Review of Hammer of the Gods
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Arja Sollie 1
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- Latest Review: Hammer of the Gods by RK Wheeler
Review of Hammer of the Gods
[Following is a volunteer review of "Hammer of the Gods" by RK Wheeler.]
Hammer of the Gods by R. K. Wheeler is a fantasy-adventure revolving around two young adults who are prophesied to find the angel Azazyel. They go on a treasure hunt to find various mythological items, such as the rod of God, and in doing so discover how all the mythologies of the world (or rather, of the nine worlds) intersect. The Norse mythology, Greek mythology, werewolves, vampires, dwarves, gnomes, and Christianity all converge to present a premise which discusses faith … or rather, the unrelenting faith in Christianity’s God.
I found nothing to enjoy in this story. The promise of magic was fulfilled, but it was undercut by amateur writing. The dialogue consisted of info dumps and cheesy lines that were so ridiculous it would have been ironically funny if not for the weariness it brought on. Information was repeated again, again, and again, making each monologue of information progressively worse. If I wanted a lecture, I would listen to my professor’s dry lectures, not read a fantasy book.
Each character, however briefly encountered, was given a full paragraph of physical description. Whenever they spoke, it was in the form of adverbs, statements, and for the sole purpose of spoon-feeding information to the reader. “Excitedly” was used so many times as a dialogue tag that I nearly put down the book. This is unfortunate, as a great majority of the book is just dialogue. Because of this, the pacing is incredibly strange. It is either excruciatingly slow or too fast. It all feels like a “hurry up and talk” sort of situation. The action sequences are the only thing that isn’t outright poorly written … that isn’t to say it’s good, but the action is so vague that it’s difficult to feel any sort of fear for what’s going on with the characters.
The pacing was also off because of the weird subplots, such as the Morgan subplot. The characters' reactions to dire situations were inconsistent, either too dramatic or too nonchalant.
Something that continued to annoy me was how the archangel Gabriel would constantly swoop down and save the protagonists at any time there was real danger. I had no fear that the protagonists may get injured or suffer through a particular journey through Alaska, because there was always Gabriel (and sometimes someone else) to save them from their misery.
I disliked all the characters for their choppy dialogue and unrealistic reactions, but I think Atungitok proved the most annoying. He was a caricature of a caricature of an angry leprechaun (and he wasn't a leprechaun, he was a gnome). However, Atungitok was the only one to have a smidgen of personality.
The Christian viewpoint the author held clearly permeated throughout the story. The ultimate mythos was Christianity; Odin was not the Viking chief of war who made Loki watch his children eat each other, but a kind king who spoke of morals and compassion; the character arcs were from heresy to faith; all mythologies bent around Christian stories; and the only true god was the Christian one, whereas everyone else was an archangel. Moreover, many Bible verses are quoted and cited in footnotes, but there are none for the other mythologies. Not even the Eddas were cited for Norse mythology. Thor wears the winged helm depicted in old Marvel comics. Overall, the blatant disrespect for other mythologies and the high praise of Christianity makes it unpleasant to read, as someone who is not associated with any particular religion.
I encountered over a dozen errors, the most egregious one being the use of “lighting” and “lightning” interchangeably. This happened so many times I didn’t bother enumerating the total.
I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. Overall, I don’t recommend reading the book unless you have an extremely high tolerance for amateur writing.
******
Hammer of the Gods
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Hammer of the Gods by R. K. Wheeler is a fantasy-adventure revolving around two young adults who are prophesied to find the angel Azazyel. They go on a treasure hunt to find various mythological items, such as the rod of God, and in doing so discover how all the mythologies of the world (or rather, of the nine worlds) intersect. The Norse mythology, Greek mythology, werewolves, vampires, dwarves, gnomes, and Christianity all converge to present a premise which discusses faith … or rather, the unrelenting faith in Christianity’s God.
I found nothing to enjoy in this story. The promise of magic was fulfilled, but it was undercut by amateur writing. The dialogue consisted of info dumps and cheesy lines that were so ridiculous it would have been ironically funny if not for the weariness it brought on. Information was repeated again, again, and again, making each monologue of information progressively worse. If I wanted a lecture, I would listen to my professor’s dry lectures, not read a fantasy book.
Each character, however briefly encountered, was given a full paragraph of physical description. Whenever they spoke, it was in the form of adverbs, statements, and for the sole purpose of spoon-feeding information to the reader. “Excitedly” was used so many times as a dialogue tag that I nearly put down the book. This is unfortunate, as a great majority of the book is just dialogue. Because of this, the pacing is incredibly strange. It is either excruciatingly slow or too fast. It all feels like a “hurry up and talk” sort of situation. The action sequences are the only thing that isn’t outright poorly written … that isn’t to say it’s good, but the action is so vague that it’s difficult to feel any sort of fear for what’s going on with the characters.
The pacing was also off because of the weird subplots, such as the Morgan subplot. The characters' reactions to dire situations were inconsistent, either too dramatic or too nonchalant.
Something that continued to annoy me was how the archangel Gabriel would constantly swoop down and save the protagonists at any time there was real danger. I had no fear that the protagonists may get injured or suffer through a particular journey through Alaska, because there was always Gabriel (and sometimes someone else) to save them from their misery.
I disliked all the characters for their choppy dialogue and unrealistic reactions, but I think Atungitok proved the most annoying. He was a caricature of a caricature of an angry leprechaun (and he wasn't a leprechaun, he was a gnome). However, Atungitok was the only one to have a smidgen of personality.
The Christian viewpoint the author held clearly permeated throughout the story. The ultimate mythos was Christianity; Odin was not the Viking chief of war who made Loki watch his children eat each other, but a kind king who spoke of morals and compassion; the character arcs were from heresy to faith; all mythologies bent around Christian stories; and the only true god was the Christian one, whereas everyone else was an archangel. Moreover, many Bible verses are quoted and cited in footnotes, but there are none for the other mythologies. Not even the Eddas were cited for Norse mythology. Thor wears the winged helm depicted in old Marvel comics. Overall, the blatant disrespect for other mythologies and the high praise of Christianity makes it unpleasant to read, as someone who is not associated with any particular religion.
I encountered over a dozen errors, the most egregious one being the use of “lighting” and “lightning” interchangeably. This happened so many times I didn’t bother enumerating the total.
I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. Overall, I don’t recommend reading the book unless you have an extremely high tolerance for amateur writing.
******
Hammer of the Gods
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Hammer of the Gods by RK Wheeler
