What do you think?
Rate this book
Hammer & Anvil
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 Sororitas.
Read it because
From the New York Times bestselling author of Nemesis.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 15, 2016
26 people are currently reading
441 people want to read
About the author
James Swallow
302 books1,070 followersJames Swallow is a New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 bestselling author and scriptwriter, a BAFTA nominee, a former journalist and the award-winning writer of over sixty-five books, along with scripts for video games, comics, radio and television.
DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.
Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.
For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow
Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.
You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.
DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.
Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.
For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow
Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.
You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
April 28, 2015
As a long time player of the table top games (necron army 2K PTS) and as a reader of the Black Library this book cuts me a bit deep. Let me explain.
This book, while great in its affects of the Sisters of Battle and the Order of Our Martyred Lady, the pieces about the Necrons themselves and their points of view are nearly unreadable and in my opinion completely and utterly unacceptable. I've seen the Necrons transform from a feared robotic species to a touchy-feely xenos species. The entire premise of the Necrons when they were introduced formally was that of the ultimate end to the galaxy. They felt no pity, were not to be reasoned with and that was pretty much that. It was perfect and needed nothing else. However, thanks to the cementing of books like this (and a tubby author who will not be named), the Necrons are now little more than bickering tots.
Injecting the Necrons and projecting human emotions onto them does not make them feel alien, but does the complete opposite: it makes them undeniably more human than they ever were before; capable of anger, distrust, and perhaps even fear, jealousy and obsession. If you took out the Necron elements and substituted the Gauss weapons with Shard pistols and Dark Eldar the book would read pretty much the same. The Necrons feel so much more human than even the members of the Adeptus Mechanicus for crying out loud! Necrons featured in Dark Apostle (See: Word Bearers novel/Ben Counter) and the subsequent books are handled with a much deal more respect than any book following the Necrons new codex.
Even the idea of the new Necrons is appalling and many cannot see why I complain so much about it. It just feels wrong:
1) The Necrons fight amongst themselves.
2) The Necrons talk to organic species and even ally themselves with them on occasion (See: Blood Angels/Necrons/Matt Ward).
3) The Necrons have emotions. The Necrons now have a huge weakness; before the Necrons could only be 'survived' and now they can be beaten back after their sense of superiority is removed.
4) The Necrons are referred to as 'He' and not an 'it'. These are machines that have no recollection of their past lives eons ago, so any semblance to gender is a moot point and specifically crafted for the reader.
5) The biggest doozy of them all: The Necrons overthrew their Gods. How about this sentence: Abaddon and his Black Legion overthrew their Dark Gods. It makes no sense and it is a worthless concept. The C'Tan removed the souls and personalities of the Necrontyr as a race, leaving no trace memories or notions of 'rebellion' in place. The Necrons served them for time immemorial and 2012 came about and they gained conscious thought.
/End rant
Now, the book is written well and I was almost obligated to read it by reading the first one and it flows nicely in regards to the previous book. However the entire plot grates me due to the aforementioned enemy losing only due to its arrogance that shouldn't have been there in the first place! If you skip the pieces where the Necrons start 'thinking' to themselves than you'll have a much better time of it.
This book, while great in its affects of the Sisters of Battle and the Order of Our Martyred Lady, the pieces about the Necrons themselves and their points of view are nearly unreadable and in my opinion completely and utterly unacceptable. I've seen the Necrons transform from a feared robotic species to a touchy-feely xenos species. The entire premise of the Necrons when they were introduced formally was that of the ultimate end to the galaxy. They felt no pity, were not to be reasoned with and that was pretty much that. It was perfect and needed nothing else. However, thanks to the cementing of books like this (and a tubby author who will not be named), the Necrons are now little more than bickering tots.
Injecting the Necrons and projecting human emotions onto them does not make them feel alien, but does the complete opposite: it makes them undeniably more human than they ever were before; capable of anger, distrust, and perhaps even fear, jealousy and obsession. If you took out the Necron elements and substituted the Gauss weapons with Shard pistols and Dark Eldar the book would read pretty much the same. The Necrons feel so much more human than even the members of the Adeptus Mechanicus for crying out loud! Necrons featured in Dark Apostle (See: Word Bearers novel/Ben Counter) and the subsequent books are handled with a much deal more respect than any book following the Necrons new codex.
Even the idea of the new Necrons is appalling and many cannot see why I complain so much about it. It just feels wrong:
1) The Necrons fight amongst themselves.
2) The Necrons talk to organic species and even ally themselves with them on occasion (See: Blood Angels/Necrons/Matt Ward).
3) The Necrons have emotions. The Necrons now have a huge weakness; before the Necrons could only be 'survived' and now they can be beaten back after their sense of superiority is removed.
4) The Necrons are referred to as 'He' and not an 'it'. These are machines that have no recollection of their past lives eons ago, so any semblance to gender is a moot point and specifically crafted for the reader.
5) The biggest doozy of them all: The Necrons overthrew their Gods. How about this sentence: Abaddon and his Black Legion overthrew their Dark Gods. It makes no sense and it is a worthless concept. The C'Tan removed the souls and personalities of the Necrontyr as a race, leaving no trace memories or notions of 'rebellion' in place. The Necrons served them for time immemorial and 2012 came about and they gained conscious thought.
/End rant
Now, the book is written well and I was almost obligated to read it by reading the first one and it flows nicely in regards to the previous book. However the entire plot grates me due to the aforementioned enemy losing only due to its arrogance that shouldn't have been there in the first place! If you skip the pieces where the Necrons start 'thinking' to themselves than you'll have a much better time of it.
August 8, 2017
Sometimes all it takes is a few scenes to turn a good book into a great book.
