Hammer of the Huguenots (Heroes & History)

Plot Summary:Set during the mid 1500's, France is determined to maintain the maxim "One king, one law, one religion" - the one religion being Catholicism. But no matter how hard the Pope or Catherine de Medici try, the faithful teachings of the Reformers are carried throughout all France and their followers are called Huguenots. The protagonist, Philippe, a lonely orphan, is good friends with two of the children (Maurice and his sister Sophia) of one such Huguenot family. Their ways bewilder but draw Philippe as he observes their lifestyle. When open war is declared against the Huguenots, whose cause will Philippe join?The book started off a little slow but really picked up toward the end. The characters are fairly well developed. Sophia does some things which, realistically, a woman during her era would never do (ride out on a horse to help her brother who has gone to join the war). So while not the best of Douglas Bond (the Crown & Covenant Series and the Faith & Freedom Series rank highest in my opinion), it's still worth the read.Violence:Several descriptions are given of the atrocities committed against Huguenots by Catholic forces. They are, however, discreet. Nevertheless, I wouldn't give this book to a child under the age of 10 or 11.Romance:Sophia is described as a beautiful young lady and Philippe takes notice of her on several occasions. He however forces himself to think of her as a sister. Thus, the possibility of a romantic relationship between them is left unexplored and open-ended, for which I'm grateful.

I used this as a read aloud during our study of the Huguenots and this time period. We had a hard time staying with it until the end, and I ended up skipping parts just to get through it. Like another reviewer said, the characters were not well developed so that you would care about them. The writer's style is also very wordy and tedious and repetitive. He would unnecessarily describe something in four or five similar ways. He also seemed to use extensive vocabulary that did not really enhance the book at all. It felt like he was trying to show that he could use big words and extensive description, but like I said, it did not make the story better, but instead just bogged it down. The book also had several preachy parts, and while I have nothing against a bit of that in a Christian historical fiction, it read more like a sermon in some areas, and overall, like the other reviewer said, like a history book. I was hoping this book would be better because I would have been interested in buying more of his books, but I would not now.

I wanted to like this book because I have loved all of Douglas Bond's book. In his other books I really bonded with the characters, especially his last book Hand of Vengeance. This book just seemed like a history lesson to me. I did not feel like the characters were well developed so that you really got o know them. It seemed like a history book with some fictional characters added in to help make it interesting. I had a hard time staying with the book and finishing it. This just did not seem to measure up to the other books he wrote. If you want to learn about the Huguenots then this is a good book for that, but his other books were much better and more exciting.

This is an excellent book. Douglas Bond has done it again and told a gripping and exciting tale about the Huguenot persecution and what kinds of things went on in that time period. I love the way that Mr. Bond writes, it is very engaging to the point where its hard to put his books down.

I have often wondered about the reformation in France and the Hugenots and this historical novel explains so much in a well written way that is a good story blended with history and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Before reading this book, I may have heard of the Huguenots before, but I certainly didn't quite know exactly what they stood for that made them famous in the annals of history. Now that I learned more about the Reformation era, I am overwhelmed with the bold faith that the Huguenots exhibited. Wow, these people were strong! Plus, by reading all about it in a fictional setting, I was immersed into an intriguing storyline...So, I learned some amazing history. Like how it would have been sedition to the king to sing psalms or recite holy scripture in French, instead of Latin. So many thousands of Huguenots died in the cause of the Reformation; a total extermination decree was issued against them in 1569. Who were these people? Peaceful men from families of “merchants, shipbuilders, stonecutters, farmers, fishermen, blacksmiths.”There's a particular character who really stood out to me, and I thought I should mention it here. Dearest Sophie. I thought of her more as a “background” character for quite a while, and wasn't expecting much from her, with all the other events going on, but I was certainly surprised by her actions. She knocks in out of the park in this novel... What bravery this girl has!!Douglas Bond has a fascinating vocabulary. In addition to him being able to filter SO MUCH history into a dramatic story, he also knows how to insert such interesting words, some of which I had use “ye olde dictionary” for. I should mention though, there are some chapters in the book which seem long-winded, and the reader takes in a lot of historical accounts at once (I was extremely pleased with the short chapters to quickly break up the harder reading). The government and politics play a huge part in the story, there are lots of speeches to read through too. I'm only mentioning this to say that this book is not “fluffy” or light historical fiction; it's deep and has a lot of information to share with you. That's fine though, because I was completely engrossed in it.I think this is a serious story that Christians need to hear. It may have happened in France a few hundred years ago, but we need to know how people of our faith were persecuted for what they believed in. There are elements of history that ring true to modern times; we can find some relatable bits, like how in their times, teaching in school about Reformed Christianity is an act of treason (and was punishable by death, my goodness). At least we're not in a religious war right now, but these things really happened.“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”- Chapter 23, Hammer of the HuguenotsChristian families especially will love this novel, the strong and bold type of faith it displays, and the history it imparts on its readers.There is revival, victory, and hope to be found in Hammer of the Huguenots.Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this book; I was not required to post a review.