"The Eagle's Hammer"
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“It’s hammer time.”
You notice your child is sitting way too close to the television, with anticipation and hyper fixation to watch his American idol go to work. You are anxious too, but not out of excitement, or because your child may go blind at a young age, but due to fearing the possibility that it could be a member of your family that is killed in cold blood on the most popular government-mandated network broadcast that streams live and uncut - “The Eagle’s Hammer”.
You notice your child is sitting way too close to the television, with anticipation and hyper fixation to watch his American idol go to work. You are anxious too, but not out of excitement, or because your child may go blind at a young age, but due to fearing the possibility that it could be a member of your family that is killed in cold blood on the most popular government-mandated network broadcast that streams live and uncut - “The Eagle’s Hammer”.
Readability
“The Eagle’s Hammer” by Christopher Kügler has a different kind of writing style than what I am used to. The narrative is mostly told from a first person point of view by the main character(Taylor Evans), but what’s abnormal about this story in particular is that it will occasionally break the fourth wall or straight up slip into second person (the whole prologue is written in second person) and the entire novel is in present tense.
This is actually the first indie author that I’ve come across that’s tried to utilize present tense in their prose. I got used to it pretty quickly, and I think for the most part it fit the whole dystopian telecast narrative, because it creates the illusion that all the action is unfolding in real time. However, the whole second person perspective and fourth-wall breaking moments were the biggest drawbacks for the reading experience.
All throughout the novel there were periodic mentions of “you”, and what “you” are currently doing. I think these bits were meant to immerse “you” into the story, but the issue is that the author decided to mention that “you” have a husband. At that point, I was thinking that maybe the main character was talking about someone specific that I would discover later, but nope. There’s never any explanation as to who “you” is meant to be. This is why second person perspective can be a bitch to read, because it creates a layer of confusion. “You” as in who exactly are you talking to? Is it “you”, as in me (the reader), or “you” as in another character that the mc is currently speaking to directly? If “you” was meant to refer directly to the reader, and place them into the story, then the fact that the author decided to give that character a husband tells me that he may be out of touch with who the target demographic is for the action/adventure genre. Aside from that obvious shortcoming, the story unfolds with a compelling pace, but as the plot unravels the narrative loses continuity (especially towards last third of the novel).
Creativity
“The Eagle’s Hammer” is about a megalomaniacal television network that broadcasts onsite executions of alleged domestic terrorists. These televised executions are carried out by a tactical team of elite “hammers” named (you guessed it) The Eagle’s Hammer - of which, Taylor Evans is the proverbial and patriotic poster child. The whole ordeal is introduced as a grandiose production, with a crew of staff working behind the scenes and a fleet of camera drones to capture all the dramatic tension as well as the coveted money shot. When the stage is set there is this twisted sense of spectacle and a downright gratuitous vibe that feels reminiscent of “The Running Man” (1987).
I’d like to say that there is an element of fantasy/SF to the story, but that would imply that the grotesque nature of a government sponsored snuff show would be too far-fetched to feel believable. The fact of the matter is that I can’t help but think about all the times I’ve seen people on social media shamelessly using body-cam footage from police departments to create their own content that satisfies the perverted sensibilities plaguing the internet at large (whether it be for cheap laughs, for serving a political agenda, or just for the benefit of garnering attention by exploiting people’s morbid curiosity). So in this way, the narrative has a dark and gritty vibe to it, but the plot is also jam packed with nonstop action.
Delivery
Probably the best part of this novel is the set up. It was so nice that the author decided he had to do it twice, because there’s a prologue that introduces the reader to The Network and the Eagle’s Hammer, but then there is a second round of introductions when the Eagle’s Hammer goes on its first mission in the story. The story provides a rundown of their whole protocol of the operation; so the prologue should have been cut and the reader would have picked up on the details through show (pun intended), instead of telling with exposition ahead of time and then showing them through their actions. It’s just redundant.
“The Eagle’s Hammer” is a character focused story that’s driven by the actions of Taylor Evans (the main Hammer). The Hammers are described as “perfection incarnate”, and they are raised from childhood and indoctrinated to be the most effective cold-blooded killers capable of pulling off the kill shot without showing so much as a shred of remorse. This is important to note, because the inciting incident (from what I could tell) all boils down to a new and attractive employee giving Taylor Evans a “look”, before one of his missions, which somehow prompts him (in his mind, maybe telepathically?) to make a dramatic shift in character. I was thinking to myself, am I reading an episode of “Seinfeld” here? I could picture Jerry and George chatting it up in the diner:
“Why did you do that, George?”
