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Repeating History #2
Hammer of the Witch
Repeating Book Two
History isn’t dead when you’re living it.
Ash and Grant are about to learn why it was called the Dark Ages, when Merlin, in the guise of their teacher, once again sends them time traveling to reclaim one of the antiquities their prank a book called the Malleus Maleficarum, or Hammer of the Witches, which was used to persecute and kill innocent people throughout medieval Europe.
They’ll need to keep their heads down and their wits about them in a Germany ruled by the iron fist of the Inquisition, where anyone who is different is dragged off to horrifying prisons, tortured to confession, and ultimately killed in the worst way imaginable. But it won’t be easy to navigate a frightening and brutal time, secure Merlin’s book, and make it home without attracting attention.
History isn’t dead when you’re living it.
Ash and Grant are about to learn why it was called the Dark Ages, when Merlin, in the guise of their teacher, once again sends them time traveling to reclaim one of the antiquities their prank a book called the Malleus Maleficarum, or Hammer of the Witches, which was used to persecute and kill innocent people throughout medieval Europe.
They’ll need to keep their heads down and their wits about them in a Germany ruled by the iron fist of the Inquisition, where anyone who is different is dragged off to horrifying prisons, tortured to confession, and ultimately killed in the worst way imaginable. But it won’t be easy to navigate a frightening and brutal time, secure Merlin’s book, and make it home without attracting attention.
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 9, 2018
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 10, 2020
This is the second of the Repeating History series by Dakota Chase. I loved the first one (Eye of Ra), published in 2010, and I kept checking back to see if there were sequels. At last, my prayers have been answered! (Okay, that was a bit over the top, but still... yay!)
The basic premise of the series is that two teenagers at a private school break into their history teacher's office as a prank and accidentally cause a fire that destroys several historical artifacts. It turns out that the teacher is really Merlin, living incognito, and he decides to punish the boys by sending them back through time to retrieve the artifacts they destroyed (while hiding their crime from the school, so they won't be expelled).
That bit of hand-waving aside, the author does quite a bit of research on the time periods involved, and represents them very realistically without drowning us in minutiae. This book is somewhat darker than Eye of Ra, but the characters are also better drawn. I criticized the first novel for shying away from obscenities (they're teenagers!) and Grant and Aston being a little too hesitant about their developing attraction. But though this book is certainly NOT laced with obscenities and sex (Seriously, no, that isn't what I'm saying!), they do occasionally swear, and they're handling their relationship about the same as many teenage boys would - lots of kissing, in between bouts of insults and teasing. The developing friendship/romance is highly entertaining.
I've started the third book (Mammoth!), but thanks to life intervening, I haven't finished it yet. I'll be sure to review it, when I do. So far, I highly recommend this series.
The basic premise of the series is that two teenagers at a private school break into their history teacher's office as a prank and accidentally cause a fire that destroys several historical artifacts. It turns out that the teacher is really Merlin, living incognito, and he decides to punish the boys by sending them back through time to retrieve the artifacts they destroyed (while hiding their crime from the school, so they won't be expelled).
That bit of hand-waving aside, the author does quite a bit of research on the time periods involved, and represents them very realistically without drowning us in minutiae. This book is somewhat darker than Eye of Ra, but the characters are also better drawn. I criticized the first novel for shying away from obscenities (they're teenagers!) and Grant and Aston being a little too hesitant about their developing attraction. But though this book is certainly NOT laced with obscenities and sex (Seriously, no, that isn't what I'm saying!), they do occasionally swear, and they're handling their relationship about the same as many teenage boys would - lots of kissing, in between bouts of insults and teasing. The developing friendship/romance is highly entertaining.
I've started the third book (Mammoth!), but thanks to life intervening, I haven't finished it yet. I'll be sure to review it, when I do. So far, I highly recommend this series.
January 9, 2018
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
Grant and Ash accidentally started a fire while fighting in Professor Ambrosius’ office, destroying the history teacher’s collection of artifacts. Grant and Ash’s punishment is to return back in time to retrieve each of these important objects. After they reacquired the Eye of Ra from King Tutankhamen, Merlin, as Professor Ambrosius is otherwise known, is sending Grant and Ash back to sixteenth-century Germany to collect the Malleus Maleficarum or Hammer of the Witch. This is a book which “purports to be a definitive definition of witchcraft.”