That's the case with Hammer & Anvil, the sequel to Faith & Fire and the subject of my previous book review.
In this story, Miriya and Verity are looking for peace and closure after the events of their initial adventure. Instead, they find anything but. Both wind up on the barren rock known as Sanctuary_101, ten years after the massacre at an Adepta Sororitas fortress-convent, in effort to reconsecrate the site.
Or so they're told.
As with all things Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K): Factions within the Imperium of Man, in this case the Inquisition, the Adeptus Mechanicus, have their own hidden agendas. Even Canoness Sepherina isn't completely forthcoming about full scope of their mission.
The book starts off as something of a mystery, and on page 55 of this 410 page book, the Sisters of Battle learn it was Necrons who were the mysterious attackers that wiped out their original convent (WH40K's "robot zombies").
The mystery continues to unfold, and by page 194 they learned the extent of the Necron threat to the Imperium. Although for WH40K fans who've already read the Fluff, this reveal isn't so revealing. What is finally disclosed on page 259 is the item Canoness Sepharina has been searching for: An artifact known as the Hammer and Anvil, believed to have been lost in the initial Necron attack. Which makes Hammer & Anvil something of a MacGuffinTitled book.
Even as the Second Battle of Sanctuary-101 got underway, I was about to give Hammer & Anvil a 3-star rating, like it's predecessor. However, the story took off with a "Hell Yes!" Moment on page 334, where--spoiler alert--a tormented survivor of the original massacre exorcises her personal demon while fighting a Deathmark (an assassin android).
A few more "Hell Yes!" scenes followed close on the heels of the Deathmark's death: There is something of a "Men of Harlech" scene as the Necrons silently closed-in on the beleaguered Battle Sisters; when the treacherous Techpriest Tegas finds the Hammer and Anvil, hoping it's an ultimate weapon, but turns out to be merely a Memento MacGuffin; and finally the often-overlooked Verity helps bring down the Nemesor leading the current assault.
Among these high points of the last 76 pages are split action scenes of Verity assisting in battle at the fortress-convent, first as a healer, then as a combatant; and Miriya with a commando team infiltrating the Necron lair in Sanctuary-101's moon.
What I also found amusing was how the machine logic of both the Necrons and the techpriests were constantly confounded--and ultimately thwarted--by human illogical behavior and raw emotions.
All this was enough to bump Hammer & Anvil to a 4-star read. Average reviews on both Amazon.com and Goodreads are almost as good with 3.80 and 3.79-stars, respectively.
While Ciaphas Cain is still my favorite WH40K character, (because he's Harry Flashman, IN SPACE!), Miriya and Verity come in at #2 and #3 for me.
A Sisters of Battle Omnibus is due to hit the shelves next month. This tome will contain "... Faith & Fire and Hammer & Anvil, along with the prose version of the audio drama Red & Black and a new short story 'Heart & Soul', available in print for the first time."
That's the case with Hammer & Anvil, the sequel to Faith & Fire and the subject of my previous book review.
In this story, Miriya and Verity are looking for peace and closure after the events of their initial adventure. Instead, they find anything but. Both wind up on the barren rock known as Sanctuary_101, ten years after the massacre at an Adepta Sororitas fortress-convent, in effort to reconsecrate the site.
Or so they're told.
As with all things Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K): Factions within the Imperium of Man, in this case the Inquisition, the Adeptus Mechanicus, have their own hidden agendas. Even Canoness Sepherina isn't completely forthcoming about full scope of their mission.
The book starts off as something of a mystery, and on page 55 of this 410 page book, the Sisters of Battle learn it was Necrons who were the mysterious attackers that wiped out their original convent (WH40K's "robot zombies").
The mystery continues to unfold, and by page 194 they learned the extent of the Necron threat to the Imperium. Although for WH40K fans who've already read the Fluff, this reveal isn't so revealing. What is finally disclosed on page 259 is the item Canoness Sepharina has been searching for: An artifact known as the Hammer and Anvil, believed to have been lost in the initial Necron attack. Which makes Hammer & Anvil something of a MacGuffinTitled book.
Even as the Second Battle of Sanctuary-101 got underway, I was about to give Hammer & Anvil a 3-star rating, like it's predecessor. However, the story took off with a "Hell Yes!" Moment on page 334, where--spoiler alert--a tormented survivor of the original massacre exorcises her personal demon while fighting a Deathmark (an assassin android).
A few more "Hell Yes!" scenes followed close on the heels of the Deathmark's death: There is something of a "Men of Harlech" scene as the Necrons silently closed-in on the beleaguered Battle Sisters; when the treacherous Techpriest Tegas finds the Hammer and Anvil, hoping it's an ultimate weapon, but turns out to be merely a Memento MacGuffin; and finally the often-overlooked Verity helps bring down the Nemesor leading the current assault.
Among these high points of the last 76 pages are split action scenes of Verity assisting in battle at the fortress-convent, first as a healer, then as a combatant; and Miriya with a commando team infiltrating the Necron lair in Sanctuary-101's moon.
What I also found amusing was how the machine logic of both the Necrons and the techpriests were constantly confounded--and ultimately thwarted--by human illogical behavior and raw emotions.
All this was enough to bump Hammer & Anvil to a 4-star read. Average reviews on both Amazon.com and Goodreads are almost as good with 3.80 and 3.79-stars, respectively.
While Ciaphas Cain is still my favorite WH40K character, (because he's Harry Flashman, IN SPACE!), Miriya and Verity come in at #2 and #3 for me.
