Hammers in the Wind

Northern Crusade #1

by Christian Warren Freed

Exiled millennia ago, the dark gods have tirelessly sought to return and bend the world of Malweir to their will. Their agents roam the world in search of weak willed men, knowing that only through corruption and chaos can their masters return. It begins in the northern kingdom of Delranan the night King Badron’s castle is attacked and his only son murdered and his daughter kidnapped. Angered, he leads his kingdom to war against the neighboring Rogscroft.
A small band of heroes is assembled to find the princess and return her safely but all is not as it seems. Badron falls under the sway of the Dae’shan, immortal agents of the dark gods, and unwittingly begins the final campaign that will reduce Malweir to willing servants of evil.
The hour of the dark gods return is now at hand.

Genres: Fantasy, Amazon, Young Adult

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2013

About the author

Christian W. Freed was born in Buffalo, N.Y. more years ago than he would like to remember. After spending more than 20 years in the active-duty US Army he has turned his talents to writing. Since retiring, he has gone on to publish over 25 military fantasy and science fiction novels, as well as his memoirs from his time in Iraq and Afghanistan, a children's book, and a pair of how to books focused on indie authors and the decision making process for writing a book and what happens after it is published.

His first published book (Hammers in the Wind) has been the #1 free book on Kindle 4 times and he holds a fancy certificate from the L Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. Ok, so it was for 4th place in one quarter, but it's still recognition from the largest fiction writing contest in the world. And no, he's not a scientologist.

Passionate about history, he combines his knowledge of the past with modern military tactics to create an engaging, quasi-realistic world for the readers. He graduated from Campbell University with a degree in history and a Masters of Arts degree in Digital Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He currently lives outside of Raleigh, N.C. and devotes his time to writing, his family, and their two Bernese Mountain Dogs. If you drive by you might just find him on the porch with a cigar in one hand and a pen in the other. You can find out more about his work by following him on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianFreed
Twitter:
@ChristianWFreed
Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianwarrenfreed/

Website: https://christianwfreed.com/

Join his mailing list for new releases, updates, and upcoming events: http://subscribepage.com/warfighterbooks


Books by Christian Warren Freed

The Forgotten Gods Tales
#1 Dreams of Winter
#2 The Madman on the Rocks
#3 Anguish Once Possessed
#4 Through Darkness Besieged
#5 Under Tattered Banners
#6 A Time For Tyrants
An Hour of Wolves- short story

The Northern Crusade
#1 Hammers in the Wind
#2 Tides of Blood and Steel
#3 A Whisper After Midnight
#4 Empire of Bones
#5 The Madness of Gods and Kings
#6 Evens Gods Must Fall

The Histories of Malweir (all stand alones)
#1 Armies of the Silver Mage
#2 The Dragon Hunters
#3 Beyond the Edge of Dawn

Immortality Shattered
#1 Law of the Heretic
#2 The Bitter War of Always
#3 The Land of Wicked Shadows
# Storm Upon the Dawn

The Children of Never (stand alone)
Where Have all the Elves Gone? (stand alone)
One of Our Elves is Missing
The Lazarus Men (stand alone)
Repercussions: A Lazarus Men Agenda #2
A Long Way From Home: My Time in Iraq and Afghanistan 2002-2006
Coward's Truth: A Novel of the Heart Eternal
Tomorrow's Demise: The Extinction Campaign
Tomorrow's Demise: Salvation

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book.

Evil has been unleashed. Good may or may not win. The line between right and wrong is not as clear as it once was.

I'm looking forward to continuing the adventure in the next book.

[Ron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Failed the hundred page test. In fact, I couldn't force myself to read a hundred pages. It just didn't connect. I like epic fantasy, but this seemed too formulaic and familiar.

Gave up.

[Fire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first started to read this to see if it was okay for my son to read. He's an advanced reader, but books for older kids are sometimes a little much for him based on content. I think this one will work well for him and that he will enjoy it. As I read it I found that I was really enjoying it and so I'll probably end up reading the rest of the series as well.

The characters all had a lot of depth and I really enjoyed getting to know them throughout the story. I thought the author did a great job building the characters and making them interesting enough that I found myself invest in the outcome of the characters and not just observing their story like is often the case.

I don't want to spoil it, but this book offers a new twist on the traditional kidnapped Princess story that I found intriguing and fun. It was a refreshing new approach that I didn't see coming, and I loved it.

With knights, wizards, demons, and various other types of characters this book has a lot of variety while keeping it organized, fun, and easy to follow. I think this book is very well thought out and written. It was a lot of fun to read and I'm glad that I decided to try it out. I'm a fan now and I'll be reading the rest of these. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way and just about every time I thought I knew where the book was going I'd be surprised at the next turn. I'm really glad I read this. 5 Stars.

[L.T. Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freed is without a doubt an amazing story teller. His execution of writing descriptive and full on battle scenes is second to none, the writers ability in that area is unquestionable. He also drags you into the world he has created with ease and panache. I couldn't put it down. Hapily moving on to book two!

[Priscilla Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfinished

This was listed as book one but it really was part one. It did have a good storyline but it also had a lot to learn between the different races and histories. It ends at a good point that makes you want to know what is about to happen next.

[Amalie Jahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hammers in the Wind was a pleasant surprise for me. Each time I read fantasy, I can't help but compare the story to the complexity and vividness of Tolkien... Freed did not disappoint. All my favorite elements were there... heroic king, damsel in distress, wizard, mercenary, and of course LOVE! There were well developed story lines and characters to support the action. I especially appreciated how well written the battle scenes were as I felt as if I was actually in the story. Recommend to anyone who enjoys a good period war piece in the age of kings.

