diff --git a/internal/cli/command.go b/internal/cli/command.go
index 2b74f12..b7389eb 100644
--- a/internal/cli/command.go
+++ b/internal/cli/command.go
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ func Run(stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Writer) (*kong.Context, error) {
 			"version": internal.Version,
 		},
 		kong.Bind(&cli.Globals),
-		kong.TypeMapper(reflect.TypeFor[*[]variable](), &variableMapper{}),
-		kong.TypeMapper(reflect.TypeFor[*[]extReadWriteFlag](), &extReadWriteFlagMapper{}),
+		kong.TypeMapper(reflect.TypeFor[variables](), &variableMapper{}),
+		kong.TypeMapper(reflect.TypeFor[extReadWriteFlags](), &extReadWriteFlagMapper{}),
 		kong.OptionFunc(func(k *kong.Kong) error {
 			k.Stdout = cli.Stdout
 			k.Stderr = cli.Stderr
diff --git a/internal/cli/interactive.go b/internal/cli/interactive.go
index 6eee0ec..5543e44 100644
--- a/internal/cli/interactive.go
+++ b/internal/cli/interactive.go
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ func NewInteractiveCmd(queryCmd *QueryCmd) *InteractiveCmd {
 }
 
 type InteractiveCmd struct {
-	Vars          *[]variable         `flag:"" name:"var" help:"Variables to pass to the query. E.g. --var foo=\"bar\" --var baz=json:file:./some/file.json"`
-	ExtReadFlags  *[]extReadWriteFlag `flag:"" name:"read-flag" help:"Reader flag to customise parsing. E.g. --read-flag xml-mode=structured"`
-	ExtWriteFlags *[]extReadWriteFlag `flag:"" name:"write-flag" help:"Writer flag to customise output"`
-	InFormat      string              `flag:"" name:"in" short:"i" help:"The format of the input data."`
-	OutFormat     string              `flag:"" name:"out" short:"o" help:"The format of the output data."`
+	Vars          variables         `flag:"" name:"var" help:"Variables to pass to the query. E.g. --var foo=\"bar\" --var baz=json:file:./some/file.json"`
+	ExtReadFlags  extReadWriteFlags `flag:"" name:"read-flag" help:"Reader flag to customise parsing. E.g. --read-flag xml-mode=structured"`
+	ExtWriteFlags extReadWriteFlags `flag:"" name:"write-flag" help:"Writer flag to customise output"`
+	InFormat      string            `flag:"" name:"in" short:"i" help:"The format of the input data."`
+	OutFormat     string            `flag:"" name:"out" short:"o" help:"The format of the output data."`
 
 	Query string `arg:"" help:"The query to execute." optional:"" default:""`
 }
diff --git a/model/value.go b/model/value.go
index 19d0f8a..79402bc 100644
--- a/model/value.go
+++ b/model/value.go
@@ -272,3 +272,12 @@ func (v *Value) Len() (int, error) {
 
 	return l, nil
 }
+
+func (v *Value) Copy() (*Value, error) {
+	switch v.Type() {
+	case TypeMap:
+		return v.MapCopy()
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("copy not supported for type: %s", v.Type())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/model/value_map.go b/model/value_map.go
index 527df88..77b92ad 100644
--- a/model/value_map.go
+++ b/model/value_map.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package model
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"reflect"
 
@@ -58,6 +59,28 @@ func (v *Value) SetMapKey(key string, value *Value) error {
 	}
 }
 
+func (v *Value) MapCopy() (*Value, error) {
+	res := NewMapValue()
+	kvs, err := v.MapKeyValues()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error getting map key values: %w", err)
+	}
+	for _, kv := range kvs {
+		if err := res.SetMapKey(kv.Key, kv.Value); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error setting map key: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	return res, nil
+}
+
+func (v *Value) MapKeyExists(key string) (bool, error) {
+	_, err := v.GetMapKey(key)
+	if err != nil && !errors.As(err, &MapKeyNotFound{}) {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return err == nil, nil
+}
+
 // GetMapKey returns the value at the specified key in the map.
 func (v *Value) GetMapKey(key string) (*Value, error) {
 	switch {
diff --git a/parsing/hcl/hcl.go b/parsing/hcl/hcl.go
index a1fddf3..9b14104 100644
--- a/parsing/hcl/hcl.go
+++ b/parsing/hcl/hcl.go
@@ -10,10 +10,10 @@ const (
 )
 
 var _ parsing.Reader = (*hclReader)(nil)
-
-//var _ parsing.Writer = (*hclWriter)(nil)
+var _ parsing.Writer = (*hclWriter)(nil)
 
 func init() {
 	parsing.RegisterReader(HCL, newHCLReader)
-	parsing.RegisterWriter(HCL, newHCLWriter)
+	// HCL writer is not implemented yet
+	//parsing.RegisterWriter(HCL, newHCLWriter)
 }
diff --git a/parsing/hcl/reader.go b/parsing/hcl/reader.go
index fc72917..b6fa445 100644
--- a/parsing/hcl/reader.go
+++ b/parsing/hcl/reader.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package hcl
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+
 	"github.com/hashicorp/hcl/v2"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/hcl/v2/gohcl"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/hcl/v2/hclsyntax"
@@ -11,13 +12,19 @@ import (
 )
 
 func newHCLReader(options parsing.ReaderOptions) (parsing.Reader, error) {
-	return &hclReader{}, nil
+	return &hclReader{
+		alwaysReadLabelsToSlice: options.Ext["hcl-block-format"] == "array",
+	}, nil
 }
 
-type hclReader struct{}
+type hclReader struct {
+	alwaysReadLabelsToSlice bool
+}
 
 // Read reads a value from a byte slice.
-func (j *hclReader) Read(data []byte) (*model.Value, error) {
+// Reads the HCL data into a model that follows the HCL JSON spec.
+// See https://github.com/hashicorp/hcl/blob/main/json%2Fspec.md
+func (r *hclReader) Read(data []byte) (*model.Value, error) {
 	f, _ := hclsyntax.ParseConfig(data, "input", hcl.InitialPos)
 
 	body, ok := f.Body.(*hclsyntax.Body)
@@ -25,14 +32,15 @@ func (j *hclReader) Read(data []byte) (*model.Value, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to assert file body type")
 	}
 
-	return decodeHCLBody(body)
+	return r.decodeHCLBody(body)
 }
 
-func decodeHCLBody(body *hclsyntax.Body) (*model.Value, error) {
+func (r *hclReader) decodeHCLBody(body *hclsyntax.Body) (*model.Value, error) {
 	res := model.NewMapValue()
+	var err error
 
 	for _, attr := range body.Attributes {
-		val, err := decodeHCLExpr(attr.Expr)
+		val, err := r.decodeHCLExpr(attr.Expr)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to decode attr %q: %w", attr.Name, err)
 		}
@@ -42,77 +50,116 @@ func decodeHCLBody(body *hclsyntax.Body) (*model.Value, error) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	blockTypeIndexes := make(map[string]int)
-	blockValues := make([][]*model.Value, 0)
+	res, err = r.decodeHCLBodyBlocks(body, res)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return res, nil
+}
+
+func (r *hclReader) decodeHCLBodyBlocks(body *hclsyntax.Body, res *model.Value) (*model.Value, error) {
 	for _, block := range body.Blocks {
-		if _, ok := blockTypeIndexes[block.Type]; !ok {
-			blockValues = append(blockValues, make([]*model.Value, 0))
-			blockTypeIndexes[block.Type] = len(blockValues) - 1
+		if err := r.decodeHCLBlock(block, res); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
 		}
-		res, err := decodeHCLBlock(block)
+	}
+	return res, nil
+}
+
+func (r *hclReader) decodeHCLBlock(block *hclsyntax.Block, res *model.Value) error {
+	key := block.Type
+	v := res
+	for _, label := range block.Labels {
+		exists, err := v.MapKeyExists(key)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to decode block %q: %w", block.Type, err)
+			return err
 		}
-		blockValues[blockTypeIndexes[block.Type]] = append(blockValues[blockTypeIndexes[block.Type]], res)
-	}
 
-	for t, index := range blockTypeIndexes {
-		blocks := blockValues[index]
-		switch len(blocks) {
-		case 0:
-			continue
-		case 1:
-			if err := res.SetMapKey(t, blocks[0]); err != nil {
-				return nil, err
+		if exists {
+			keyV, err := v.GetMapKey(key)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
 			}
-		default:
-			val := model.NewSliceValue()
-			for _, b := range blocks {
-				if err := val.Append(b); err != nil {
-					return nil, err
-				}
-			}
-			if err := res.SetMapKey(t, val); err != nil {
-				return nil, err
+			v = keyV
+		} else {
+			keyV := model.NewMapValue()
+			if err := v.SetMapKey(key, keyV); err != nil {
+				return err
 			}
+			v = keyV
 		}
-	}
-
-	return res, nil
-}
 
-func decodeHCLBlock(block *hclsyntax.Block) (*model.Value, error) {
-	res, err := decodeHCLBody(block.Body)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		key = label
 	}
 
-	labels := model.NewSliceValue()
-	for _, l := range block.Labels {
-		if err := labels.Append(model.NewStringValue(l)); err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
+	body, err := r.decodeHCLBody(block.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := res.SetMapKey("labels", labels); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+	exists, err := v.MapKeyExists(key)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
+	if exists {
+		keyV, err := v.GetMapKey(key)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 
-	if err := res.SetMapKey("type", model.NewStringValue(block.Type)); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		switch keyV.Type() {
+		case model.TypeSlice:
+			if err := keyV.Append(body); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		case model.TypeMap:
+			// Previous value was a map.
+			// Create a new slice containing the previous map and the new map.
+			newKeyV := model.NewSliceValue()
+			previousKeyV, err := keyV.Copy()
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			if err := newKeyV.Append(previousKeyV); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			if err := newKeyV.Append(body); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			if err := keyV.Set(newKeyV); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		default:
+			return fmt.Errorf("unexpected type: %s", keyV.Type())
+		}
+	} else {
+		if r.alwaysReadLabelsToSlice {
+			slice := model.NewSliceValue()
+			if err := slice.Append(body); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			if err := v.SetMapKey(key, slice); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		} else {
+			if err := v.SetMapKey(key, body); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
 	}
 
-	return res, nil
+	return nil
 }
 
-func decodeHCLExpr(expr hcl.Expression) (*model.Value, error) {
+func (r *hclReader) decodeHCLExpr(expr hcl.Expression) (*model.Value, error) {
 	source := cty.Value{}
 	_ = gohcl.DecodeExpression(expr, nil, &source)
 
-	return decodeCtyValue(source)
+	return r.decodeCtyValue(source)
 }
 
-func decodeCtyValue(source cty.Value) (res *model.Value, err error) {
+func (r *hclReader) decodeCtyValue(source cty.Value) (res *model.Value, err error) {
 	defer func() {
 		r := recover()
 		if r != nil {
@@ -126,15 +173,7 @@ func decodeCtyValue(source cty.Value) (res *model.Value, err error) {
 
 	sourceT := source.Type()
 	switch {
-	case sourceT.IsMapType():
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("map type not implemented")
-	case sourceT.IsListType():
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("list type not implemented")
-	case sourceT.IsCollectionType():
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("collection type not implemented")
-	case sourceT.IsCapsuleType():
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("capsule type not implemented")
-	case sourceT.IsTupleType():
+	case sourceT.IsListType(), sourceT.IsTupleType():
 		res = model.NewSliceValue()
 		it := source.ElementIterator()
 		for it.Next() {
@@ -143,7 +182,7 @@ func decodeCtyValue(source cty.Value) (res *model.Value, err error) {
 			// Just validates the key is correct.
 			_, _ = k.AsBigFloat().Float64()
 
-			val, err := decodeCtyValue(v)
+			val, err := r.decodeCtyValue(v)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to decode tuple value: %w", err)
 			}
@@ -153,8 +192,26 @@ func decodeCtyValue(source cty.Value) (res *model.Value, err error) {
 			}
 		}
 		return res, nil
-	case sourceT.IsObjectType():
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("object type not implemented")
+	case sourceT.IsMapType(), sourceT.IsObjectType(), sourceT.IsSetType():
+		v := model.NewMapValue()
+		it := source.ElementIterator()
+		for it.Next() {
+			k, el := it.Element()
+			if k.Type() != cty.String {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("object key must be a string")
+			}
+			kStr := k.AsString()
+
+			elVal, err := r.decodeCtyValue(el)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to decode object value: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			if err := v.SetMapKey(kStr, elVal); err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+		}
+		return v, nil
 	case sourceT.IsPrimitiveType():
 		switch sourceT {
 		case cty.String:
@@ -173,9 +230,7 @@ func decodeCtyValue(source cty.Value) (res *model.Value, err error) {
 		default:
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unhandled primitive type %q", source.Type())
 		}
-	case sourceT.IsSetType():
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("set type not implemented")
 	default:
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unhandled type: %s", sourceT.FriendlyName())
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unsupported type: %s", sourceT.FriendlyName())
 	}
 }
diff --git a/parsing/hcl/reader_test.go b/parsing/hcl/reader_test.go
index e97e71f..6b60a8f 100644
--- a/parsing/hcl/reader_test.go
+++ b/parsing/hcl/reader_test.go
@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@ package hcl_test
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
 	"github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3/parsing"
 	"github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3/parsing/hcl"
-	"testing"
 )
 
 type readTestCase struct {
@@ -62,4 +63,25 @@ service "http" "web_proxy" {
   }
 }`,
 	}.run)
+	t.Run("document c", readTestCase{
+		in: `image_id = "ami-123"
+cluster_min_nodes = 2
+cluster_decimal_nodes = 2.2
+cluster_max_nodes = true
+availability_zone_names = [
+"us-east-1a",
+"us-west-1c",
+]
+docker_ports = [{
+internal = 8300
+external = 8300
+protocol = "tcp"
+},
+{
+internal = 8301
+external = 8301
+protocol = "tcp"
+}
+]`,
+	}.run)
 }