A Sisters of Battle Omnibus is due to hit the shelves next month. This tome will contain "... Faith & Fire and Hammer & Anvil, along with the prose version of the audio drama Red & Black and a new short story 'Heart & Soul', available in print for the first time."
November 24, 2018
I hate the Necron.
Read
February 5, 2024I'm not finishing this.
This is tired, uncharacterized, commercial, corpo-cynical dog shit.
I'm embarrassed to get as far as I did. A 3.81 rating just shows how blind fans of the franchise are to quality and settling for anything they can get their un-showered fingers on. Piss poor descriptions. Large groups of characters who appear and disappear in scenes when convenient. Characters defined by "zealot," "angry," and "I'm nice but also a zealot." Rife with passive voice, dull action that's sole service is to push more product.
The equivalent to a late 80s transformers cartoon, but somehow worse.
This is tired, uncharacterized, commercial, corpo-cynical dog shit.
I'm embarrassed to get as far as I did. A 3.81 rating just shows how blind fans of the franchise are to quality and settling for anything they can get their un-showered fingers on. Piss poor descriptions. Large groups of characters who appear and disappear in scenes when convenient. Characters defined by "zealot," "angry," and "I'm nice but also a zealot." Rife with passive voice, dull action that's sole service is to push more product.
The equivalent to a late 80s transformers cartoon, but somehow worse.
September 20, 2025
Sanctuary 101 is a world that lives on infamously in the 41st millennium; a convent outpost exterminated by a previously unidentified xenos adversary. Twelve years after the massacre, an expeditionary force of the Adepta Sororitas returns to reclaim their world, only to find subterfuge and intrigue interfering with their work, and even worse, the enemy that slaughtered their predecessors is still out there, waiting to be reawakened...
Personally, I find James Swallow writes Sisters of Battle better than he does Blood Angels, and out of the two books he's written involving these characters, this is probably my favourite; the action sequences between the fervently devout Sisters and the cold, detached Necrons are so compelling, a great contrast between foes, and it was intriguing to get a deeper look at Necron culture and its heirarchies, as well as the infighting and political manipulations between the differing branches of the Imperium. Miriya and Verity remain favourites, as does the tragic, abused Decima who proves pivotal to the battle to reclaim Sanctuary 101 from its alien occupiers...A good bit of 40K escapism...
Personally, I find James Swallow writes Sisters of Battle better than he does Blood Angels, and out of the two books he's written involving these characters, this is probably my favourite; the action sequences between the fervently devout Sisters and the cold, detached Necrons are so compelling, a great contrast between foes, and it was intriguing to get a deeper look at Necron culture and its heirarchies, as well as the infighting and political manipulations between the differing branches of the Imperium. Miriya and Verity remain favourites, as does the tragic, abused Decima who proves pivotal to the battle to reclaim Sanctuary 101 from its alien occupiers...A good bit of 40K escapism...
January 16, 2019
This book involves 3 primary 'races' from with the Warhammer 40k universe, the Sisters of Battle, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Necrons. The book is the second in the series involving the Sisters of Battle and as such does little to introduce the Sisters of Battle and the events that obviously led to a couple of the central characters travelling with the Sisters on a mission to a rebuild and reconsecrate a holy site, destroyed 10 years earlier, on the edge of human space.
The other interesting aspect of the book was that of gaining insight into the world and backstory of the Necron race.
If you enjoy stories set in the Warhammer 40k universe then you will more than likely enjoy this book
The other interesting aspect of the book was that of gaining insight into the world and backstory of the Necron race.
If you enjoy stories set in the Warhammer 40k universe then you will more than likely enjoy this book
April 26, 2021
On the distant planet of Sanctuary 101 a massacre has taken place at the convent compound of the Sisters of Battle. After a decade of bureaucracy subsides a new regiment of battle sisters are sent to rebuild the ashes and put the dead to rest. But there is more going on on the planet than was told to them. Necron ruins dot the planet and the Sisters worry that the tampering of their Adeptus Mechanicus scientists may bring catastrophe down upon the convent yet again.
[Spoilers begin]
I was filled with giddy excitement a few pages into this book when I learned of the reappearance of Sister Miriya, Verity, and the other survivors of the previous book Faith and Fire. This unexpected inclusion sustained my interest through the early chapters as I chuckled knowingly in Miriya's stead as she was berated and looked down upon by people she so recently outranked. The conflicts in this book are satisfying and the new characters are potentially better than the characters of the previous book, but the first half of the book drags too much to fully excuse it. The combat with Necrons in particular is appropriately brutal on the scale you're used to seeing from Warhammer.
James once again manages to write another book with even more women in it without using any gender loaded language to describe them, or their actions. Although by the end of this book I was ready for Miriya and Verity to just kiss already. It's unlikely I'll find any LGBTQ+ representation in this series, but by the Emperor we're getting close.
[Spoilers begin]
I was filled with giddy excitement a few pages into this book when I learned of the reappearance of Sister Miriya, Verity, and the other survivors of the previous book Faith and Fire. This unexpected inclusion sustained my interest through the early chapters as I chuckled knowingly in Miriya's stead as she was berated and looked down upon by people she so recently outranked. The conflicts in this book are satisfying and the new characters are potentially better than the characters of the previous book, but the first half of the book drags too much to fully excuse it. The combat with Necrons in particular is appropriately brutal on the scale you're used to seeing from Warhammer.
James once again manages to write another book with even more women in it without using any gender loaded language to describe them, or their actions. Although by the end of this book I was ready for Miriya and Verity to just kiss already. It's unlikely I'll find any LGBTQ+ representation in this series, but by the Emperor we're getting close.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2012
Though it's light and straight-forward in its broader concepts and plot, it deals with them very well and tells a remarkably riveting story with a truly delightful enthusiasm for 'technobabble' and invoking fairly outlandish concepts. By the nature of everything involved, it's very far from 'hard sci-fi', but it makes for a very solid and almost deadpan take on the universe. Swallow's skill and experience in shared universes really shines through in the depiction of the the Necrons.
