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Hammer and Anvil
- Narrated by: Emma Gregory
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
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Summary
An Adepta Sororitas audiobook.
When a mission of Battle Sisters return to a desolate world to reconsecrate a remote Ecclesiarchy outpost, they soon discover an implacable foe - the fearless, soulless necrons - waiting in the darkness....
Listen to It Because:
Discover what happened after the massacre at Sanctuary 101, where Sisters of Battle were decimated in the first appearance of the necrons. This novel delves into the aftermath, pitting the devout Sisters against the ancient aliens once more.
The Story:
The Sisters of Battle are the Emperor's most devout worshippers, fierce warriors preaching the purity of the Imperium and scourging their enemies with bolter and flamer. On a distant world, the Ecclesiarchy outpost of Sanctuary 101 was wiped out by an implacable foe - the fearless, soulless necrons. Now, a mission of the Sisterhood has returned to reconsecrate the site - but the metallic nightmares still lurk in the darkness, guarding a secret that has lain dormant for millennia. A vicious battle will be fought, one that can only end in the total destruction of the unrelenting xenos or the annihilation of the proud Adepta Sororitas.
Written by James Swallow. Narrated by Emma Gregory.
What listeners say about Hammer and Anvil
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- paul sparks
- 22-06-20
Bar Nun 😉
Sorry about the bad joke, this book is certainly no joke, I have had it in my to listen to library for quite a while and finally got to listen to it, I wish I had listened earlier, this is better than the first Battle Sisters book and by some margin, the pathos and angst the characters endure alongside the unyielding ferocity of their beliefs is fantastic to listen to, Emma Gregory is a superb narrator and I wish she had narrated Mark of Faith which is my next book to listen to
3 people found this helpful
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- Chris
- 31-03-22
The Emperor and Religious Indoctrination
This was my first Adepta Sororitas book and the Performance and Story are great, the Necron background in it was my first real knowledge of them even though I've had around 50 odd Warhammer book listened too. The 2 star overall is because I genuinely dislike the Sisters of Battle, but the writing and voice acting are well done.
If your a battle sister fan, I think you would enjoy the peek at the underlying Human Nature of them out with there Religious Zealotry of the God Emperor.
Praise the Machine God.
1 person found this helpful
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- Rick
- 14-12-21
Decent story Great narration
Emma Gregory made a decent story a great listen it's really that simple. I had not previously listened to anything narrated by her and was a bit unsure to begin but she was excellent and brought the character's to life.
1 person found this helpful
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- Eddie McDonald
- 05-07-21
another great telling
I love this narrator, she makes the story for me. Necrons, crafty Magos and Sisters of Battle complete and intricate storyline.
1 person found this helpful
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- Nathan Carr
- 16-12-21
A pretty good novel, but not an excellent one.
Good points:- Emma Gregory's naration is as excellent as ever. She appears to be Games Workshop's go to narrator for strong heroic female characters and I can see why.
Not so good points:- I'm not sure if James Swallow was comfortable with writing about Necron, this may be because Necron lore is a bit weak in places . He just felt like he was on safer ground with his first Battle Sister novel which dealt exclusively with human protagonists. Also, shock horror, more devious Adeptus Mechanicus villains, it's bit cliche. unfortunately this whole novel is a bit cliche. it's like watching a Hollywood blockbuster. There will be no surprises, but it will appeal to everyone on a superficial level. ...Ive just talked myself into give the story three stars. I enjoyed Faith and Fury much more.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-06-21
good story
lt was nice and thrilling story. interesting portraying of sororitas and mechanicum. Only thing which is bothering me are sisters of battle Levell of fanatism .l think. they should be less humane and kind.
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- Anonymous User
- 14-05-21
classic GW
as usual from GW a really high quality product. the narrator has a good cadence to her voice and keeps a great pace for the action. love it
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- MilesJessop
- 12-03-21
I'd give it a miss
Bad Scifi tropes mixed with weak characters and an insult to a great Villanous Faction
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- Peter Ellis
- 06-03-21
good
An enjoyable listen. The narrator is getting better compared to the first book in the series and signed more animated throughout. The plotline is good and an interesting mix of races that you don't often find mixed. Only quibble is how the narrator says Aquila!
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- Anonymous User
- 14-02-21
gripping and well delivered
really enjoyed listening to this, especially straight after the previous installment.
With that in mind it was slightly jarring at first to hear the narrator pronounce the main characters name differently from when she read it in the previous book.
otherwise I loved it!
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- Kindle Customer
- 30-10-20
More action, less story.
Emma Gregorys performance is fantastic as always, and James Swallows writing is very good. But I was ultimately disappointed in this book, because here Swallow does away with the mystery and intrigue in favour of more straightforward action. Many 40k fans might prefer this approach, but I personally enjoy it more when the book keeps me guessing at what's coming next.
