I finished up Parker's
The Hammer, and what can I say? I think I have a new "must read" author to add to my list. But I have to admit that I consider it "fantasy" by label only... or by author/publisher choice, maybe. The only thing that keeps it from being straight-up (historical) fiction is the imaginary setting/culture reminiscent of Renaissance Italy. There's no magic or supernatural elements or fantastic beasts of any kind. That's not a complaint, just an observation.
An exiled noble family makes do in a backwater colony and is barely tolerated by the lower-class colonists; while both are largely ignored by the displaced indigenous "savages." The uneasy peace of the (basically indentured) colony is put in jeopardy as the youngest noble son comes of age.
I was warned that Parker's writing could be dark and somewhat bleak—and it certainly was at times, yet not exclusively so—but I was never warned about the
layers to her/his writing. Many, many luscious layers that can be peeled back and examined/absorbed one at a time. The title itself is one of the many themes that weaves its way though what might, at first glance, be strictly considered tragedy, but upon further reflection, contains much in the way of redemption as well: the
Hammer of the forge that relentlessly pounds raw material into preordained
goods; and the
Hammer of the flintlock pistol, that when dropped, sparks a chain of events that can't be halted.
But mostly, I think
The Hammer is about costs: the cost of justice, the cost of peace, and the cost of freedom and of progress. You can choose to pay the costs for those things... or you can be denied (or trampled by) any one or all of them.
Yeah, I really liked it.
I'm currently reading some of the short-stories from Tad Williams's new collection entitled
A Stark and Wormy Knight. I think I like his short stories exactly as much as I dislike his novels. It's weird, but I've decided to just roll with it.