The Hammer and the Cross

By Harry Harrison,

Book cover of The Hammer and the Cross

Book description

In an alternate history set in A.D. 865, Shef, son of a Norse raider and an English lady, tries to carve out a kingdom of his own in England, while Christian kings and Viking worshippers of Asgard battle for the country's dominion.

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Hammer and the Cross as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I read this book whilst I was a teenager, and although it is an alternative history book, the depiction of Viking Age Britain, and the Vikings themselves had me hooked.

The battles and characters hook you in, and there is just enough of a fantasy element thrown in to make this novel almost perfect.

I think that Harry Harrison is one of the most undersung speculative fiction authors that no one has ever heard of. Except you have heard of him. Kinda. His story “Make Room, Make Room” was turned into the movie “Soylent Green” with Charlton Heston. (Turning old people into food was not in the original story.) 

Harrison’s books run the gamut. You want intergalactic Ocean’s Eleven? Try the Stainless Steel Rat series. You want ridiculous military science fiction? Bill, the Galactic Hero is what you’re looking for. You want to know what would have happened if Vikings had siege weapons and…

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When King Priam's pregnant daughter was fleeing the sack of Troy, Stan was there. When Jesus of Nazareth was beaten and crucified, Stan was there - one crossover. He’s been a Hittite warrior, a Silk Road mercenary, a reluctant rebel in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, and an information peddler…

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