“The Hammer” is a military science fiction novel set in a world where a catastrophic asteroid impact has caused societal collapse and plunged humanity into a new dark age. The story follows the adventures of Raj Whitehall, a general who rises to power by reorganizing a motley group of survivors into a powerful army using his knowledge of ancient military tactics and statecraft. With the help of his friends and allies, Whitehall fights to unite a fractured world and rebuild civilization while facing numerous challenges and enemies along the way.
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The Hammer
- Narrated by: Franklin Pierson
A monolithic computer is using General Raj Whitehall to unify the planet and start humanity back on the path to technological achievement, but an army of barbarians wielding muskets and swords stands in the way.
The story of General Raj Whitehall, his wife Suzette and his companions continues in The Hammer. After defeating the Colonial forces in the first book and leaving the Colony leaderless at the moment with the killing of the Settlers, the Civil Government turned its attention to reclaiming its territories. land is lost. The governor sends Raj and company to reclaim the lost territories to the Rangers, one of the two great barbarian nations. As with the Colony and the Civil Government, the Squadron and the Brigade were effectively a remnant of the Federation on Bellevue.
In the case of both the Squadron and the Brigade, they were once Union military units that went wild in the face of the demise of interstellar travel. In the case of the Squadron, their setback is more substantial and they are actually at approximately the 18th century level of technology, although they perform poorly even at that level because they are essentially a pirate country. Once again Raj and his comrades face an enemy far superior in numbers and use his wits to counter it.
Pierson once again does a great job of narrating, his voice shifting distinctly towards Raj, Center, and the other characters. He did a great job with the right accent, tone, and pronunciation for all the characters, from born and highly educated characters like Raj and Suzette to ordinary soldiers. lower born uneducated and thick Descotter accent, to Raj paid Skinner mercenaries even has a stranger’s accent and he has a tone that suits all characters and situations situation.
