The Hammer of the Sun By Michael Scott Rohan.

Continuing from my reviews of The Anvil of Ice and The Forge in the Forest, we have the third book in the series, the Hammer of the Sun. This sees Elof travel yet further east in his quest to thwart the powers of the Ice. The story begins with betrayal and its consquences; and continues in the style of the previous books, with an epic journey, and the trials the main characters suffer therein.

But this book is not like the others, in one significant way. It's much faster, much more exciting. There are epic battles and swordfights as well as tales of human interest. It's much more of an action book, and I think it's a good development; it makes the book less long-winded.

The author has not scarificed his ability to tell a good story, however, and there are plot twists and unexpected reactions. I enjoyed the ending; it was genuinely unexpected to me, and that is something I appreciate; I found myself trying to work out what exactly would happen, but it wasn't easy. And I liked the fact that the ending didn't turn out happiness and joy for all; its a real ending, with more to do.

And while im on the subject of endings, I'm pleased to say it's a final sounding ending. The book reads as a book, not one waiting for a sequel, and you can put it down at the end feeling satisfied. I'd also say that I feel that this book may work as a standalone book too, at least to some extent, although that is always hard to judge given I have read the previous ones.

I do try to come up with negative points about books. This is one that doesn't have that many really negative points, although I will admit I'm writing this review some time after reading the book. I think perhaps it's biggest negative point is that it has none of the sense of mystery of the first book; in the same way as the second, it just builds on the foundations. It's not got too many memorable moments, it's just a good story.

So it gets an 8. I enjoyed it and I'd recommend it to anyone that enjoys fantasy stories that aren't just mindless tales of travel. But I'd not say this was amazing, it's another good book, nothing more, nothing less.

8/10