Customer Reviews

One King's Way (Hammer and the Cross, Book 2)

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

 

 

OK, I realize that the last two books in this series were written by someone other than the original author, Harry Harrison. But I do give him credit for the original idea that these books sprang from. I'm a sucker for alternate history stories, and this one is a good one. What makes it good is a fresh perspective--Vikings and English, rather than the Civil War, or Kennedy's assassination, or even the Roman Empire. I stumbled across an old Harry Harrison book in my personal library when I was looking for something to read, and was impressed by his mastery of writing. I am a Christian, and have always been aware of his anti-Christian bias (perhaps more anti-Church?), but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying these and other books by the old master.

Harry, we hardly knew ye....

Harry Harrison is a great sci-fi writer, has authored many series on different subjects.
Alternate history is one of his favorite themes.
"One King's Way" is the second volume of "The hammer and the Cross" trilogy and I do recommend reading the first volume to fully understand this novel.

The story starts with Shef going on a two level quest. The explicit one is to deter the Ragnarsons raids onto the British coasts. The second quest is more or less imposed to him, by Gods or fate or destiny, Shef alternatively complies or resist to it. In this quest new characters come to his help and tie their destiny to his.

Shef's journey touches all Norse's world, their myths, legends and beliefs are shown in a thrilling story.
The first book of the saga shows an accurate picture of early Middle Ages, this one starts to create a different alternate reality, evolving distinctly from the new facts introduced by Harrison.
The Lance Order appears in this volume and will grow step by step as an important element in the saga. Finally, the confrontation with the Ragnarsons, comes to an end somewhat abruptly without freeing all the previous mounting tension.

This book is a valuable continuation of the saga; I keep looking forward for the next and final step.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Harry Harrison is a great sci-fi writer, has authored many series on different subjects.
Alternate history is one of his favorite themes.
"One King's Way" is a sequel of "The hammer and the Cross" and I do recommend reading it first to fully understand this novel.

The story starts with Shef going on a two level quest. The explicit one is to deter the Ragnarsons raids onto the British coasts. The second quest is more or less imposed to him, by Gods or fate or destiny, Shef alternatively complies or resist to it. In this quest new characters come to his help and tie their destiny to his.
Shef's journey touches all Norse's world, their myths, legends and beliefs are shown in a thrilling story.
The first book of the saga shows an accurate picture of early Middle Ages, this one starts to create a different alternate reality, evolving distinctly from new facts introduced by Harrison. The Lance Order appears in this volume and will grow step by step as an important element in the saga. Finally, the confrontation with the Ragnarsons, comes to an end somewhat abruptly without freeing all the previous mounting tension.

This book is a valuable continuation of the saga, I keep looking forward for the next and final step.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Shef is now co-king of england, and has brought peace and prosperity to his land. He is summoned to go north, and to make a great journey around the northlands. The plot thickens in this book, and builds on the first. The charachters develop even more in this book, and continue to do so in the final book of the trilogy.

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.

This alternate history is a sequel of "The hammer and the Cross", starts with Shef going on a two level quest. The explicit one is to deter the Ragnarsons raids onto the British coasts. The second quest is more or less imposed to him, by Gods or fate or destiny, Shef alternatively complies or resist to it. In this quest new characters come to his help and tie their destiny to his. Shef's journey touches all Norse's world, their myths, legends and beliefs are shown in a thrilling story. The first book of the saga shows an accurate picture of early Middle Ages, this one starts to create a different alternate reality, evolving distinctly from new facts introduced by Harrison. The Lance Order appears in this volume and will grow step by step as an important element in the saga. Finally, the confrontation with the Ragnarsons, comes to an end somewhat abruptly without freeing all the previous mounting tension. A valuable continuation of the saga, I keep looking forward for the next and final step.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

After reading "The Hammer and the Cross" I couldn't wait for the second installment. The wait was well worth it. Harrison followed up his truly excellent beginning with an equally impressive and exciting novel. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the characters develop and change over the course of the story. Harrison once again delves into history and presents an exciting "what if" story line. Definate thumbs up!

This book is a sequel to The Hammer and the Cross. I have not read the earlier book, but people speak very highly of it, and this sequel deserves just as much praise. It's an alternate history with supernatural elements involving Viking, Christian, and other religions. It is carefully and intricately constructed with interesting technology developments (for the so-called Dark Ages) and different cultures.

I do have a problem with the description on the back jacket of the book (also repeated as the Amazon.Com description), because I think it's not at all accurate. The jacket identifies the Knights of the Lance as Shef's chief enemies, but in most of the book his chief enemies are Sigurth Snake-Eye and his brothers. The Knights of the Lance don't play much of a role in this book, though it looks like they will in the next one