have second thoughts. Only now it’s far too late. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Justin March leads a boring life until he embarks on a quest to find out the identity of the elusive computer hacker known as the Judge. In the near future, Techclon, an American mega corporation, develops cheap wireless nodes making the Internet fast, access universal, and bandwidth abundant. Techclon convinces the government to ban personal hard drives, forcing everyone to store their data over the Internet on Techclon servers. After Justin is arrested for having his own hard drive, the CEO of Techclon gives Justin a choice: work for Techclon or go to prison. Justin's new career at Techclon centers on catching the Judge, an amateur philosopher and a black hat computer hacker who plans to release a doomsday worm that will take down the Internet. Through online conversations with the Judge, Justin becomes obsessed. Justin's quest will sweep him to the top echelon of society and then plunge him into poverty as he seeks to figure out the Judge's identity. Even after the Judge is no longer a threat, Justin sacrifices everything to find the Judge because he believes the Judge is the only person who can cure his sense of alienation. You can reach me at [email protected]

Ever since she started at Hectate "Hex" Hall a school for "gifted" students Sophie Mercer's life has been a whirlwind of disasters. But now Sophie is facing her biggest crisis so far, and this time it's her life, and the lives of everyone she loves that are at stake.

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

The second book in the Hex series features feisty witch Jazz and her drop-dead gorgeous vampire cop boyfriend in a new installment. On again, off again for over 300 years, Jazz and Nick are finally back together, but then Jazz thinks Nick has bitten her. Separated again, upset and angry, the two of them start having violent, recurring dreams in which each one figures in disturbing and menacing ways. They can't sleep, they can't eat, and they finally figure out they'd better get together and discover who's poisoning their dreams-and their relationship. Full of the fantastic secondary characters that Linda Wisdom's fans know and love, including Jazz's sister witches and a cast of delectable supernatural male characters, Hex Appeal is fun and funny paranormal romance at its best. "Filled with loads of sass and sensuality, plenty of laughs and a host of oddball characters who'll leave you in stitches and asking for more." -Book Loons "With a rollicking cast of supporting characters, biting wit and sensual scenes, 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover is 'a high-power keg of excitement!'" -Coffee Time Romance 4 Star Review-Romantic Times: "Longtime series author Wisdom makes a wickedly fun jump into the supernatural realm. Offbeat characters...offer insight into this highly intriguing new heroine. The balance of danger, adventure and the supernatural is excellent. With characters as rich and challenging as these, let's hope we haven't seen the last of them." "Wisdom, no stranger to romance fans, delivers a striking opening salvo in her new paranormal series... a zany, hot read." -Booklist

Wicca is America’s fastest growing religion. By the year 2012, it’s projected to be the third largest religion in the United States. In Generation Hex, Marla Alupoaicei and Dillon Burroughs explore the history, culture, and practices of Wicca. As part of their research, they interviewed travelers to historic Salem, Massachusetts, consulted practitioners of leading neopagan conferences in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, and dialogued with several current and former adherents of Wicca and other forms of witchcraft to evaluate the past and present of this growing spiritual tradition. The result is a compelling account that will inform and equip Christians (especially parents) to understand Wiccan and New Age teachings. Readers will have confidence to explain this belief system to others and to communicate the gospel to those caught up in this practice. Generation Hex identifies with the spiritual hunger of a generation seeking truth, authenticity, and hope in a fragmented world. It’s perfect for personal study or as a gift for anyone interested or involved in Wicca.

When Phoebe, Piper, and Paige head to the Sunshine State to visit friends, they discover that their friends have taken up practicing folk magic and are soon facing a dangerous hurricane that may be unnaturally influenced by the spells.

Gwen Dubois lives in Indiana, but her heart is in France with Marc Chevalier. Now he’s come to Big Knob to show Gwen the real meaning of amour and coax her back to Paris. But stiff competition is coming from another part of the world—if not exactly this world. Prince Leo of the Atwood fairy kingdom has his own plans for Gwen. As Marc and Leo battle for Gwen’s affections, Big Knob’s resident matchmaking witch and wizard move in to help true love triumph in the best way they know how: with a little magic. But when the rivalry puts Gwen in danger, the men in her life are asked to prove their love in ways no could have imagined.

Fall under the intoxicating spell of their hex appeal... In the magical world that lies hidden beneath our own, witches and conjurers play deadly games. They know just the right spell to kill a man with one kiss—or raise him back again. And they're not afraid to exact sweet revenge on those who dare to cross them. But what if you're the unlucky soul who falls victim to a conjurer's curse? And if you had the power to cast a magic spell of your own, would you use it? In this bewitching collection, nine of today's hottest paranormal authors tell all-new, otherworldly tales. Spellbinding stories featuring bigfoot, albino vampires, professional wizards, resurrected boyfriends and even a sex droid from the twenty- third century named Silicon Lily. But as our conjurers are about to discover, it's all fun and games until someone gets hexed. And sometimes, even the best spun spells can lead to complete and utter mayhem. Includes Stories From: Ilona Andrews Jim Butcher Rachel Caine Carole Nelson Douglas P. N. Elrod Simon R. Green Lori Handeland Erica Hayes Carrier Vaughn