For the second novel set in Doskvol, every other chapter heading is an “origin story” about how one of the scoundrels got the underworld nickname. This one is for the Hammer.
Commander Tarrant assembled Tarrant’s Toolbox–code names for the four officers that managed the bloodiest work of the battlefields on Kronen’s Point, the Alabaster, Icerock Narrows, and the Chord naval engagement.
The Awl was his assassin, the Hacksaw handled scouting and ambushes on enemy supply lines and stockpiles. The Prybar was a terrorist interrogator; the mention of her title was enough to loosen resolve among the Skovs. Then there was the Hammer, a war leader with a gift for crushing enemy formations and fortifications. By the third year of the war, if word circulated that the Hammer was headed for a fortification, there were even odds the defenders would pull back before he arrived, leaving their strong points empty.
Tarrant was arrogant and he felt success made him untouchable, so when he caught a bullet at Flatstone and his command was split up among rival commanders, they had little interest in preserving his tactics or his legacy. The Awl turned up dead, and the other three disappeared; since they operated with code names, they could still be in the military now for all we know.
From the “History of the Skovlan Unity War, volume III” by Hubert Cacrassi
Doskvol novels?
I’m doing the final edits to the first one incorporating John Harper’s notes, and the second one is well underway.
https://www.patreon.com/andrewshields
Very cool. Will there be a audio version?
The current plan is an ebook and print on demand.
Andrew Shields well, if you decide you want to do an audio edition, I am a narrator with a recording booth.