The boys arrive in medieval Germany in appropriate clothing and able to speak the language, but with no idea where the Malleus Maleficarum is or how to retrieve it. What follows is a story of adventure with horrifying and enlightening moments, as Dakota Chase transports her characters and her reader back in time, as she did with The Eye of Ra, the first book in her Repeating History series.
Read Kirsty’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
Grant and Ash accidentally started a fire while fighting in Professor Ambrosius’ office, destroying the history teacher’s collection of artifacts. Grant and Ash’s punishment is to return back in time to retrieve each of these important objects. After they reacquired the Eye of Ra from King Tutankhamen, Merlin, as Professor Ambrosius is otherwise known, is sending Grant and Ash back to sixteenth-century Germany to collect the Malleus Maleficarum or Hammer of the Witch. This is a book which “purports to be a definitive definition of witchcraft.”
The boys arrive in medieval Germany in appropriate clothing and able to speak the language, but with no idea where the Malleus Maleficarum is or how to retrieve it. What follows is a story of adventure with horrifying and enlightening moments, as Dakota Chase transports her characters and her reader back in time, as she did with The Eye of Ra, the first book in her Repeating History series.
Read Kirsty’s review in its entirety here.
May 20, 2018
Reckless teenagers Aston and Grant are back with another adventure, and this time they’re off to medieval Germany to retrieve a witch hunt/torture manual. Why? Because their stupidity got them banished to the Stanton school for boys, followed by trouble with their history teacher – who turns out to be Merlin (the one of Arthurian fame). Since they caused his collection of artifacts to be destroyed, he is now sending them back in time to retrieve the objects. This time both Aston and Grant tell the story, and it was great fun to find out what Grant thinks.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
August 12, 2023
Sat 12/08/23 @10:00-12:58
As always, I love the concept behind the series - time travel to find historical objects is right up my alley. However, the juvenilistic nature of this book was made incredibly clear, and I really did struggle through a lot of the prose, especially the MANY times I came across ‘Don’t be an a**, I like your a**’. Seriously that was written in at least ten times at the beginning! That, the lacklustre editing, and the lack of embellishment of characters, id est of how Ash suddenly becomes buddies with Wilhelm, really lessened the impact this book had on me.
I will say though, it’s a short read and a continuation of the series, which does encroach upon history events to a degree, so therefore isn’t a complete waste of time. For this to have been done better, more research should have been performed, and a bibliography should have been supplied to illustrate he effort gone into this fiction, if it desires to be labelled as historical fiction. It is pretty damning when your book is titled ‘Hammer of the Witch’, when the translation is ‘Hammer of the Witches’!
Kudos though for consolidating the maxim that ‘history is doomed to repeat itself if we do not learn from it’, isn’t the worst central proponent of a series,
As always, I love the concept behind the series - time travel to find historical objects is right up my alley. However, the juvenilistic nature of this book was made incredibly clear, and I really did struggle through a lot of the prose, especially the MANY times I came across ‘Don’t be an a**, I like your a**’. Seriously that was written in at least ten times at the beginning! That, the lacklustre editing, and the lack of embellishment of characters, id est of how Ash suddenly becomes buddies with Wilhelm, really lessened the impact this book had on me.
I will say though, it’s a short read and a continuation of the series, which does encroach upon history events to a degree, so therefore isn’t a complete waste of time. For this to have been done better, more research should have been performed, and a bibliography should have been supplied to illustrate he effort gone into this fiction, if it desires to be labelled as historical fiction. It is pretty damning when your book is titled ‘Hammer of the Witch’, when the translation is ‘Hammer of the Witches’!
Kudos though for consolidating the maxim that ‘history is doomed to repeat itself if we do not learn from it’, isn’t the worst central proponent of a series,
July 30, 2018
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
For the full review visit https://wp.me/p220KL-efm
From that review : After having successfully procured the Eye of Ra from its source, the boy Pharaoh Tut, in ancient Egypt, it now time for their next retrieval. Something far more malevolent. And their experiences will be far different from the luxury and ease into society they had with Tut.