Easily the best take yet of a Necron viewpoint in the 40k books, combined with a very pleasing examination (and continuation of the story) of the Adepta Sororitas. This is thoroughly augmented by the wry and engaging presentation of the Machine Priests spread throughout the book.
It begins somewhat slowly for my taste and meanders in the early portion, but the mid-book change of pace came as a very pleasant surprise. I'd argue, personally, that an altered ending would have significantly enhanced the book, but nevertheless: it's a surprisingly enjoyable book that, for at least a good hundred pages or so around the middle, really exceeds any expectations I'd had.
Solid, enjoyable and vivid.
Easily the best take yet of a Necron viewpoint in the 40k books, combined with a very pleasing examination (and continuation of the story) of the Adepta Sororitas. This is thoroughly augmented by the wry and engaging presentation of the Machine Priests spread throughout the book.
It begins somewhat slowly for my taste and meanders in the early portion, but the mid-book change of pace came as a very pleasant surprise. I'd argue, personally, that an altered ending would have significantly enhanced the book, but nevertheless: it's a surprisingly enjoyable book that, for at least a good hundred pages or so around the middle, really exceeds any expectations I'd had.
Solid, enjoyable and vivid.
February 16, 2021
Sanctuary 101 is a world infamous in the Imperium. At least amongst the tiny number of people who are allowed to know about the Imperium's defeats. It was one of the first occasions when the Imperium of Mankind came into contact with the millions of years old Empire of the Necrons who had until then been slumbering away the eons. A small group of Sisters of Battle were wiped to a woman in minutes by a force of skeletal robots who materialised with their defences. The Necrons then left without a trace.
Twelve years later the Sisters have returned to rebuild and regarrison their holdings. But have the Necrons gone and can the Sisters trust their Imperial allies?
A solid 40K story with some great action set pieces and some really interesting characters. It's always nice to see characters from an unusual viewpoint such as the Sisters of Battle and indeed their Necron foes. A must read for any Sisters of Battle fan.
Twelve years later the Sisters have returned to rebuild and regarrison their holdings. But have the Necrons gone and can the Sisters trust their Imperial allies?
A solid 40K story with some great action set pieces and some really interesting characters. It's always nice to see characters from an unusual viewpoint such as the Sisters of Battle and indeed their Necron foes. A must read for any Sisters of Battle fan.
July 6, 2019
Probably wouldn't recommend it unless you're vaguely familiar with the Warhammer 40k universe at least, but as far as books that are tied to franchises go this was one of the better ones. I've found in these that often the author seems desperate to show you his knowledge of the lore by making lots of useless references to things... I didn't get that sense with this one. And James Swallow does have a talent for describing a chaotic battle scene that isn't impossible to follow.
Good, solid sci-fi. Ave Imeprator.
Good, solid sci-fi. Ave Imeprator.
April 12, 2018
Sister Miriya returns in this Adepta Sororitas vs. Necrons battle on the planet of Sanctuary 101. It was an excellent read that continued to cement my like for the Sisters and the Necrons who come across as suitably callous and condescending. The setting and nature of the battle remind me of the movie March or Die. I hope that the projected Sisters Renaissance in 2019 kicks off more Sister Miriya tales and excellent stirring Sisters stories.
January 5, 2021
I enjoyed the Imperium factional tension between mechanicus and sororitas and how they try to out-do each other. I felt that the Necron perspectives were well-portrayed. I found it interesting seeing Myriah try to come to terms with her given rank, but at the same time, not deny that she knows that she is an experienced sister of battle. Mysteries are are well-paced from each other and each explained in a timely manner.
February 22, 2015
Very good book about a little touched area of the 40k universe, the Sisters of Battle. Swallow has a great gift for capturing a battle scene, but more importantly how the combatants on both sides think and feel. Great descriptions and an overall solid story round out this gem of a book. I highly recommend it.
January 17, 2012
In the Grim Darkness of the Distant future you sometimes find decent brain-candy fiction.
December 7, 2024
I have been struggling for days about what I did not really care for about this book and its predecessor and it's pretty much, and I have no clear way to back this up, that he can't seem to write believable women.
While he doesn't do the 'men writing women' thing about 'she breasted boobily down the stairs', he kind of does the opposite. There is NOTHING in either of these books that would change except the Mechanicus's gendered insults, that would change if these characters were male, or even a mix. It's like he wrote a story and then find/replaced the pronouns.
In both books, he seems to be much more interested in writing male characters. In this one, his Necron and even Mechanicus characters are written with more solid and believable inner thoughts and experiences...and they don't actually even exist as categories!
He conceives of the Sisters as basically hammers looking for nails. Everything they find, they want to fight and often in the stupidest way possible. And while they are pulling power plays with each other, it comes off as more dick measuring than anything else.
After two books I still can't decide if I like Miriya. She's cardboard, this uber fighter who often breaks the strict rules but always for the best reason, and despite the fact that time and again her 'defiances' are totally justified, no one seems to learn a lesson about it.
Verity is a straight up drip, who somehow even got even more passive than the first one.
And the worldbuilding? I mean again, Swallow does a great job with the world of the Necrons, and with the Mechanicus and Necron inner monologues, but I had hoped for a bit more worldbuilding about the Sororitas, especially the Hospitallers, but no.
