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Phoenix Quest Adventure #1
The Hammer of Thor: An Adventure Thriller
Thalia Phoenix is an amateur archaeologist and collectibles shop owner. She’s also a relic hunter.
When a wealthy client hires her to retrieve the legendary Hammer of Thor, Thalia has her suspicions the thing even exists.
But never one to say not to a quest—or being paid for adventuring—Thalia heads out, following up on her first lead. Unfortunately, she must drag the client's inept son, Jonathan, on the adventure.
The search for the Hammer takes them to several countries and deep into underground danger, a danger that will force her to rely on everything she knows about ancient history, Norse mythology, and survival. Luckily, she’s pretty darn good at all three.
But there's a group of villains who would also love to get their hands on the Hammer—and they're hot on her tail. The race is on for the legendary relic of great power!
Click BUY NOW or READ FOR FREE to begin the Phoenix Quest series today!
When a wealthy client hires her to retrieve the legendary Hammer of Thor, Thalia has her suspicions the thing even exists.
But never one to say not to a quest—or being paid for adventuring—Thalia heads out, following up on her first lead. Unfortunately, she must drag the client's inept son, Jonathan, on the adventure.
The search for the Hammer takes them to several countries and deep into underground danger, a danger that will force her to rely on everything she knows about ancient history, Norse mythology, and survival. Luckily, she’s pretty darn good at all three.
But there's a group of villains who would also love to get their hands on the Hammer—and they're hot on her tail. The race is on for the legendary relic of great power!
Click BUY NOW or READ FOR FREE to begin the Phoenix Quest series today!
157 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 20, 2013
82 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
K.T. Tomb
189 books61 followersAbout K.T. Tomb
K.T. Tomb enjoys traveling the world when not writing adventure thrillers. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she's hard at work on her next novel. Please find her at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kttomb7
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KT_Tomb
K.T. Tomb enjoys traveling the world when not writing adventure thrillers. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she's hard at work on her next novel. Please find her at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kttomb7
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KT_Tomb
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 8, 2015
Phoe (Phoenix) is a young treasure hunter. She owns her own collectables shop and works on private contracts to track down and retrieve priceless artifacts. In this first installment, she has been hired to bring back the mythical Hammer of Thor.
This book is a fast paced adventure. It would lend itself better as a screenplay than it did a book. I liked the concept of the story, the search for a famous artifact that may or may not exist. Unfortunately, the story loses me after this.
The Hammer of Thor comes across as a cheap Indiana Jones knock-off. Sure, Phoe is eccentric, she has her arch-nemesis, and she has the skills and knowledge to search for these long lost treasures. But she lacked the altruistic nature of an “Indiana”, she wants these treasures for her own personal profit without consideration for where these treasures truly belong.
For me, the biggest problem with The Hammer of Thor was that it was too short. The author needed more time to develop the characters and to allow the story to develop. In many places it felt rushed, especially at the end, the action was difficult to follow. Unfortunately, The Hammer of Thor was not for me.
*2 Stars
This book is a fast paced adventure. It would lend itself better as a screenplay than it did a book. I liked the concept of the story, the search for a famous artifact that may or may not exist. Unfortunately, the story loses me after this.
The Hammer of Thor comes across as a cheap Indiana Jones knock-off. Sure, Phoe is eccentric, she has her arch-nemesis, and she has the skills and knowledge to search for these long lost treasures. But she lacked the altruistic nature of an “Indiana”, she wants these treasures for her own personal profit without consideration for where these treasures truly belong.
For me, the biggest problem with The Hammer of Thor was that it was too short. The author needed more time to develop the characters and to allow the story to develop. In many places it felt rushed, especially at the end, the action was difficult to follow. Unfortunately, The Hammer of Thor was not for me.
*2 Stars
October 9, 2018
I rarely give such low ratings but it is a simple fact that I did not like the book.
K. T. Tomb was "inspired" by the Indiana Jones movies. She often states how much she likes the first movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. To explain why I didn't even think that this book was ok, I will compare the two. While I only give an outline of the plot, be advised that there are SPOILERS ahead as I do an almost scene by scene account for the first 75% of the book.
PQA1 starts with someone offering Phoenix a membership in some sort of treasure hunting society. This is basically our hero introduction which tells the reader that their main character knows what he is doing. In Indy, we know this because he is a professor at a university and is famous enough that government agents come to hire him to find the ark. Whereas Phoenix is a store owner and an amateur as she later admits that the artifact from the intro sequence would have been her first. She doesn't even speak any language aside from English which makes her qualification somewhat questionable.