“There was a new woman at work!”
“And?”
“She gave me a look,” George said before taking a sip of coffee.
Jerry paused for a moment. “A look?” he asked with a grin on his face.
“It was a look.” (Cue canned laughter)
“What kind of look are we talking about here?”
“It looked like I had to make some changes in my life.”
Jerry shook his head, squinted at George and said, “Would you look at that.”
(Cue canned laughter)
After a moment of silence, Jerry asked George, “Just one look?”
“That’s all it took!” George said with a sudden burst of energy while throwing his hands in the air.
(Cue canned laughter and applause)
So because Taylor’s character literally becomes obsessed with this woman at first sight, he decides that he isn’t going to pull the trigger on his target, but instead he’s going to turn on his squad and become a renegade. From there the story becomes a little bit of a cat and mouse thriller, with some drama sprinkled in as Taylor becomes acquainted with the folks who saved his ass when he was being hunted. The same kind of folks he was used to hunting, himself. It turns out that there’s an underground band of freedom fighters trying to take down The Network.
The plot features car chases, big explosions, gun fights galore, but also a lack of direction. Much like Taylor Evans, both the plot and his character are flying by the seat of their pants. After Taylor escapes from The Network, he ends up having to square off against his former colleagues from the Hammer squad, which is fine, but that’s not where the story ends. About two thirds of the way into the story, Taylor’s mother is dragged into the mix out of nowhere, and it appears as though she was really just used as an excuse for Taylor and the funky bunch to make one more trip back to The Network HQ for a grand finale.
The ending was weird. There’s this whole attempt to pull the rug out from under the reader and the main character via gaslighting, but it really just struck me as a pointless “surprise it was all a dream” type of conclusion. Was any of it real? Did everything actually transpire the way Taylor thought it did? Who was lying and who was telling the truth? And perhaps a bit of that could have been the author’s cheeky way of shedding light on the deceptive nature of network television, but that’s just me speculating.
“The Eagle’s Hammer” by Christopher Kügler has a different kind of writing style than what I am used to. The narrative is mostly told from a first person point of view by the main character(Taylor Evans), but what’s abnormal about this story in particular is that it will occasionally break the fourth wall or straight up slip into second person (the whole prologue is written in second person) and the entire novel is in present tense.
This is actually the first indie author that I’ve come across that’s tried to utilize present tense in their prose. I got used to it pretty quickly, and I think for the most part it fit the whole dystopian telecast narrative, because it creates the illusion that all the action is unfolding in real time. However, the whole second person perspective and fourth-wall breaking moments were the biggest drawbacks for the reading experience.
All throughout the novel there were periodic mentions of “you”, and what “you” are currently doing. I think these bits were meant to immerse “you” into the story, but the issue is that the author decided to mention that “you” have a husband. At that point, I was thinking that maybe the main character was talking about someone specific that I would discover later, but nope. There’s never any explanation as to who “you” is meant to be. This is why second person perspective can be a bitch to read, because it creates a layer of confusion. “You” as in who exactly are you talking to? Is it “you”, as in me (the reader), or “you” as in another character that the mc is currently speaking to directly? If “you” was meant to refer directly to the reader, and place them into the story, then the fact that the author decided to give that character a husband tells me that he may be out of touch with who the target demographic is for the action/adventure genre. Aside from that obvious shortcoming, the story unfolds with a compelling pace, but as the plot unravels the narrative loses continuity (especially towards last third of the novel).
Creativity
“The Eagle’s Hammer” is about a megalomaniacal television network that broadcasts onsite executions of alleged domestic terrorists. These televised executions are carried out by a tactical team of elite “hammers” named (you guessed it) The Eagle’s Hammer - of which, Taylor Evans is the proverbial and patriotic poster child. The whole ordeal is introduced as a grandiose production, with a crew of staff working behind the scenes and a fleet of camera drones to capture all the dramatic tension as well as the coveted money shot. When the stage is set there is this twisted sense of spectacle and a downright gratuitous vibe that feels reminiscent of “The Running Man” (1987).
I’d like to say that there is an element of fantasy/SF to the story, but that would imply that the grotesque nature of a government sponsored snuff show would be too far-fetched to feel believable. The fact of the matter is that I can’t help but think about all the times I’ve seen people on social media shamelessly using body-cam footage from police departments to create their own content that satisfies the perverted sensibilities plaguing the internet at large (whether it be for cheap laughs, for serving a political agenda, or just for the benefit of garnering attention by exploiting people’s morbid curiosity). So in this way, the narrative has a dark and gritty vibe to it, but the plot is also jam packed with nonstop action.