And the sisters had no real differentiation. I mean one was mentioned as darker skinned but that's about it. You swiftly just break everyone down into 'mean to Miriya and thus wrong' or 'nice to Miriya and thus right'.
If you're reading this for Sisters stuff, it's...going to be dissatisfying. But if you read it as insights into Mechanicus and especially Necron goals and their unique ways of thinking and experiencing life, this was not bad.
While he doesn't do the 'men writing women' thing about 'she breasted boobily down the stairs', he kind of does the opposite. There is NOTHING in either of these books that would change except the Mechanicus's gendered insults, that would change if these characters were male, or even a mix. It's like he wrote a story and then find/replaced the pronouns.
In both books, he seems to be much more interested in writing male characters. In this one, his Necron and even Mechanicus characters are written with more solid and believable inner thoughts and experiences...and they don't actually even exist as categories!
He conceives of the Sisters as basically hammers looking for nails. Everything they find, they want to fight and often in the stupidest way possible. And while they are pulling power plays with each other, it comes off as more dick measuring than anything else.
After two books I still can't decide if I like Miriya. She's cardboard, this uber fighter who often breaks the strict rules but always for the best reason, and despite the fact that time and again her 'defiances' are totally justified, no one seems to learn a lesson about it.
Verity is a straight up drip, who somehow even got even more passive than the first one.
And the worldbuilding? I mean again, Swallow does a great job with the world of the Necrons, and with the Mechanicus and Necron inner monologues, but I had hoped for a bit more worldbuilding about the Sororitas, especially the Hospitallers, but no.
And the sisters had no real differentiation. I mean one was mentioned as darker skinned but that's about it. You swiftly just break everyone down into 'mean to Miriya and thus wrong' or 'nice to Miriya and thus right'.
If you're reading this for Sisters stuff, it's...going to be dissatisfying. But if you read it as insights into Mechanicus and especially Necron goals and their unique ways of thinking and experiencing life, this was not bad.
May 19, 2025
A merited Battle Sisters unit of the Adeptus Sororitas investigate a distant world with an Ecclesiarchy outpost that has fallen silent. Where is the occupying force of Sisters? What threat seems to have wiped them out without a trace? and why are the collaborating cybernetic members of the Adeptas Mechanicus also interested in this mission?
I really enjoyed this book for its part detective suspense and combat action. It kept me guessing as you try to figure out characters particular motivations outside of the stated mission. As well, it’s a fantastic introduction to one of the Galaxy’s biggest and most interesting threats: the metallic, skeletal, soulless Necrons.
It’s technically a sequel but it can be read first, as you are given back story on a few characters and the story is not a continuation of the prior book, but in my opinion, a couple of the moments may not resinate as much, if you are not already familiar with a few of the characters involved.
⚠️ Parental Warnings ⚠️
- a man is called a “whoreson”
-a robotic character “felt a rush that was orgyastic” when downloading data, near end of ch7
I really enjoyed this book for its part detective suspense and combat action. It kept me guessing as you try to figure out characters particular motivations outside of the stated mission. As well, it’s a fantastic introduction to one of the Galaxy’s biggest and most interesting threats: the metallic, skeletal, soulless Necrons.
It’s technically a sequel but it can be read first, as you are given back story on a few characters and the story is not a continuation of the prior book, but in my opinion, a couple of the moments may not resinate as much, if you are not already familiar with a few of the characters involved.
⚠️ Parental Warnings ⚠️
- a man is called a “whoreson”
-a robotic character “felt a rush that was orgyastic” when downloading data, near end of ch7
August 30, 2024
This is a great book to get into if you ever wanted to read more about the Battle Sisters in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The plot follows a mission of Sisters attempting to reconsecrate an old Ecclesiarchy world, Sanctuary 101. According to the lore, this was the site of the first Necron open contact that resulted in the obliteration of the original settlers. Hammer and Anvil is what happened after the battle of Sanctuary 101 and why the Sisters wanted it back. Not only did the Sisters want it back, but so did the Mechanicum, though with their own ulterior motives. This is a great novel as the reader gets an inside look of the Sisters of Battle, the Mechanicum, and the Necron, all in one read. And, of course, a whole slew of interstellar combat as only Warhammer can provide.
This is a second book involving some of the same characters, but it stands alone pretty well from the first novel and the two are not essential to each other.
This is a second book involving some of the same characters, but it stands alone pretty well from the first novel and the two are not essential to each other.
November 11, 2025
It is very rare, these days, that I sit and devour a book in a single sitting, but something about this one hit just right and so I did just that. Very much enjoyed.
October 26, 2014
For some reason, and I honestly don't know why, some fans don't like James Swallow. I remember my friend who got me into BL, only about three years ago now so I'm still playing catchup with the HUUUUGE back catalog, was not a fan and warned me away. I kind of wanted to check him out just because of the warning. Turns out I liked Mr. Swallow, and this book here: 'Hammer and Anvil', is, in my humble opinion, the best book he's written.
The story follows a group of Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle) as they return to Sanctuary 101 to rebuild it following a mysterious loss of the entire installation and everyone in it. In the process they find a survivor of what happened to the original garrison/convent, get into a huge spat with the Mechanicus, get, essentially, abandoned by the Inquisition, and find out who, or what, destroyed the original installation.
The two main characters in this book are the same two from James first foray into the Sororitas, 'Faith and Fire': Sister Miriya and Hospitaler Verity. Rather than 'humanize' one or both of the characters to make them more relate-able to a modern audience James holds true to the rather brutal nature of faith and duty in the 40K universe and reminds us that far more than just pretty faces, the Sisters of Battle truly are warrior nuns (as Space Marines are, essentially, warrior monks) with all of the fierceness and unrelenting nature of their faith that comes along with it.
