Hammerfall
by C. J. Cherryh
The Gene Wars series #1
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My Rating: 
2 out of 5 stars
First Published: May 14th, 2004
Read from: Mar 28 – Aug 20, 2020
Waiting, and waiting, and waiting… for the Hammer to Fall.
I love most of Cherryh’s work, but not this one which took me forever to read, likely due in large part because the book was such a drag. The writing style and prose is often quite good as typical with Cherryh, but in the context of what occurs it is all so drawn out, repetitive, and monotonous that it was hard to enjoy and make it to the few interesting or truly emotional bits.
The novel is barely sci-fi in that it does deal some with how not one, but two genetic & nanotechnology engineers might effect an ecosystem, and how some might survive an extinction level event to adapt and construct a new ecosystem. But the majority of this overly-long novel is a fantasy telling of a quest-like mythic journey. It involves not one, but FOUR long journeys through the same and relatively barren desert landscape told in minute and boring detail. The main character is a bit of “Gary Stu” too, in my opinion.
Read it if you are a big C. J. Cherryh fan and completionist, but be prepared for the seemingly unending monotony. And if you have never read Cherryh before, do NOT start with this book.