Rohan's conclusion to the main sequence of the Winter of the World books is at once the right ending and, ultimately, unfulfilling. Rereading the trilogy recently, I was struck again by how different this book felt from the previous two. It seemed much more so to have a clear message to send; a real axe to grind, if you will. While the previous books wove together a long arc of coming of age of the series protagonist with the greater (read: good vs. evil) struggle against the Ice, this book seemed much more to be focused on the depths of folly to which pride or hubris can lead a man, along with the cost associated with that.It's been more or less hinted at throughout the series that there is a very ruthless streak in Elof that he doesn't truly let out that often. This is a book in which Elof does a very stupid and selfish thing, and has to pay the consequences. Unfortunately, the price is much higher than he would have imagined. The book explores some cruelty and selfishness of man in a way that sometimes seems extravagant, and wholely different than what is offered in the previous books. One of the frustrating things is that the impetus for the tale in this book feels completely rooted in deus ex machina. Elof's actions early on just don't truly seem in line with his character as we've known him. The middle section of the book transforms him even more, from a man motivated (in some way at least) by love, to one bent on a type of long-form vengeance that seems pulled straight out of a darker Shakespeare tale rather than something from Rohan's earlier works. The ending, or at least the end section if not the very end, of the book does provide closure to the tale of Elof, the overall struggle with the Ice, and other things as well. It does manage to tie things together in a way to give you the satisfaction of the "ah ha!" moment or at least the "I knew it!" one. It's a bit unclear to me if the whole thing is just a bit too contrived. It's all a little too convenient, and it seems like Rohan ultimately takes the easy way out in order to find some sort of ending, even if it feels like an unsatisfying one.In some ways it's hard to recommend The Hammer of the Sun, though in other ways it's really an important conclusion to Elof's tale. Rohan's diction remains top notch in this book, it just seems that some elements of the overall picture just materialized because it was expedient rather than logically motivated by other things in the book or series as a whole. It does leave me wishing there was a different way for it all to wrap up, but also wishing there were more Winter of the World books to be had. The latter of those, at least, is possible, as there are other books in the same setting, even if they tell a different set of stories.Overall: At least 3 unnecessary uses of deus ex machina out of 4. Oh well.
If ever there's need of a book to film as a worthy successor to the Lord of the Rings-trilogy, this series fits the bill. It has clear parallels to Tolkiens work, with its 'high' tone, as if adapted from earlier accounts, and commenting on the texts even, and serving as an exploration of 'nordic' mythology even. It has the same heroic characters, a rich array of less important characters, and the movies don't even need to be 4 hour in length! Add to that an original setting (our world, but thousands of years ago during an ice age - lots of the action takes place at the bottom of what will be the meditarranean in our age), great creatures (there's a sea monster here that I would love to see on the big screen) and great set pieces (the end of the forge is one, but also the climax of this tale with its great use of mirrors). There' a bit more sensuality compared with Tolkien, but also musing about freedom, conformity and humanity. The main character is alsso interestingly flawed, not perfect. I did like that. The end of his quest to find the love of his life was hurried, in my opinion, and I didn't really like the reveal - I think as a lowlier character he would have worked better.Some reviews state this as the least favorite part of the trilogy, but (maybe because it's almost eight years ago I read the first two) I liked this one better. As with the previous books maybe the best part to me was the appendix, with its thorough exploration of the world, well thought out. I liked the passages about the mediterranean, and the nature of sea monster Amicac, having read a bit about cryptozoology, long necked seals and Bernard Heuvelman. I like this sort of speculative zoology and geography a lot! So recommended for people who like mythology and speculation mixed with their fantasy!
Do You like book The Hammer Of The Sun (1995)?
I left this on my currently reading shelf for ages so as to write a proper review... and now I have left it so long, none of it is really very fresh in my mind any more, defeating the point.In general, my opinions of the writing and the story are very much the same as previous two books; epic, well crafted, prose well fitted with the style, an excellent vision of the world. I still prefer The Forge in the Forest a little more, but a lot of that is to do with the setting. The Hammer of the Sun concludes the trilogy well, and the author's depiction of a final days of an Empire are evocative and has a certain melancholic historical gravitas to it. The mix of exploration into the world and society Rohan reveals to us coupled with the unfolding story and indeed the conclusion of the greater plot and in fact, the meta-plot, makes this a great cap to a great series.
—Ben
Maybe I just don't like good things to come to an end but i feel that this was probably my least favourite of the trilogy.It seemed to take forever (a good 200-250 pages) to actually make any progress in the plot and just as it starts to show some of the likeable traits of the previous books, it ends rather bizarrely and abruptly. I am still a fan of M.S.R and I really like the technical aspect of his work. His method of describing the smith crafting makes you at times consider building a forge yourself and this really helps engross you as a reader. I just feel that this book may have been a bit forced and not quite the promising ending to the trilogy I was hoping for.
—Paul De-zen
A good finale to Elof's story. Again the mythological aspects of the tale were wonderful and really helped to ground the novel in what felt like a real world setting rather than being "bog standard" sword and sorcery setting.But oh, Elof, how could you have been so stupid about Kara?Anyway.... Things I loved - the voyage over the Atlantic to Kerys, Kerys Gate at the Gibraltar Straits, the detail of Elof's smithcrafting and the delving into even more arcane (but modern) methods of creation and Ils and Kermorvan. Kermorvan's realisation at the end that the current civilisation will end with the rising of the oceans as water is unlocked from the grip of the Ice. Reference to the City of Ys.Things I didn't like: The lack of geomorphological accuracy - I mean how could the sea spilling into the great River then flow out elsewhere into a different sea. Wouldn't work.... Elof's idiocy and jealousy at the beginning of the story, although it was a way of getting him to cross the sea, and sort out the Ice once and for all.I really enjoyed the description of Kerys as a fading land where much of the natural resources had been depleted. I also liked the feeling of corruption of the society. This is not really explained fully until you get to the Appendix, where it explains how the sundering of the peoples took the best of them over the sea to Brasayhal. The growth of ice caps on the continental mountains were adding to the malign influence.Most of all, I loved the environmental story of how Louhi and the forces of the Ice were using almost geoengineering techniques to grow the Ice. Pressure on the land from the weight of the Ice forcing volcanic eruptions which reduces solar insolation; and blocking the Great River to stop its flow and allow it to ice up. At some point an albedo tipping point would have been reached, and a "Snowball Earth" scenario set up.I found the ending slightly odd and unsatisfying so really this is 4.5 stars from me rather than five because it just didn't feel right.As usual the appendices were full of really interesting information and also stories to fill in the historical gaps. Very much worth reading.
—Kate
