Customer Reviews

King and Emperor (Hammer and the Cross)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A pity that this book does not measure up to the rest of the series. Harrison gets obsessed with the "oppressiveness" of Christianity, and the story seems to end up more as a sermon, than a novel. The "Way", while an interesting read in alternate history, becomes increasingly unrealistic as the story progresses - and Shef's portrayal as a Christ figure increasingly obvious.

It's the ending that spoils the story, though. The wrap-up is short - and frankly, quite unrealistic. Harrison gets carried away by his vision of a different dark-ages world, and turns it utopian. Read it, if you read and liked the previous two novels - but don't expect it to measure up to the others.

I've enjoyed this third volume of "Hammer & the Cross" saga greatly. First I want to point out how Harrison starts from an universe deeply rooted in early middle ages in the first volume and end in a completely different environment, created by the new facts and actions performed by Shef and his pals.

In "King and Emperor", the human dimension of each character grows and they are confronted with moral and ethical dilemmas. Shef, Svandis, Cwicca, Thorvin, Bruno, Brand and the rest (even the crooked Erkenbert) has to choose between different actions in order to proceed. Still is a novel full of action, adventure and entertainment. In my personal point of view, some aspects of Svandis cuasi Freudian dream explanations are out of context. I don't agree with other reviewers, in their appreciation of an abrupt and rash ending of the novel. The confrontation between Bruno and Shef is well paced and reach a "logical" ending.

The overall background of examining different religious beliefs is provoking, but each reader may extract it's own conclusions without being forced by the author to take sides or accept his points of view.
A great book!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

I love this trilogy, from the start of book one to the end of book three, the historical aspects are pointed out in a way that fits as part of the story and they don't overthrow the plot, lending the books a very authoritative tone. The Characters are great, (Brand is one of my favorites) and there's plenty of action. What I like best about these books is that Harrison really makes you feel inside the story, the way he handles the characters attitudes towards each other and their surroundings really makes you feel like you're right with them weather it's Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, The Frankish Empire, Muslum Spain or what's left of Rome. As for character development, Harrison has a great way of using the third-person point of view in a way that can convey things unknown to the characters yet at the same time the tone of the narrative is flavored with the particular character's personality, culture and view of their surroundings, helping the reader understand more fully the motives and inhibitions of the people he describes. I read these back in high school and loved them then as much I still do now.

The Hammer and the Cross started a potentially excellent series; the premise, the rediscovery of lost technology, together with the inclusive approach to religion, offered a more than competent and generally exciting author vast scope to demonstrate his powers. Having made the first book so intriguing that I could hardly wait for the second, I was delighted with "One king's way" - not only were the situations in the first volume moved towards a resolution {albeit by largely dropping the female interest in tH&C}, but fascinating new creatures were introduced. The third volume seemed to drop most of the original themes to concentrate on one, which proved least interesting. There was a conclusion to the story, but it seemed to me, at least, that the author had lost interest and commitment to the project. After an enthralling beginning and a strong middle movement, the orchestra went home.

after reading the 1st 2 books of the trilogy I was expecting a story of similiar caliber. While the book was interesting it was not on the same level as the 1st 2 books in the trilogy. The main players acted all out of charecter compared to the previous 2 books. The last 1/3 of of the book seem to be rushed & slapped together; the final battle was dissappointing to say the least. If you're a big fan of the triology, get the book to complete the loop; otherwise don't bother.

I read these books a few years back at the same time as my brother in-law. We were both impressed by the depth, (alt)history, and interest in the stories. Not as thick as a George R.R. Martin's books, but a similar grittiness. (The first book features the removal of limbs by sword and preserving of life by searing the limbs with fire to cauterize the wounds. eeyoo!)

The stories are really well crafted and takes the reader from the North Sea to the Medeterainian and throughout the land masses in between. The character develpoment kept me reading the entire series end to end despite my semi-revulsion at the gore.

As a fan of Orson Scott Card, Issac Asimov, Terry Goodkind, C.J. Cherryh, Mercedes Lackey, Neal Stephanson and Carl Sagan, I can say I liked this book and its predecessors enough to read them all.

This was a bit of a disappointing finale to an otherwise excellent trilogy. The previous book ("One King's Way") and part of this one build towards a climactic battle between Shef's kingdom and the new Holy Roman Empire, but fizzles out towards the end. Harrison's theories on holy relics of the Christian faith is somewhat interesting, but he apparently has some misgivings about Christianity and lets it show through in the story. The ending was a definate disappointment, and I almost get the feeling that Harrison simply got tired of the storyline and just wanted it to end (something which I felt in his last Stainless Steel Rat novel, as well). Overall, I truly loved the trilogy, but this last "chapter" of the story is by far the weakest link.

The rich tapestry of the spirituality in this series, as well as the rich, accurate historical views and alternate histories continue to pull the reader within the realm of it's pages. I found the interresting mix of religious viewpoints in this story intriguing. Harrison has done his research in both history and religion quite well. This also brings to light some more disturbing aspects of various religions.

This book brings the wonderful trilogy to a close in a way that is satisfying. Shef and his ex-slave companions, as well as his viking companions head to the mediteranian region to seek a flying man in Shef's never-satisfied search for knowledge.

The ending wasn't quite what I was expecting of the trillogy, but is still a good one.

I loved the first two books in this trilogy (as well as many other books by this author), but there's something about this book that bugs me. While respecting Mr. Harrison's creative license with his characters, I thought this was a conclusion unworthy of the other two books. The characters were mostly well done, as always, but the plot was flawed. The excessive Christ metaphors and intellectual leaps and bounds (especially towards the end) took attention away from the main point of the story-- THERE'S A WAR ON, REMEMBER??? and futhermore it leaves the reader hanging more than it should, since the overly-neat wrap-up at the end is too fake to be realistic. I was left with a sense of "is that all there is?" after reading this. The technical aspects of the book-- catapult artillery and so on-- are both interesting and amusing, and the battle scenes ought to have been more involved. All in all, it was a poor ending to a great story. Mr. Harrison, if you read this, I suggest some sort of post-Shef account of events up north.

Any alternative history fan would enjoy this novel , along with "Warriors of the Way". I like the concept of vikings of that era being more than just barbarians and that they have a distinct and rich culture also. I do want to note one error in the story. The god Rig is actually Heimdall (as described in the Edda). I've also enjoyed the entire Stainless Steel Rat series