Perhaps the key problem is that Sisters of Battle vs Necrons is a very poor match to build an interesting story from. Our beloved nuns with guns are all about HERESY and when you put instead them against some faux-egyptian space zombie robots, you lose their whole feel and soul. It's like trying to make pizza without the cheese or writing a novel where an Inquisitor of the ordo malleus and a squad of grey knights fight.... the Tau?!
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-06-20
Okay, but poor villains due to lazy writing
Sisters, AdMech, and Necrons are my favorite 3 armies so I was excited to read this one. Felt that the Necron leadership was portrayed to make such boneheaded choices that even the sisters were unsatisfied eith their inevitable victory. Some cool moments, but a good story needs a compelling villain and not a stupid one
1 person found this helpful
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- Kristen Carlson
- 09-10-21
Depends on who your root for.
if your a sisters fan it's a great book, if you're a necron fan, well is just the same old song and dance nothing new, and if your a mechanicus fan isn't not bad.
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- d.higdon
- 11-06-21
Have Faith Domina
I quite enjoyed the story. It holds up very well with time, showing the interaction of the sororitas faith within the 40k setting. The plot leads you with some questions that resolve differently than I expected, a nice suprise that was both fun for me to discover and fit very well within the story. The competing factions are presented in a way that is fitting given the lore that followed the authoring of this book as well. Enjoyed it very much
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- Michael Earl
- 21-05-21
Hammer And Anvil Review
This was a very good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and Emma Gregory did a wonderful job narrating it. I'd highly recommend it.
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- Jacob Raun
- 29-03-21
To me, its better than the first book for sure!
the first book was kind of a grind at times. It had a lot of non-battle related story elements which is fine buy I prefer a bit more battle in my novels. This book is better in this regard and it gave me some insight into how Necrons think and operate. It's a good book and you actually don't NEED to read the first book but it will definitely help.
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- Daniel J Hall
- 08-03-21
Sisters, Necrons and the Mechanicus
A gripping and satisfying story.
I listened to this before 'Fire and Faith' which was set before this one with the same main characters; so there were several allusions to events past but this didn't get in the way - i would say that it is recommended to get Fire and Faith first but it is not absolutely essential. There are 'spoilers' for the beginning and overall ending of 'Fire and Faith' so be warned if you care about such things...
I was engaged by the writing and excellent narration all the way through. I found the prose compelling; characters strong and several parts even made me laugh.
It was really interesting to see the sisters go up against a foe which we would not normally associate them with. This book along with 'fire and faith' really went a long way in humanizing the sisters of battle for me; the Necrons come off as unstoppable, ancient and (surprisingly for me) truly evil at times.
There were very strong world building elements too: we learn lots about the Necron-Tier, Sisters and the Mechanicus also. Some of my favourite parts of the narrative were from the perspective of the Tech-Priest: the descriptions of how they perceive the world; communicate with invisible lasers and collate data were very interesting. There were so many small details that helped to make the world come to life and feel more realistic.
Without giving anything away, the story builds slowly and grows suspense well. It gets very action packed during the second half. The protagonists are likable and have depth to them - at no point did i feel that they did anything utterly stupid or behave unrealistically considering their situation. I never felt lost or confused with the story and nothing unfolded in too obvious a manor - i couldn't predict the ending from half an hour in like with some other stories.
I did find one of the character voices a little grating but that is personal opinion. Overall the narrator does a really good job: none of the 'male' voices felt off or distracting and the variation really helped establish the minor characters.
I would have preferred more of a 'show don't tell' approach to the Necrons: although their POV does give us some insight into their goals and adds more worldbuilding; i felt that some of the mystery and fear of the unknown was potentially lost.
Overall i highly enjoyed and would recommend Hammer and Anvil.
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- amanda feliz
- 04-02-21
Incredible
Absolute home run!
If you like Sisters of Battle this is THE audible for you
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- Anonymous User
- 10-12-20
great continuation
I enjoyed this audio book. Very enjoyable continuation of Miriya's story/ time-line. We get multiple perspectives in this and it gives important characters agency and depth. Would recommend.
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- Ivan Patrascu
- 10-10-20
Performance elevates the story
As a fan of the sisters and the necron I have a bias to enjoy this book. That said, I greatly enjoyed the experience of following these two factions clashing. I don't believe I will carry any of the characters with me, as they are all rather two dimensional. The characters feel more like archetypes meant to play roles in the plot rather than people and the events of the book are pretty low stakes in the view of the overall imperium.
Where this book shines is in the performance. Emma makes these characters come to life, and her voice/accent is absolutely perfect for portraying these zealous women. Come for the robot v nun battles, stay for the performance.