The Hammer Of Darkness by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
01/10/2006 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: TOR. 288 page enlarged paperback. Price: $13.95 (US), $18.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-31567-X. Buy The Hammer Of Darkness in the USA - or Buy The Hammer Of Darkness in the UK  check out website: www.tor.com
'The Hammer Of Darkness' is a re-issue of a 1985 second SF novel by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Normally, Modesitt's books stay out of my hands cos I don't read fantasy and this is the first of, looking at his book list, a few Science Fiction books that have come into our hands. One can only hope the others are better than this one although it's easy to see from the themes here why he stayed in his fantasy domain.
Martin Martel is banished from the planet Karnak because he has unusual powers and courting the lady soon to be its leader. On Aurore, having super-powers is considered the norm although the extreme ones are considered gods and even play-act these roles. As Martel adjusts to living there, he also finds over a period that his own abilities reach similar proportions.
Initially, it wasn't difficult to relate to Martel and the other characters but increasingly it became apparent there was no emotional content. Modesitt was practically reporting events but there was no warmth. As Martel became more powerful, there was even less to relate to simply because there was nothing left to compare to. I mean, how do gods relate to normal folk? As such, this novel might well have worked better had it been classified as a fantasy, but as Science Fiction with interesting characters then it doesn't. I can appreciate why so much of Modesitt's output is in fantasy. He doesn't like restraint in what he writes but for SF there is always a need to curb in and play with rules that the reader can follow. I suspect those who enjoy his fantasy books will actually enjoy this book but I doubt those who like convincing Science Fiction will.
GF Willmetts |
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