The action in this book, as in all of James books, is well written and in this one it is generally at a larger scale than much of the works he likes to create. This is due, in large part, to the nature of the baddies that the Sisters have to go up against: the Necrons.
Most writers (and so far I've only encountered Necrons from four autors- McNeill, Counter, Mitchell and Swallow) tend to show the Necrons as mindless automatons, mindlessly, yet efficiently, exterminating all life as they, slowly and ominously, march across the battlefields laying to waste both the warriors and the innocent that they encounter. Instead, in this book, Swallow actually delved into the Necron culture and the result is a far richer book for it.
Without giving too much away, this is a great read and the only disappointment with this duology is that it's the only Sororitas fiction out there. It is my hope that either James delves again into the ranks of the Sisters or some other author picks up a bolter and forges new sagas in their honor.
And on a side note: it'd be awesome if James would write a Necron novel, just a thought of mine. I doubt it would sell well as there are so few Necron players out there, but I'd still love to see them expanded upon. At least just a bit.
All in all an easy 4 stars and a worthy few hours of reading. Plus, there's little on the Sisters so this is about the best you can hope to find.
The story follows a group of Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle) as they return to Sanctuary 101 to rebuild it following a mysterious loss of the entire installation and everyone in it. In the process they find a survivor of what happened to the original garrison/convent, get into a huge spat with the Mechanicus, get, essentially, abandoned by the Inquisition, and find out who, or what, destroyed the original installation.
The two main characters in this book are the same two from James first foray into the Sororitas, 'Faith and Fire': Sister Miriya and Hospitaler Verity. Rather than 'humanize' one or both of the characters to make them more relate-able to a modern audience James holds true to the rather brutal nature of faith and duty in the 40K universe and reminds us that far more than just pretty faces, the Sisters of Battle truly are warrior nuns (as Space Marines are, essentially, warrior monks) with all of the fierceness and unrelenting nature of their faith that comes along with it.
The action in this book, as in all of James books, is well written and in this one it is generally at a larger scale than much of the works he likes to create. This is due, in large part, to the nature of the baddies that the Sisters have to go up against: the Necrons.
Most writers (and so far I've only encountered Necrons from four autors- McNeill, Counter, Mitchell and Swallow) tend to show the Necrons as mindless automatons, mindlessly, yet efficiently, exterminating all life as they, slowly and ominously, march across the battlefields laying to waste both the warriors and the innocent that they encounter. Instead, in this book, Swallow actually delved into the Necron culture and the result is a far richer book for it.
Without giving too much away, this is a great read and the only disappointment with this duology is that it's the only Sororitas fiction out there. It is my hope that either James delves again into the ranks of the Sisters or some other author picks up a bolter and forges new sagas in their honor.
And on a side note: it'd be awesome if James would write a Necron novel, just a thought of mine. I doubt it would sell well as there are so few Necron players out there, but I'd still love to see them expanded upon. At least just a bit.
All in all an easy 4 stars and a worthy few hours of reading. Plus, there's little on the Sisters so this is about the best you can hope to find.
December 28, 2011
James Swallow is one of the more accomplished Black Library authors with eight novels, four audio dramas and various short fiction pieces in various Warhammer/Warhmmer 40,000 anthologies. I thought his Flight of the Eisenstein in the Horus Heresy series was quite striking. I was therefore quite interested to see what he was going to do with the Sisters of the Battle, the Order of Our Martyred Lady in conflict with the necron.
It has taken ten years for the Sisterhood to be able to return to Sanctuary 101 and reconsecrate the site. But as a result of politics, the Sisters are accompanied by Tegas of the Adeptus Mechanicus for some purpose of his own. And Canoness Sepherenia has some deeper purpose of her own, beyond the reconsecration of their convent and memorialising their fallen sisters.
Strangely, the bodies of the sisters previously slain by the necron ten years before had previously been claimed by the xenophobic Order Xenos.
Things become that much murkier when the sisters find a strange, single metallic head. An alien artifact? The necron.
With the Adeptus Mechanicus secretly delving in what they believe to be the ruins of a necron stronghold, they awaken far more than they anticipated. Tegas also discovers Sepherenia's true purpose, desiring it for himself.
I have to admit being a little disappointed with Swallow's depiction of the necron. While I believe I understand what he was trying to achieve, indicating that there is more to the strange necron than we have previously thought, the result was giving the two senior necron more personality that I suspect may have been the intention. The necron also consider themselves virtually free of emotions yet the interaction between that pair was clearly emotive. Even the way in which the over-whelming necron force was thrown against the Sisters seemed emotionally driven.
The Sisters themselves were well-characterised and there is action and intrigue a-plenty for the reader to become immersed in.
Not my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novel but worth a read all the same.
It has taken ten years for the Sisterhood to be able to return to Sanctuary 101 and reconsecrate the site. But as a result of politics, the Sisters are accompanied by Tegas of the Adeptus Mechanicus for some purpose of his own. And Canoness Sepherenia has some deeper purpose of her own, beyond the reconsecration of their convent and memorialising their fallen sisters.
Strangely, the bodies of the sisters previously slain by the necron ten years before had previously been claimed by the xenophobic Order Xenos.
Things become that much murkier when the sisters find a strange, single metallic head. An alien artifact? The necron.
With the Adeptus Mechanicus secretly delving in what they believe to be the ruins of a necron stronghold, they awaken far more than they anticipated. Tegas also discovers Sepherenia's true purpose, desiring it for himself.