The first scene of the actual plot is reminiscent of Indy's search for the golden idol. It is snatched away by her rival, Peter. This part was actually quite enjoyable.
In the aftermath, her employer, Simon Kessel, who basically hired her because she is cute, tells her that she owes him money due to her failure to retrieve the artifact. He offers to drop the debt if she finds Mjöllnir an idea which he got from an April fool's day joke. The premise is a little strange but let's go with it.
In a moment of inspiration, Phoenix remembers the connection between Thor's Hammer and Swastikas. That is actually correct. It would have been nice to learn more about it in the book instead of having to do an internet search ourselves. For those interested, here is a link on the subject: https://norse-mythology.org/symbols/s.... So, Phoenix does an internet research (off-screen, we never find out the results) and then decides to travel to Germany to talk to a researcher on the subject. For some inexplicable reason, she asks Peter to come along. In Indy, this would be the part where he travels to meet Marion Ravenwood as she or rather her father had vital information, the amulet, to finding the ark. In PQA1 we only get some vague reference to some sort of group looking for Mjöllnir.
This then leads our party to look for an Online RPG gaming group. I can't even begin to describe the absurdity of this. This would be the part where Indy goes into the map room.
The nerds, in turn, lead them to an Arian Brotherhood, a stand-in for the Nazis, that call themselves the Brotherhood of the Hammer. At this point, the author also starts throwing in German phrases that are partially so mangled that you can't even glean their meaning. Google Translate would have done a better job and it shows quite clearly how much effort the author put into this novel.
Thus we arrive at the resting place of the ark, though it is closer to the temple at the end of The Last Crusade as the party has to solve three riddles. At this point, you might have noticed that there are no artifacts or ancient ruins or anything historical mentioned in the plot. It is never even clearly established if Mjöllnir's resting place is an ancient site built by the Vikings or just the Brotherhood's lair. Up until now, I wasn't even certain if the author actually read Norse Mythology. There is barely a paragraph on that subject in the entire book.
The finale is even worse but I don't want to "spoil" it for those who still might be interested in reading PQA1.
While the Indy flicks are mainly action movies and may not seem as well crafted or researched as e.g. Illuminati based on Dan Brown's novel, they at least give a good Hollywood version wherein Indy reads old books or talks to colleagues on his search for ancient artifacts and ruins. This book offers no action as they are never really in danger (being shot at for trespassing doesn't count). It also offers no insight into Norse mythology or has the party follow ancient clues (real or make-believe) to a treasure. Our heroine finds a mythical treasure through internet searches and the knowledge gathered by computer gaming nerds. And there isn't even the greater good at stake here, she does it for purely selfish reasons.
I think it is quite clear that I didn't enjoy the plot. But I would also like to briefly touch upon the characters using the example of Phoenix and Peter's relationship. They were best friends as children but when he tried to become more she turned him down. As a consequence, he set out to surpass her in everything she tried including treasure hunting. I kid you not that is his motivation in life. During their quest, Phoenix suddenly realizes that she is attracted to him. Why? Who knows. I most certainly don't. All the characters in this book are completely shallow and act illogically. No background is established whatsoever. How come Peter speaks Norwegian. Only 5 million people on this planet do, why did he learn it?
In summary: a badly researched plot and bland characters. I am just glad that I didn't buy the first one and even though the ratings for the other books in the series are higher I don't think I will read another one even if it should be available in Kindle Unlimited as was the first.
K. T. Tomb was "inspired" by the Indiana Jones movies. She often states how much she likes the first movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. To explain why I didn't even think that this book was ok, I will compare the two. While I only give an outline of the plot, be advised that there are SPOILERS ahead as I do an almost scene by scene account for the first 75% of the book.
PQA1 starts with someone offering Phoenix a membership in some sort of treasure hunting society. This is basically our hero introduction which tells the reader that their main character knows what he is doing. In Indy, we know this because he is a professor at a university and is famous enough that government agents come to hire him to find the ark. Whereas Phoenix is a store owner and an amateur as she later admits that the artifact from the intro sequence would have been her first. She doesn't even speak any language aside from English which makes her qualification somewhat questionable.
The first scene of the actual plot is reminiscent of Indy's search for the golden idol. It is snatched away by her rival, Peter. This part was actually quite enjoyable.
In the aftermath, her employer, Simon Kessel, who basically hired her because she is cute, tells her that she owes him money due to her failure to retrieve the artifact. He offers to drop the debt if she finds Mjöllnir an idea which he got from an April fool's day joke. The premise is a little strange but let's go with it.
In a moment of inspiration, Phoenix remembers the connection between Thor's Hammer and Swastikas. That is actually correct. It would have been nice to learn more about it in the book instead of having to do an internet search ourselves. For those interested, here is a link on the subject: https://norse-mythology.org/symbols/s.... So, Phoenix does an internet research (off-screen, we never find out the results) and then decides to travel to Germany to talk to a researcher on the subject. For some inexplicable reason, she asks Peter to come along. In Indy, this would be the part where he travels to meet Marion Ravenwood as she or rather her father had vital information, the amulet, to finding the ark. In PQA1 we only get some vague reference to some sort of group looking for Mjöllnir.
This then leads our party to look for an Online RPG gaming group. I can't even begin to describe the absurdity of this. This would be the part where Indy goes into the map room.
The nerds, in turn, lead them to an Arian Brotherhood, a stand-in for the Nazis, that call themselves the Brotherhood of the Hammer. At this point, the author also starts throwing in German phrases that are partially so mangled that you can't even glean their meaning. Google Translate would have done a better job and it shows quite clearly how much effort the author put into this novel.
Thus we arrive at the resting place of the ark, though it is closer to the temple at the end of The Last Crusade as the party has to solve three riddles. At this point, you might have noticed that there are no artifacts or ancient ruins or anything historical mentioned in the plot. It is never even clearly established if Mjöllnir's resting place is an ancient site built by the Vikings or just the Brotherhood's lair. Up until now, I wasn't even certain if the author actually read Norse Mythology. There is barely a paragraph on that subject in the entire book.
The finale is even worse but I don't want to "spoil" it for those who still might be interested in reading PQA1.
While the Indy flicks are mainly action movies and may not seem as well crafted or researched as e.g. Illuminati based on Dan Brown's novel, they at least give a good Hollywood version wherein Indy reads old books or talks to colleagues on his search for ancient artifacts and ruins. This book offers no action as they are never really in danger (being shot at for trespassing doesn't count). It also offers no insight into Norse mythology or has the party follow ancient clues (real or make-believe) to a treasure. Our heroine finds a mythical treasure through internet searches and the knowledge gathered by computer gaming nerds. And there isn't even the greater good at stake here, she does it for purely selfish reasons.
I think it is quite clear that I didn't enjoy the plot. But I would also like to briefly touch upon the characters using the example of Phoenix and Peter's relationship. They were best friends as children but when he tried to become more she turned him down. As a consequence, he set out to surpass her in everything she tried including treasure hunting. I kid you not that is his motivation in life. During their quest, Phoenix suddenly realizes that she is attracted to him. Why? Who knows. I most certainly don't. All the characters in this book are completely shallow and act illogically. No background is established whatsoever. How come Peter speaks Norwegian. Only 5 million people on this planet do, why did he learn it?
In summary: a badly researched plot and bland characters. I am just glad that I didn't buy the first one and even though the ratings for the other books in the series are higher I don't think I will read another one even if it should be available in Kindle Unlimited as was the first.
March 6, 2017
Hmmm
I always try to see the positive in any authors work, at the end of the day they have stuck their neck out and published there hard work. I don't have the imagination or talent to publish a book and kudos to those that do. So when I read a book that promises so much but fails to deliver on a number of levels, it's really disappointing. That is the case with this novel. The story is a fairly standard plot, beautiful raven haired treasure hunter misses out on a big prize to a handsome but slightly obnoxious former college friend and rival treasure hunter, mainly due to the actions (or lack of) from the son of a multi billionaire who is sponsoring the treasure hunt. Skip forward a few days and said billionaire decides so send raven haired Phoe (short for Phoenix) to hunt for the fabled Hammer of Thor, Mjolnir. On a positive note the story is not bad, flows quite quickly and takes you to a few interesting locales. On the negative side, the characters are paper thin and the relationship between the various characters feels under developed. The history of the characters is barely mentioned although there is clearly history between the two lead treasure hunters. At times it feels like the author has had a grand story idea and then runs out of steam or doesn't have the confidence to follow things through. As a result the story left me feeling unfulfilled and slightly disappointed
Now don't get me wrong, at the time of writing this review there are 5 books in the series and there is more than enough in here to make me go straight on to book 2. I'm hoping for more character development and a slightly less confusing story line. If in doubt, give it a go
I always try to see the positive in any authors work, at the end of the day they have stuck their neck out and published there hard work. I don't have the imagination or talent to publish a book and kudos to those that do. So when I read a book that promises so much but fails to deliver on a number of levels, it's really disappointing. That is the case with this novel. The story is a fairly standard plot, beautiful raven haired treasure hunter misses out on a big prize to a handsome but slightly obnoxious former college friend and rival treasure hunter, mainly due to the actions (or lack of) from the son of a multi billionaire who is sponsoring the treasure hunt. Skip forward a few days and said billionaire decides so send raven haired Phoe (short for Phoenix) to hunt for the fabled Hammer of Thor, Mjolnir. On a positive note the story is not bad, flows quite quickly and takes you to a few interesting locales. On the negative side, the characters are paper thin and the relationship between the various characters feels under developed. The history of the characters is barely mentioned although there is clearly history between the two lead treasure hunters. At times it feels like the author has had a grand story idea and then runs out of steam or doesn't have the confidence to follow things through. As a result the story left me feeling unfulfilled and slightly disappointed
Now don't get me wrong, at the time of writing this review there are 5 books in the series and there is more than enough in here to make me go straight on to book 2. I'm hoping for more character development and a slightly less confusing story line. If in doubt, give it a go
July 20, 2014
Phoe, a take off her last name of Phoenix, hates her 1st name and legally changed it to T. This is the 1st indications that our heroine is stubborn, determined and has a mind of her own. Phoe owns a small shall shop from which she sells items that she has found as well as other things. I picture Phoe as female version of Indiana Jones. Action, enemies, danger and a few laughs along the way.
Phoe has been hired by Simon Kessler to find the Hammer of Thor. She asks a fellow treasure hunter, Peter, to go with her. She also got stuck with Simon's son, Jonathon ...... again.
Finding something like the Hammer of Thor when no one is sure it even exits does have its complications. Phoe runs into a group who attempts to prevent her finding the prize.
Phoe is a kick-ass protagonist. Love to read a book in which the heroine is presented in a strong and determined manner.
Love the adventure and the pace of the books. Have already started the second book in the series.
Phoe has been hired by Simon Kessler to find the Hammer of Thor. She asks a fellow treasure hunter, Peter, to go with her. She also got stuck with Simon's son, Jonathon ...... again.
Finding something like the Hammer of Thor when no one is sure it even exits does have its complications. Phoe runs into a group who attempts to prevent her finding the prize.
Phoe is a kick-ass protagonist. Love to read a book in which the heroine is presented in a strong and determined manner.
Love the adventure and the pace of the books. Have already started the second book in the series.
August 5, 2014
Good book. I have read other books by K.T. Tomb and i always enjoy them so i gave this a try. I always learn something and enjoy the adventure. It's a great adventure book with a female lead. Phoe is a neat character with depth that i'm curious to know more about. I look forward to reading the next one.
June 15, 2014
I enjoyed this book but was left wondering at the end what was actually going on, so I suppose Ill have to read the next instalment and hopefully get some answers. A good read but somewhat lacking in places.
May 13, 2014
Good read
short but action packed book. definitely a quick read. look forward to the next one.
k.t.tomb is a very interesting writer.
short but action packed book. definitely a quick read. look forward to the next one.
k.t.tomb is a very interesting writer.
December 9, 2014
Not bad, but not great. needs more depth on character development. Might find time for follow up though.
January 13, 2015
An exciting adventure
The thrill of the quest for legends of the past keeps you wanting more. The story has a startling end but opens up even more adventure
The thrill of the quest for legends of the past keeps you wanting more. The story has a startling end but opens up even more adventure
August 15, 2016
Ok book, not great. Probably more like a 2.5. Ok story, characters were meh. Good for the length it was, nice and short.
September 17, 2022
The main character Phoe is kind of like a female version of Indiana Jones, only quirkier. Phoe is a treasure hunter and swears that she get more done working alone. She learned her craft by trial and error through her adventures. Treasure hunting supplies her with inventory for her store and hence her livelihood. Phoe’s finds are turned into replicas for sale. On her current mission she was forced to team up with her client’s son Jonathan. As she suspected he is delaying her in the pursuit of “Head of Olmec.” In fact it is too late, Phoe arch rival Peter has bested her and she is in a bit of a pickle. Jonathan’s life is in danger and she promised his father he would bring him back safely. With action packed skills Phoe manages to save both their lives. Upon returning to her store she is met by Simon Kessler, her client and Jonathan’s father. Simon informs Phoe that she owes him $45,000 for a failed mission but can cancel the debt if she accepts another quest. She doesn’t have a choice but she insists on cart blanche and sole say on who goes on the mission with her. Simon did not tell her what the quest would be but showed her a clipping. She thought it was a joke until she decided to watch her favorite Indian Jones movie. Nazis and Thor – Thor’s Hammer, of course, something thought to be a myth. Will she take on the quest? Who will she recruit to help? You will be pleasantly surprised. The characters in this story are memorable, relatable, complex and quirky. The story is exciting and entertaining. The scenery depicted complements the storyline and adds depth and dimension. I can’t wait to read Phoe’s next adventure in “The Spear of Destiny.”
March 24, 2024
I guess because I do read several books of this variety, I get suggestions for similar stories. This story falls into the artifact search type. As the story itself suggests more than once, it is inspired to some degree by Raiders of the Lost Ark. I found things to both like and dislike about this story.
I liked the globe trotting action. The quest for the artifact of the title provided an interesting challenge, with a little hint of the reason for the locations visited in the search. The climatic action was very imaginative. The length of the story was probably just about right before my rating would have dropped.
The biggest problem for me was the main character, Phoe, was not given any indicated background to have been made the lead of the story. Of the five characters that received any substantial time in the story, Phoe was, at best, qualified to be the second-in-command of the expedition. Some plot holes left me feeling sort of like I had a movie on, and I kept walking in and out of the room while it was playing, and I couldn't rewind to find out what I had missed.
Because of how short the story was, I will consider the next book in the series to see if there is further character development.
I liked the globe trotting action. The quest for the artifact of the title provided an interesting challenge, with a little hint of the reason for the locations visited in the search. The climatic action was very imaginative. The length of the story was probably just about right before my rating would have dropped.
The biggest problem for me was the main character, Phoe, was not given any indicated background to have been made the lead of the story. Of the five characters that received any substantial time in the story, Phoe was, at best, qualified to be the second-in-command of the expedition. Some plot holes left me feeling sort of like I had a movie on, and I kept walking in and out of the room while it was playing, and I couldn't rewind to find out what I had missed.
Because of how short the story was, I will consider the next book in the series to see if there is further character development.
June 26, 2020
Just ok
While the overall premise of this novel was good - a hunt for Thor’s hammer, the writing was amateurish and disappointing. The events sort of jerked along without rational connection. The book needed filling out.
While the overall premise of this novel was good - a hunt for Thor’s hammer, the writing was amateurish and disappointing. The events sort of jerked along without rational connection. The book needed filling out.
September 26, 2023
An Adventurous Tale
This is a fine tale of fiction!
The tale is delivered well thou I do not believe in fiction it is delivered as good story which I found tantalizing!
I will hold further comments until I have read more of the next book in the series
This is a fine tale of fiction!
The tale is delivered well thou I do not believe in fiction it is delivered as good story which I found tantalizing!
I will hold further comments until I have read more of the next book in the series
February 23, 2019
Lots of action!
Great book. Full of twists and turns, with Phoe having to work out a lot of puzzles fast to save lives even faster!
Great book. Full of twists and turns, with Phoe having to work out a lot of puzzles fast to save lives even faster!
March 24, 2019
Cute
I very much appreciated that this was a complete story and not one of those episode books.
Thank you Miss Tomb.
I very much appreciated that this was a complete story and not one of those episode books.
Thank you Miss Tomb.
October 30, 2019
Despite this being a very short book, I had to force myself to finish it. A very rushed and nonsensical story. I highly doubt I will try any more books in the series.
November 18, 2022
Once again I have found a good book in this story. I found it hard to put it down until the end.
February 15, 2025
Cool
This is a fun read. It has adventure, danger, and a bit of humor. I had a great time reading this story.
This is a fun read. It has adventure, danger, and a bit of humor. I had a great time reading this story.
February 2, 2016
This was a very quick and not unpleasant book to read. It seemed to me to be a not-that-well-thought-out knock off of an Indiana Jones story and the story being told in the present tense were a bit off-putting. However, I made it to the end not feeling bad about having read it. It probably would have struck me more positively if I were a teen, rather than the senior that I am.
January 29, 2016
Enjoyed it
This is a good read. I don't give spoilers so you have to find out for yourself, but the history alone is worth it. A few editing errors and not long enough but overall a good book. Wanting to read the second book clinches the deal for me in a series. So, off I go to read
This is a good read. I don't give spoilers so you have to find out for yourself, but the history alone is worth it. A few editing errors and not long enough but overall a good book. Wanting to read the second book clinches the deal for me in a series. So, off I go to read
October 6, 2016
Thankfully, this was a pretty short book (140 pages or so). It has a few interesting moments, but a lot of confusing activities (IMO), kind of difficult to follow some of the things that unfolded. Also thought the vocabulary of almost ALL the characters was very immature. I'll pass on anymore of this series and author.
August 19, 2014
It was ok at first. Hard to read near the end.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews