Hammer of Thor was a review copy that was brought to my attention by the author himself near the end of 2011. I was at the
time just finishing off the Read-A-Myth reading challenge and so the norse mythology element of this book really attracted me to it. I believe this book is Townsend’s debut novel but since its release he has also written another book in this series, which is called Agent of Artifice. To find out more about Townsend and his work why not check out his website.
Imagine a world almost identical to our own, except here those things we believe to be myth like witches, warlocks, fairy godmothers, and the Gods of ancient times are all real. They are all in fact human beings but with the added bonus of supernatural powers, and they call themselves ‘adepts’. Being an adept is no easy business. They are shunned by ‘lessers’ which are normal folk like you and I, which means they tend to group together in guilds of their own but guild life is fraught with political intrigue, power struggles, talisman theft, and guild wars. Talismans are used by ‘adepts’ to increase their powers, the more you have the more powerful you are, but everyone is always on the look out for a more powerful talisman. The most powerful talisman in the entire world is the ‘Hammer of Thor’ which has been stolen by Hitler and the Nazi party ‘adepts’ from its rightful owners the ‘Valkyrie’. With its power Hitler could not only rule Europe but the entire world. American ‘adept’ Francis Kader and the ‘Valkyries’ must work uneasily together to stop Hitler before it’s too late.
This is one of the hardest reviews I’ve written in a long time, I just find I still have such mixed opinions of this book. There was much to like about Hammer of Thor; magic, history, myth, and well written description. However there was also war, military detail, travel, many locations around the world, lost love (twice), fights, cars, weapons, flying carpets, planes, and several time periods as well…to be honest there was just too much going on for me for most of the time.
I originally accepted the book because of the norse mythology element of the book, and when Townsend focused on that I loved it but for me he didn’t focus on it enough. The storyline of the last of the Valkyrie, an empty Valhalla, the awakening of Thor, and the theft of the hammer by the Nazis was I thought genius. But it was only a subplot to what was essentially a running commentary of Francis Kader’s life. Not that Kader’s life is not interesting it is chock full of guild war, fights, and military action however none of these are really anything I know much about and/or am that interested in.
I hate not having a more positive opinion of this book because it wasn’t a bad book, it was well written and researched, but it just wasn’t for me I’m afraid. I recommend Hammer of Thor to bookworms with a love of supernatural powers but also war/military detail, plus you need to be able to take a lot of information in.
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