I have to admit being a little disappointed with Swallow's depiction of the necron. While I believe I understand what he was trying to achieve, indicating that there is more to the strange necron than we have previously thought, the result was giving the two senior necron more personality that I suspect may have been the intention. The necron also consider themselves virtually free of emotions yet the interaction between that pair was clearly emotive. Even the way in which the over-whelming necron force was thrown against the Sisters seemed emotionally driven.
The Sisters themselves were well-characterised and there is action and intrigue a-plenty for the reader to become immersed in.
Not my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novel but worth a read all the same.
June 3, 2021
my thoughts On Hammer & Anvil (non-spoiler):
-the introduction was neat set up some mystery
-the start of the actual story and the middle of the story felt tedious (I think the term padding applies)
-I thought the inter imperial conflict to be annoying rather than interesting
-the last third was interesting again with the fighting and the daring and the sacrificing (it's a 40k novel, so people dying left and right is like the sky being blue or water being wet), it felt like the padding had ended and the actual story had resumed (but that is just my shitty opinion)
-my biggest beef, I found only 3 characters likeable or interesting, Miriya, Verity and Decima, everybody else felt like cardboard cutouts of characters
Question: How to have been better? (while using the same basic outline)
Answer:
Ironically by cutting Miriya and Verity (who were my favourites) and making it all about Canoness Sepherina and her emotional turmoil.
When I started thinking about it, it really should have been Sepherina's story since she had the biggest emotional stake in it. (to Miriya and Verity, it was really just another job) The inter-imperial conflict, I would have kept, but I would have kept the technical on the shorter end and gone all in on the dynamic between the Canoness, the Magos and the mysterious figure.
(The Necrons actually needed little character, they are there as the threat nothing else)
-the introduction was neat set up some mystery
-the start of the actual story and the middle of the story felt tedious (I think the term padding applies)
-I thought the inter imperial conflict to be annoying rather than interesting
-the last third was interesting again with the fighting and the daring and the sacrificing (it's a 40k novel, so people dying left and right is like the sky being blue or water being wet), it felt like the padding had ended and the actual story had resumed (but that is just my shitty opinion)
-my biggest beef, I found only 3 characters likeable or interesting, Miriya, Verity and Decima, everybody else felt like cardboard cutouts of characters
Question: How to have been better? (while using the same basic outline)
Answer:
Ironically by cutting Miriya and Verity (who were my favourites) and making it all about Canoness Sepherina and her emotional turmoil.
When I started thinking about it, it really should have been Sepherina's story since she had the biggest emotional stake in it. (to Miriya and Verity, it was really just another job) The inter-imperial conflict, I would have kept, but I would have kept the technical on the shorter end and gone all in on the dynamic between the Canoness, the Magos and the mysterious figure.
(The Necrons actually needed little character, they are there as the threat nothing else)
January 5, 2012
If you're not at all into SciFi/Fantasy, this one's not for you.
If you are a SciFi fan, but you've never given Warhammer 40,000 a second glance because you're just not into RPG's, I urge you to think again. Especially -- as bad as this may sound -- if you're a chick. We're talking about serious women with strong convictions, who happen to be in a futuristic setting. I have to say, even if I'd never played the game, this series would have turned me onto it.
I cannot give this author enough credit. It's one thing to go over source material prior to (and during) game play. It's quite another to pull out every single relevant detail and make it a FASCINATING read, as opposed to flavor text that should direct your RPG but is just too tedious to get through. Mr. Swallow takes the setting and makes it his. Quite honestly, he fleshes out the Battle Sisters' history better than the canon, and makes me feel completely inept as a role-player. And I'm loving it.
If you're already a fan, please note: There was a gap in my memory regarding the end of 'Faith & Fire'. While 'Hammer & Anvil' alludes to those events, this book will NOT fill that gap. But I still highly recommend it, even if you can't find the first book right away.
I am now actually interested in reading his other W40k series, despite my antipathy toward Space Marines, et al.
If you are a SciFi fan, but you've never given Warhammer 40,000 a second glance because you're just not into RPG's, I urge you to think again. Especially -- as bad as this may sound -- if you're a chick. We're talking about serious women with strong convictions, who happen to be in a futuristic setting. I have to say, even if I'd never played the game, this series would have turned me onto it.
I cannot give this author enough credit. It's one thing to go over source material prior to (and during) game play. It's quite another to pull out every single relevant detail and make it a FASCINATING read, as opposed to flavor text that should direct your RPG but is just too tedious to get through. Mr. Swallow takes the setting and makes it his. Quite honestly, he fleshes out the Battle Sisters' history better than the canon, and makes me feel completely inept as a role-player. And I'm loving it.
If you're already a fan, please note: There was a gap in my memory regarding the end of 'Faith & Fire'. While 'Hammer & Anvil' alludes to those events, this book will NOT fill that gap. But I still highly recommend it, even if you can't find the first book right away.
I am now actually interested in reading his other W40k series, despite my antipathy toward Space Marines, et al.
August 3, 2012
Hammer and Anvil keeps track of what happened to sister Miriya (and I will not tell what, because it is a spoil for the ones that want to read Faith and Fire) and sister Verity. Loosing their purpose, specially sister Miriya, they go into a journey to the far away world of Sanctuary 101 and discover it wiped out by Necrons.
The mission of the sisterhood lays, at the beginning, to reconsecrate the site. But in the end, their mission lays on wiping out the necrons.
And Miriya and Verity get new friends. And face old enemies.
This book is a bit better, in my opinion, that the previous. Maybe because we have a bigger insight of the Necrons (the biggest I ever read in Warhammer 40K books so far) or maybe because the plot twists, although still predictable, are well written in this book. We can get to feel the frustration of the characters almost as our own.
