Thomas Olde Heuvelt

[Aronstg]

I figured I would start a thread to this guy. Hopefully he becomes a rising star in the Horror world.

I went to his signing today for the US release of Hex. He has been on a 6 week american tour. I think he still has stops in South and North Carolina. If you are in the area I highly recommend going to his signing.

I haven't read the book yet but it sounds really interesting and it was nice to hear a few boardies have read it/are reading it. I'm going to start it tonight.

A few fun things about this guy. He is Dutch, the book Hex was original published in Dutch in 2013. Apparently there isn't much Horror in Holland. It was picked up by a US Publisher. Instead of doing a translation he actually did a re-write.

Olde Heuvelt actually comes out to Old Hill. He thought about taking on the English translation of the name but he mentioned there already is a Horror writer with the last name of Hill and Thomas is younger than him so he decided not to go by Thomas Old Hill.

It was a very enjoyable signing and I'll make sure to make some comments once Hex is done. He is also working on his next novel. It's about a climber who gets possessed by a Mountain. He wants to take a new take on the classic possession stories. Instead of being possessed by the devil or a demon he wondered what it would play out like to have someone actually possessed by a force of nature.

[FennyBate]

Read 'Hex' a few months ago, and absolutely loved it. Will definitely be on the lookout for upcoming releases from Heuvelt.

[Niels]

He's been on the Dutch Stephen King Fanclub day a couple of times and is a true fan.

Need to dig up my Dutch signed/inscribed copy of Hex and actually read it.

[becca69]

I just ordered a signed copy. Excited to read this!

[Aronstg]

So far it's pretty good. I'm on chapter 8 and it's really starting to pick up. Becca, as a fan of signatures I think you will really enjoy his signature.

Niels, please do read it and then reach out to me. The endings are different and I am guessing I'll want to know how the dutch version ended vs the UK/US version.

[Cwalker]

+1 on the quality of the signature. It is... sprawling.

Aron, did you get one of the Eye Sewing Kits?

[Aronstg]

Yes I did.. those are just awesome. Love the thought he put into this tour and that promo item was one of the best I've seen.

I also asked him for a quote from the book and he wrote down a lengthy quote.. even put a Da in there.

[Aronstg]

Finished Hex and really enjoyed it. Now I need to find out how the Dutch version ended. For a guy's english debut novel I thought it was excellent. It wasn't a perfect book but it really has a nice creepy feel to the book and it was very original.

[becca69]

My signed copy finally arrived.

[Aronstg]

Becca that is awesome! He really goes all out on his inscriptions and his promo item is awesome!

[becca69]

Yes, at first I thought he forgot to sign but realized he gave me two inscriptions. And the sewing kit was nice. I'm not sure why Photobucket is showing these horizontally, I rotated them

[biomieg]

I can translate the inscription if you want me to?

[becca69]

I can translate the inscription if you want to?

Actually that would be great. I tried a translator but realized I couldn't tell how some of the words were spelled

[biomieg]

It says: "Niet doen! Niet doen! Laat hem niet haar ogen openknippen! Mam! Pap! Laat hem niet haar ogen openen!"

Translated:

"Don't! Don't! Don't let him cut open her eyes! Mom! Dad! Don't let him open her eyes!"

(Openknippen literally translates to cutting open with scissors)

[becca69]

Thanks. I had gotten the do not and cut open. I guessed on the Mom and Dad

[Jean]

"Don't! Don't! Don't let him cut open her eyes! Mom! Dad! Don't let him open her eyes!"

now I really really want to read it

[Aronstg]

Biomeg,

Please please please read the dutch version of this book for us.. I'm dying to know how that dutch version ended.

[biomieg]

I'll do my best I'll admit I'm getting curiouser and curiouser...

[webstar1000]

Biomeg,

Please please please read the dutch version of this book for us.. I'm dying to know how that dutch version ended.

Aron this well worth a read in the English version?

[Aronstg]

Biomeg,

Please please please read the dutch version of this book for us.. I'm dying to know how that dutch version ended.

Aron this well worth a read in the English version?

Absolutely. I really enjoyed it. It takes a little bit to warm up to but again it's very unique and I thought it had some wonderful creepy moments. I think it's worth a read.

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

Biomeg,

Please please please read the dutch version of this book for us.. I'm dying to know how that dutch version ended.

They all die in the end!

[RC65]

I thought it was pretty good. It had some instances of overwrought, overly dramatic/flourished writing that seemed at odds with the general tone of the book and, along with some questionable charcter motivations, kind of jarred me out of the story from time to time. At first I ascribed it to the translation, but the portion that he rewrote -- the last ten or twenty percent (or whatever it was) of the book had some instances as well, but then again maybe he didn't write that in English either, I don't know. But all in all, it was a pretty solid horror novel with an intriguing premise, and I'll probably give his next one -- the mountain possession book mentioned above -- a look.

[Roog]

Thomas is a really interesting guy, I met him a few times in Holland during book presentations and the Stephen King fanclub day a few years back.
Only read one book of him before which was really funny, his writing really brings things to vision. However his earlier books and the signed Dutch HEX is still on the to-read list.

[WeDealInLead]

What's this guy's obsession with saying "sure enough?" I caught it three times in fifteen pages and I wasn't even trying. Maybe it's a bad translation job but that's still terrible. I'm running into that overly dramatic writing that RC65 mentioned and sometimes I don't even get what he's trying to say. Interesting story though so I'm not giving up.

He should've kept the names and setting Dutch.

[Aronstg]

I think part of the problems of the overly dramatic scenes and the repeating of phrases is that the english version isn't a translation. It's an actual re-write and english isn't his 1st language. I know that doesn't change how you read the book but it may help explain some things when you see them pop up.