by Rob J. Hayes
Summary:
How long can a cause remain just, when painted in the blood of innocence?
They named her the Starhammer once. Hero to some, monster to many more. First into the breach at the Shattering, anointed in the blood of a thousand demons. The last of the legendary Valkyr.
But the Starhammer is dead. Or so all the stories tell.
Amidst the soaring trees and haunted slopes of the Primals, Selitha relies on the forest to provide, and cares for her family. Nothing is more precious to her than her daughter.
It is a simple life. It is a peaceful life. It is a lie.
When bandits raid the Primals, burning towns and stealing children from their beds, Selitha has no choice but to lend her axe to the rescue.
Volcanic giants spew ash into the sky, demonic bears claw the forest to splinters, and there are even rumours the kin, half-men half-beasts, serve the raiders. All the Terrors of the old world stand against her.
With a severed head as guide, to rescue the children, Selitha may need to bring the Starhammer back from the dead.
But will it be the hero who rises from the grave, or the monster?
Review:
I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting Rob Hayes to immediately become a contender for favorite indie of the year in December, but that’s EXACTLY what I got!
Hammerfall is an absolute beast of a novel, set in the God Eater world. I actually haven’t jumped into those books yet, but holy crap did they shoot right to the top of my list heading into the new year. This story is a standalone and can be read without any background, thankfully for me!
It follows the story of Selitha, otherwise known as the Starhammer. Well, once upon a time that was her alias, but those days are long, long gone. Now, she’s just in solitude with her husband, focused on raising her children. And it’s a good life, one she enjoys!
Or should I say, enjoyed? I’m going to refrain from major plot points obviously, but when the town her dwelling borders gets raided by kidnappers and thugs, she’s called upon to help them; even though she’d rather do anything but. What happens is a journey full of twists and turns, fantastic action sequences, and even better character work that really kept me not only engaged in the story, but dreading the end.
The biggest positive for me was, like I mentioned, the character work. Over the course of the book, we get a deep look into the minds and emotions of so many different characters, and every one of them felt so fully fleshed out that I felt like I’ve known them for years. Even the Head, which is one of the more appropriately named characters of all time, starts to peel back the curtain and we dive into what made him so deplorable as a person, and you start to empathize with a talking body part. Trust me, that sounds weird but it makes sense once you read it.
Selitha is a perfectly relatable reluctant hero; she has lived centuries longer than most and knows the good and bad of people, which is used to great effect by Hayes. Along the journey, she has to deal with her own inner turmoil of her past, which shaped her decisions that are effecting things decades later and it was incredibly well done.
Another of my favorite aspects of the story was the dialogue between the characters. This should come as no shock to people who have read his previous work, but Hayes is a master of conversation, here especially. Every time they talk, the words jump off the page. Funny, sad, remorseful, every emotion comes across so well, I’m actually struggling to think of another example where it’s done this well.
Overall, this is one of my favorite books of the year, whether indie or trad, now that I’m typing it out. I fucking LOVED it. Since it’s not coming out for another month or so, now’s definitely the time to add it to your list on whatever site you use and make sure to tuck some of that holiday money to the side for it’s release; trust me, this is one you’re not going to want to miss!
Find out more about Hammerfall!
Pete Barnable
Pete loves all things sci-fi and fantasy; whether it’s epic, dystopian, or grimdark, he’ll devour them all. Especially grimdark; pretty sure after a lifetime of being a die-hard New York Jets fan, he’s pretty well conditioned for anything a story may throw his way. At least those aren’t real and can’t hurt him.
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