No, with Hammer of the Witch, Dakota Chase has Merlin sends our rambunctious duo back to medieval times and witch hunts. The item they seek for Merlin? The book a means for identifying and punishing witches. Instead of perfumed and painted people on the Nile, Chase gives us the harsh reality of the times in medieval Germany. The plague, the unsanitary conditions, the indentured poor whose servitude gets longer due to the dubious circumstances under which they work...its all there. Add to that the greed of the landowners combined with the religious fervor of Inquisition...and no one is safe from the cry of "witch".
For all our reviews, check out http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
For the full review visit https://wp.me/p220KL-efm
From that review : After having successfully procured the Eye of Ra from its source, the boy Pharaoh Tut, in ancient Egypt, it now time for their next retrieval. Something far more malevolent. And their experiences will be far different from the luxury and ease into society they had with Tut.
No, with Hammer of the Witch, Dakota Chase has Merlin sends our rambunctious duo back to medieval times and witch hunts. The item they seek for Merlin? The book a means for identifying and punishing witches. Instead of perfumed and painted people on the Nile, Chase gives us the harsh reality of the times in medieval Germany. The plague, the unsanitary conditions, the indentured poor whose servitude gets longer due to the dubious circumstances under which they work...its all there. Add to that the greed of the landowners combined with the religious fervor of Inquisition...and no one is safe from the cry of "witch".
For all our reviews, check out http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...
July 3, 2023
I love this series. I love the concept, I love the characters, and I love the story. Stories involving witch trials, no matter where they are located, are always intense. The injustice and abuse of power will never not be horrible, regardless of whatever else is going on in the story. However, there was a sense of hope because Grant and Ash were so determined. They cared about the people they met. They put themselves in harms way to help. All while trying to figure out their feelings for each other. These stories are quick, intense, and full of adventure ... and I'm so glad there are more of them in the series.
February 10, 2020
Merlin sends Ash and Grant to 1583 Germany to collect a blood-soaked missive that was part of a horrible time in history involving the burning of witches. Ash and Grant find this a horrible, horrifying time in history and they just want to come home now. The story moves along fairly quickly, has some very intense moments and at times made me uncomfortable. I am definitely looking for more of their adventures.
June 29, 2020
This book was a nice addtion to the series, the second books in series suffer a little compared to the first. But this one did not disappoint. The story was lovely and the romance was sweet. The book did not shy away form the bloody history of witch trials, and even highlighted a few issue such as sexism and the class system. I relayed enjoyed this. 4 starts !
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May 26, 2020dnf
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January 1, 2022review to follow
January 23, 2018
Ashton and Grant are two teenage boys that go to Stanton School for Boys. The two of them have an unusual relationship. They can go from wanting to kiss each other one minute to physically beating each other the next. One fight ended up causing a big fire and destroying all their teacher's artifacts. Their punishment, is they have to go back in time to gather all their teacher's artifacts without changing the past.
For Ashton and Grant, this kept them from getting kicked out of school but going back in history together for these two isn't all that fun and exciting.
The next artifact that is needed back is a book called the Malleus Maleficarum it's Latin and translate to "Hammer of the Witch." A book that had sent many to their deaths claiming that they were witches. Once the boys are transported back in time, the things that they witness have no doubt changed them. Witnessing bodies being already burnt at the stake, listening to innocent people being charged with witchery.
As soon as Ashton gets the book in his hand, the plan falls through and gets Grant captured. Now Ashton's only mission is to get Grant free and keep the book in his possession without being caught himself.
The journey back in time with Ashton and Grant is one that will surely have you wanted to take the next trip with them back in time.
I loved going back in time with these two amazing characters and seeing the witch trails through their eyes. It's a time period that has always fantasized .
For Ashton and Grant, this kept them from getting kicked out of school but going back in history together for these two isn't all that fun and exciting.
The next artifact that is needed back is a book called the Malleus Maleficarum it's Latin and translate to "Hammer of the Witch." A book that had sent many to their deaths claiming that they were witches. Once the boys are transported back in time, the things that they witness have no doubt changed them. Witnessing bodies being already burnt at the stake, listening to innocent people being charged with witchery.
As soon as Ashton gets the book in his hand, the plan falls through and gets Grant captured. Now Ashton's only mission is to get Grant free and keep the book in his possession without being caught himself.
The journey back in time with Ashton and Grant is one that will surely have you wanted to take the next trip with them back in time.
I loved going back in time with these two amazing characters and seeing the witch trails through their eyes. It's a time period that has always fantasized .
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews