This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 5, 2014.

The Hammer and the Blade

By Paul S. Kemp – Angry Robot – January 1, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

I've been slightly dissatisfied with many of the books I've read this year, but The Hammer and the Blade turned out to be a welcome end to this unfortunate streak. It's a fun sword & sorcery novel from beginning to end.

The prologue introduces us to hammer-wielding priest Egil and his crafty rogue companion Nix, right in the middle of a raid on a pseudo-Egyptian tomb. The story very quickly establishes that they're in it for thrills, cash, and personal glory, rather than any more elevated goals. What do they do with their ill-gotten gains? On a whim they purchase their favorite scummy tavern/brothel. These are my kind of heroes: sword & sorcery scoundrels, not farm boys destined for greatness.

The story that follows is fast-paced and fun, as the heroes are coerced into doing the dirty work of an unpleasant sorcerer hoping to use his own sisters as breeding stock in a pact with demons.

As is often the case in swords & sorcery fiction, female characters were mostly relegated to the sidelines as potential romance interests and victims, but there's a moment late in the book where the heroes get a very visceral taste of the abuse the sisters have suffered at the hands of their brother, causing our leering, wenching heroes to reconsider the way they treat the women in their lives. The inclusion of this sudden change in perspective was a pleasant surprise.

My only complaint was that the pacing lulled in a couple sections. It took a little long for Egil and Nix to become involved in the main plot, and the finale likewise seemed a little drawn-out and lacking in tension compared to their final tomb raiding expedition. Everything else, however, was golden. Egil and Nix are great characters in the tradition of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and I look forward to reading their future adventures.

★★★★☆

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