The Hammer and the Blade

A Tale of Egil and Nix

By: Paul S. Kemp

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

So here’s the plan: Kill the demon, steal the treasure, and retire to a life of luxury!

It sounds easy when put like that. However, most unfortunately for warrior-priest Egil and sneak thief Nix, when the demon they kill turns out to have worshippers in high places, retirement is not an option.

A wonderfully fast-paced fantasy adventure redolent of the classic tales of swords and sorcery, from New York Times best-selling author Paul S. Kemp.

©2012 Paul Kemp (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This rollicking tale hooked me from the get-go. Egil and Nix might not be the safest guys to go adventuring with, but they’re sure good company.” (Ed Greenwood, creator of Forgotten Realms)

Old School Pulp antasy

Would you consider the audio edition of The Hammer and the Blade to be better than the print version?

Unfortunately, what with not being able to see and all, I've never read the print version.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

While I throughly enjoyed this book, I didn't have any strong emotions tied to it. Now that I think about it, that might be one of the reasons I liked it as much as I did. With some many fantasy novels these days having strong and distinctive social or political messages, it was nice to sit back and veg out to some good ole fashioned sword and sorcery, It reminded me of some of the early Conan short stories which I loved as a kid.

Paul S. Kemp Has a Winner Here!

Egil & Nix are the most fun I've had in a fantasy story in many years! Fast-paced with great action sequences, you feel like you're standing side-by-side with the lads on their journeys! keep'em coming!

Adventure

Not sure if it was my headphone or the audio file but it kept skipping in places.

4 stars standard sword and sorcery fantasy

Since 'The Lies of Locke Lamora', I can not seem to pass any fantasy book with thieves and promise of humor. This book however is not of a caliber of 'The Lies..'. It is pretty much a standard fantasy book about two thieves who also are little bit of magician and priest (go figure). Use of magic openly used to gain more power magical powers by the main bad guy making this book pretty much standard.

Characters are flushed out to an extent, but I am not too sure if world building is as good. There is humor in the book as well, but it will not make the reader uncontrollably laugh while driving.

There are couple of interesting points in the book. The pact with the devil is of unique kind I thought. Also, end has a bit of a surprise as well. Depending on your perspective, it could be a one of the more satisfying endings.

Another good reason to pick this book up would be the narrator. I am having 'King Killer Chronicles' withdrawals and listening to Nick Podehl helps : ) Needless to say that narration is very good and entertaining.

In conclusion, it is light standard fantasy book with good narration. I would recommend this book for times when we are waiting for high caliber books to arrive.

Great listen

Ive listened to all the Nix and Egil books multiple times and would love it if more were added