Delivery
Probably the best part of this novel is the set up. It was so nice that the author decided he had to do it twice, because there’s a prologue that introduces the reader to The Network and the Eagle’s Hammer, but then there is a second round of introductions when the Eagle’s Hammer goes on its first mission in the story. The story provides a rundown of their whole protocol of the operation; so the prologue should have been cut and the reader would have picked up on the details through show (pun intended), instead of telling with exposition ahead of time and then showing them through their actions. It’s just redundant.
“The Eagle’s Hammer” is a character focused story that’s driven by the actions of Taylor Evans (the main Hammer). The Hammers are described as “perfection incarnate”, and they are raised from childhood and indoctrinated to be the most effective cold-blooded killers capable of pulling off the kill shot without showing so much as a shred of remorse. This is important to note, because the inciting incident (from what I could tell) all boils down to a new and attractive employee giving Taylor Evans a “look”, before one of his missions, which somehow prompts him (in his mind, maybe telepathically?) to make a dramatic shift in character. I was thinking to myself, am I reading an episode of “Seinfeld” here? I could picture Jerry and George chatting it up in the diner:
“Why did you do that, George?”
“There was a new woman at work!”
“And?”
“She gave me a look,” George said before taking a sip of coffee.
Jerry paused for a moment. “A look?” he asked with a grin on his face.
“It was a look.” (Cue canned laughter)
“What kind of look are we talking about here?”
“It looked like I had to make some changes in my life.”
Jerry shook his head, squinted at George and said, “Would you look at that.”
(Cue canned laughter)
After a moment of silence, Jerry asked George, “Just one look?”
“That’s all it took!” George said with a sudden burst of energy while throwing his hands in the air.
(Cue canned laughter and applause)
So because Taylor’s character literally becomes obsessed with this woman at first sight, he decides that he isn’t going to pull the trigger on his target, but instead he’s going to turn on his squad and become a renegade. From there the story becomes a little bit of a cat and mouse thriller, with some drama sprinkled in as Taylor becomes acquainted with the folks who saved his ass when he was being hunted. The same kind of folks he was used to hunting, himself. It turns out that there’s an underground band of freedom fighters trying to take down The Network.
The plot features car chases, big explosions, gun fights galore, but also a lack of direction. Much like Taylor Evans, both the plot and his character are flying by the seat of their pants. After Taylor escapes from The Network, he ends up having to square off against his former colleagues from the Hammer squad, which is fine, but that’s not where the story ends. About two thirds of the way into the story, Taylor’s mother is dragged into the mix out of nowhere, and it appears as though she was really just used as an excuse for Taylor and the funky bunch to make one more trip back to The Network HQ for a grand finale.
The ending was weird. There’s this whole attempt to pull the rug out from under the reader and the main character via gaslighting, but it really just struck me as a pointless “surprise it was all a dream” type of conclusion. Was any of it real? Did everything actually transpire the way Taylor thought it did? Who was lying and who was telling the truth? And perhaps a bit of that could have been the author’s cheeky way of shedding light on the deceptive nature of network television, but that’s just me speculating.
#LFLR Indie Rating: 5/10
I liked the concept behind the story, and premise was okay, but the writing style was peculiar and the plot needed more work. The author’s creativity really boosted my rating for “The Eagle’s Hammer”, but unfortunately in terms of structure and execution there was more for me to criticize than praise in that regard. Ironically, Christopher Kügler works in broadcast media. He has allegedly received multiple Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards as a videographer/editor. His other novel entitled “O.L.D. – A Good Way to Die” is an action adventure involving secret societies, espionage, and the threat of nuclear warfare.
I liked the concept behind the story, and premise was okay, but the writing style was peculiar and the plot needed more work. The author’s creativity really boosted my rating for “The Eagle’s Hammer”, but unfortunately in terms of structure and execution there was more for me to criticize than praise in that regard. Ironically, Christopher Kügler works in broadcast media. He has allegedly received multiple Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards as a videographer/editor. His other novel entitled “O.L.D. – A Good Way to Die” is an action adventure involving secret societies, espionage, and the threat of nuclear warfare.
THIS BREAKDOWN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE #LFLR NETWORK.