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From: jef@lbl-rtsg.arpa
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: The Hammer and the Horn
Message-ID: <3706@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Fri, 20-Sep-85 13:02:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.3706
Posted: Fri Sep 20 13:02:09 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Sep-85 06:18:30 EDT
Sender: daemon@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 29

From: jef@lbl-rtsg.arpa

The Hammer and the Horn is a new book by Michael Jan Friedman.  First
the surface details: it's a paperback, 297 pages, $2.95; no typographical
errors, no annoying spoilers on the back cover; superb cover art by Rowena.
So far so good.  The plot of the book concerns Vidar, a bona-fide Norse God
(a bastard son of Odin).  Many thousands of years before the book opens,
Ragnarok was fought, and the gods won, but at great cost.  Vidar was one
of the few survivors.  Since that time, he has been living on Earth (Midgard).
By the time the 20th century rolls around, he is living in Woodstock and
working as a sculptor.  He is more or less happy with his life.

Suddenly he gets a call from Modi, another survivor of Ragnarok.  Modi is
in trouble and needs help.  Reluctantly, Vidar helps him, and is thereby
launched right into the middle of what looks to be a new Ragnarok.

The ending is a cliffhanger, so obviously this is the first book in a series.

This book is strongly reminiscent of Zelazny's Amber series - too strongly,
some might say.  I don't think so.  For one thing, the norse sagas were one of
the source-legends that went into Amber, so of course there are similarities.
For another thing, Amber itself was a higher-quality ripoff of Phillip Jose
Farmer's World of Tiers series, so it's only poetic justice that Amber gets
ripped off in turn by a higher-quality clone.

Anyway, I liked the book a lot, I recommend it to anyone who likes hard-edged
fantasy, and I eagerly await the continuation of the series.
---		(Three dashes on this line, please!)
Jef


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