Still I remember when I read both books I've liked the first one better. Now with the distance of memory, I find Hammer and Anvil more interesting and insightful of the Adepta Sororitas.
In the end, the collection of one audiobook (that I did not listen) and two books so far is worthy reading.
I liked them.
The mission of the sisterhood lays, at the beginning, to reconsecrate the site. But in the end, their mission lays on wiping out the necrons.
And Miriya and Verity get new friends. And face old enemies.
This book is a bit better, in my opinion, that the previous. Maybe because we have a bigger insight of the Necrons (the biggest I ever read in Warhammer 40K books so far) or maybe because the plot twists, although still predictable, are well written in this book. We can get to feel the frustration of the characters almost as our own.
Still I remember when I read both books I've liked the first one better. Now with the distance of memory, I find Hammer and Anvil more interesting and insightful of the Adepta Sororitas.
In the end, the collection of one audiobook (that I did not listen) and two books so far is worthy reading.
I liked them.
September 1, 2019
I preferred this to the previous book in the series, but I can’t say it’s any better.
The Adepta Sororitas are great. Their culture and personalities are great fun to read, and it’s interesting to consider how they function alongside the rest of the 40k universe. But these points don’t really make a good book. Rather, it works better as a more entertaining wiki article, and I consider this and the previous book to be more along those lines than interesting stories.
This is mostly because they don’t do anything as actual stories.
Yes, there’s fighting, and great characters, but Swallow doesn’t manage to delve any deeper than constant surface level description and the odd introspective monologue. It’s not got much substance. Miriya might achieve some spiritual understanding of the world, but that’s about it. Probably because it has to fit into such a huge universe that he can’t control or add things to, so it basically is just a fictional retelling of Games Workshop lore, that has to be blank enough for a ton of stuff to build on it later.
The Adepta Sororitas are great. Their culture and personalities are great fun to read, and it’s interesting to consider how they function alongside the rest of the 40k universe. But these points don’t really make a good book. Rather, it works better as a more entertaining wiki article, and I consider this and the previous book to be more along those lines than interesting stories.
This is mostly because they don’t do anything as actual stories.
Yes, there’s fighting, and great characters, but Swallow doesn’t manage to delve any deeper than constant surface level description and the odd introspective monologue. It’s not got much substance. Miriya might achieve some spiritual understanding of the world, but that’s about it. Probably because it has to fit into such a huge universe that he can’t control or add things to, so it basically is just a fictional retelling of Games Workshop lore, that has to be blank enough for a ton of stuff to build on it later.
February 11, 2012
I enjoyed this book, though not as much as the first one in the series. We get to see characters from the first book appear again in this one. While that's nice, they remained the same characters they were in the first book. You would think their experiences would have changed them. The plot was much like the first book, also. None of that was really a deal-breaker for me.
My largest complaint is that subplot threads were introduced and never tied off or even developed. I don't want to reveal the story; so I won't mention what those were. But keep your eyes open and you will see that some things promised at the start were not delivered at the end.
Overall, I can recommend this story as a fun, light read. If you enjoy the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the Sisters of Battle in particular, you won't be disappointed. I particularly enjoyed the Necrons, the Terminator-style of enemy in this book. Getting to see the Necros up close was enjoyable.
My largest complaint is that subplot threads were introduced and never tied off or even developed. I don't want to reveal the story; so I won't mention what those were. But keep your eyes open and you will see that some things promised at the start were not delivered at the end.
Overall, I can recommend this story as a fun, light read. If you enjoy the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the Sisters of Battle in particular, you won't be disappointed. I particularly enjoyed the Necrons, the Terminator-style of enemy in this book. Getting to see the Necros up close was enjoyable.
May 24, 2015
"But what truly astounded me in Hammer & Anvil was the intricate, excellent detail of the Necron Tomb World. I mean, the attention to detail made this representation vivid and authentic to the source material. Enough credit cannot be given.
The other aspect of world building which Swallow did well (as in Faith & Fire) is in presenting canon technologies: the weaponry, tactics of each faction, etc. These are all done exceedingly well throughout. "
You can read the rest of my review here:
http://hachisnaxreads.blogspot.com/20...
The other aspect of world building which Swallow did well (as in Faith & Fire) is in presenting canon technologies: the weaponry, tactics of each faction, etc. These are all done exceedingly well throughout. "
You can read the rest of my review here:
http://hachisnaxreads.blogspot.com/20...
May 1, 2012
Quite interesting book that gives additional insights into the culture of the necron. While the book suffers from its share of cardboard characters, the silver-and-emerald-green robots of the necrons were especially bad in that regard. For me, it's my first book where some characterization of the necrons was visible.
April 29, 2021
I remember reading this years back and enjoying it. Fast forward and I find it boring as heck. Granted I did enjoy the Necron moments but found the Mechanicus and a few of the Sisters of Battle parts so draining.
It really is a damn shame because I'm a big fan of Jim Swallows' work and I'm sure I enjoyed this one years ago...I wonder what's changed?
It really is a damn shame because I'm a big fan of Jim Swallows' work and I'm sure I enjoyed this one years ago...I wonder what's changed?
November 5, 2021
Great Sisters of Battle book - lots of conflicting personalities that make an otherwise homogenous group into something you want to read about. There are a few different factions involved and it's an interesting read from the perspective that even those with the desire to become a flawless machine are inherently flawed, which in turn drives the story. Worth a read.
November 14, 2021
Slow book to start, but a rip roaring ending. Gave some good insights into both the Sisters of Battle and the necrons, and Miriya is such a good fiction character for Black Library, along with the likes of Uriel Ventris as one who thinks around their laws and rules.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews