The Hammer of Eden

Doesn’t hold a candle to the Pillars of the Earth trilogy, nor the Century. Readable and entertaining although preposterous in concept, but that’s okay with a Beach Read kind of book. I was surprised Follett didn’t disclose the fates of the commune people… that made me think he was in a rush to finish and was just sort of phoning it in at the end.

Probably I will stick with his giant historical fiction books in future.

Excellent read. Ken Follett weaves a spellbinding story ... as usual. His characterization is so good that I found myself sympathizing with the "bad guys" ... until the end. This is a must read, especially if you like Follett.

What would you do to save your lifestyle? Could you create an earthquake? Would you create an earthquake with destruction and death? That's the premise of this book and of course you are pulled right into the narrative right from the start. Any book by Ken Follett is a winner.

reread 30/3/24. Still a great read. About the dangerous efforts of a man who has been hiding from his past in a commune in remote part of California for 25 years. When his community is threatened with eviction because of the building of a dam in their leased valley he decides to threaten the Governor with causing earthquakes if all future construction of power stations is not halted. The tension of the story is kept up with some milder interpersonal interactions that soften the story.

My least favorite of the three Follett novels I have read thus far, the Hammer of Eden is still clever and captivating. True to Follett's form, I found myself caring about and sometimes routing for the psychopathic villain while feeling the same for the brave heroine.

I was kind of surprised, after reading this, to see all the negative reviews here...I gather that most people's biggest complaint about The Hammer of Eden is just that it is not The Pillars of the Earth. I haven't read that yet---in fact, this is my first Follett novel---but I have read quite a few other thrillers of this type, and this one beats most of them hands down (way better than, for instance, Crichton's somewhat similar State of Fear).

True, there are a few questionable plot points, but no worse than most (and not nearly as bad as many) thrillers of this kind. And when I see people complaining about a lack of characterization, I wonder if we read the same book. I found most of the characters quite interesting, and some even show more compelling, and found myself sympathizing with even some of the villains---which I would say is perhaps the book's biggest flaw, if it is a flaw at all. The climax was a bit messy, the resolution not as satisfying as I would have liked, and the denouement in the final chapter a bit cliched (the obligatory brief statement of the fate of each character), but I enjoyed the ride on the way there. Okay, so it's not a piece of great literature, but on the whole I thought this was a pretty decent thriller. show less

In order to protect their commune their leader decides to use some technology to induce earthquakes. Holding the state of California to ransom things start going wrong for everyone. The only person who takes things seriously is taken for granted by her managers.

Readable if a bit predictable. A interesting thriller that does point out some ways to hold a state to ransom. Written before 9/11 it is an interesting look at terrorism before that time.