Rate this book

The Hammer (2011)

by K.J. Parker(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0316038563 (ISBN13: 9780316038560)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Orbit

review 1: Probably the weakest of Parker's works that I've read to date. What strikes me most about this book is the coldness and detachment of the characters. It's fitting, as one of the main themes is the consequences of doing what is reasonable and practical without any sentiment to stay one's hand (on the other hand though, it shows just how much you can accomplish by detaching from emotion, but the cost seems to be the emphasis). The story never builds up any amount of tension, the characters seem flat and don't like each other very much (but don't hate each other enough to be interesting either). Not a lot to recommend it, sadly, given how much I loved the Engineer Trilogy and The Folding Knife.
review 2: I have loved every KJ Parker novel I read, and this one was ... moreno exception. It's another technically "fantasy" novel I suppose, or at least speculative fiction, the only speculative part being the imagined society and location where the novel takes place. "The Hammer" features an amoral main character, something Parker seems to specialise in, and yet I wanted Gignomai to succeed with his plans, at least for the majority of the novel - he became so intensely real that I wanted him to succeed. (There is a rather graphically horrific part towards the end of the story that as a new parent I found difficult to read.) less

Download links for: The Hammer

Advertising