[Carol Bosselman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story, as well as the characters. Really I give it 3.5 stars; it would have been 4 but for the technical errors, which for some reason were not so bad until near the end of the book, where there were all kinds of typos and misspellings. Still, good start to a potentially epic tale and would like to see the next.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really on the fence about this one. I think it is well written, I found the characters interesting and enjoyed the dialogue between them. I just wish there had been a little more magic and action. To be fair it looks like this book has set up book 2 for major action. I hope that is the case

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the plot and the characterization. Slome of the characters names were pretty similar and kind of hard to follow. It did seem to jump from point to point without a good break. Overall nice fantasy action.

[Obsidiahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story and a quick read, it could be more complex and substantive. This book felt like a drawn out introduction. I definitely enjoyed it and it made for a nice days reading. I anticipate reading book 2 soon for more of the meat of the story.

[pavithra]

The deeper I got into the story, the quicker I started to read becoming completely caught up in the politics and dangers of the author's world.

[Jenny Torpin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally....took a while to finish this one. Just could not keep my interest.

[Arcoma Gonzalez Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story

A great book for a rainy day, just kicked back and forgot about life for awhile. Can't wait to read the whole series.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fantastic read! I plowed through it without realizing I was about to finish, it ended! What a great story tell Mr Freed is! On to book 2 immediately!

[Fredrick Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hammers

I had hoped this book was a little longer. It stopped where it should have though. Hope to read the nect

[Robert Negut · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may be a rushed review, but there wouldn't have been that much to say either way. Hammers in the Wind is pretty average, or perhaps a better term would be common, in terms of writing and action and has little of note in terms of depth, worldbuilding or characters. For those reasons, coupled with the fact that it's quite short but split in a relatively large number of chapters, which in turn are usually split into sections as well, it reads pretty quickly at least.
While I did notice some spelling and grammar issues, I wasn't that bothered by them, though of course the fact that the book gave me few reasons to actually care for it may largely explain that. What did bother me, on the other hand, was the fact that events, decisions and revelations tended to just happen, without carrying the weight they should have carried, and plenty of things don't quite seem to follow. That's usually a matter of how it all feels, perhaps in large part due to that lack of impact I mentioned, the issues not being easy to quickly verify, but a few obvious continuity errors that struck me were how Boen was close to 50 in the inn but 60 on the ship, how in the last chapter Maleela was surprised by a certain character's identity despite quite clearly knowing who he was and what he had done both before and immediately after, or even how the next book in the series is titled Wrath of a Mad King at the start of the excerpt but, correctly, Tides of Blood and Steel at the end of it.

[Burnthevillages · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent.

The naming conventions really threw me off. No one of any given kingdom really had a consistent naming convention. Like for instance [name]son became really popular in real history. Or last names being occupations. First names being after people in the Bible. In this book though it just feels like most of the humans are pulled from a random hat. Honestly a nitpick, I know.

The story didn't bore me. Strategically the author knows what he's talking about. Each move from each piece of the story made sense from a military strategy point. However some of the text did feel like "maid and butler" dialogue

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what an opening! Freed certainly grabs your attention from the outset. There's definitely a unique voice to this story, and I love the descriptions. You can hear, smell, and see everything happening around you as you read. This book has action, suspense and vivid imagery. The characters and world have a great depth to them. The perfect read for fantasy lovers looking for a new adventure!

[Mary Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rollicking Good Adventure, Skullduggery, Treachery, Bold Maidens

Epic adventure, classic sword and sorcery, true love, family conflict and dark, evil forces gathering over a land which has forgotten its past and its gods

[Benjamin Alig · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some of the word choices make me think that the author needs a better editor it's very clear to me that Freed has a talent for world building. While some choices in wording may be a bit distracting, after reading this book I am invested in the story and interested in seeing where it goes.

[Gary Mccreadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First

Feist and feister very similar to fiest novels not a bad thing. Plus it's free and it's defintootly worth that.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Needs an editor

Editor needed to clear up basic editing mistakes and revisions in plot and basic style, specifically informational dialogue and repetition that comes with this.

[Carol & Russell]

It was hard to put down

[Robert Vazquez-Pacheco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent first novel of a fantasy series. I really enjoyed this one. Fast paced. Interesting characters. Really good story. I'm going to continue reading the series.

[CW · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just my opinion

Let's start with what I didn't like-

1) Thankfully this book was free
2) My biggest pet peeve about this book was how the author kept using full names. It gave me the impression he didn't think his readers were smart enough to remember who the characters were.
3) The author jumped around way to much. In one instance he wrote about a character walking through secret tunnels until a knife was at his throat....
He left us hanging until almost the end of the book, and the explanation suggests the first part could have and should have been omitted entirely.
4) The author could have roped us in more with more elaborate details of the surroundings. The vagueness in this category left much to desire.
5)Grammatical errors throughout the book, but as you can see were I rated this in the whole picture of things. I myself lack in this department, so if I could spot them it's at least worth mentioning.

Now, for what I liked.

1) I did like the plot of the story. It really is the only reason I finished the book.
2) Also, a few of the characters have attracted my attention, and I will finished the series to find out what becomes of them.

Thanks
CW

[yogi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

Could be a little more exciting. Good characters, but they need more details. The 1st and 2nd book could have been one. Still a good story line. I'll read the 2nd book just to see the end.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

All hammered up

The story line was good ,character build up as well. Some things were pretty predictable and I thought some of the conflict resolutions were to hurried and easy- but still worth the read

[Amelia]

I never managed to get into this book... and gave up reading after a couple chapters. To be fair, it took me over a year to officially give up, so maybe it could have gone somewhere if I'd tried a little longer. Sorry book!

[Kate Sherwood]

DNF at 6%. Usually I'd give a book more of a try than that, but... too many stock characters, too few reasons to care about any of them.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not worth reading a 6 volume series to get the whole story.