Hammer and Anvil

By: James Swallow

Narrated by: Emma Gregory

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.

©2019 Games Workshop Limited (P)2019 Games Workshop Limited

Excellent Sequel

Narration and story were very good. Great escapism! The gritty story telling and the narrative are true to the Adepta Sororitas lore.

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.

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

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.

Incredible

Absolute home run!
If you like Sisters of Battle this is THE audible for you

Excellent story and reading

I was not familiar with James Swallow before this book but, other than some minor quibbles, I am a fan of his work so far. I have heard Emma Gregory on a few other works and she also turns in a solid performance. Overall, if you are a sororitas fan then you will enjoy this book.

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.

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.

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.

excellent. Go sororitas!

starts slow but builds to a very tense and exciting story. Look forward to more.