Books One to Three of the Heroes of Legend; Expanded Edition (Paperback)

In this series opener, Hammer's prose evokes the romantic diction and mythological complexity of the high fantasy genre, sometimes to an eye-rolling extent: - Kirkus Reviews...the author gets things started with an admirable economy. It's a 93-page novella, and readers will meet most of the major players by Page 6...so far the pacing is brisk and the world, if not completely unique, is quite fun. - Kirkus Reviews This story may not prove to be a crossover hit like some of the books that inspired it, but readers who love the fantasy genre will find much here to enjoy. - Kirkus Reviews A derivative but skillfully executed and engaging fantasy. - Kirkus Reviews Hammer writes with energy-the characters rush from one danger to another, always with high stakes and mysterious artifacts involved. - Kirkus Reviews The author's narrative technique of rapidly shifting viewpoints from chapter to chapter echoes a similar tactic by some of the bestselling writers in the fantasy genre, and for good reason: It keeps the story hurrying along in a compulsively readable way. - Kirkus Reviews Hammer is likewise skillful at changing tones; one chapter can be filled with high-stakes sorcerous tension, and the next can be, equally convincingly, lighthearted - Kirkus Reviews Readers encounter a very inventive world-one that features everything from Jinns to Greek mythology to Shaolin monks to the Monkey King, and in which the legions of Caesar can easily end up fighting hordes of vampires. - Kirkus Reviews Readers already up to speed on the many ongoing plot threads will find this volume a tense and fast-paced addition to Hammer's engaging fantasy world. - Kirkus Reviews- Hammer does a good job of orchestrating the book's suspenseful ending, which leads readers right on to the next installment. - Kirkus Reviews A colorful and hyperactive section of a larger multicultural fantasy epic. - Kirkus Reviews Over the four books of L.A. Hammer's Heroes of Legend series, the author draws from an impressive wealth of sources, including Eastern philosophy, classical mythology, early horror literature of the West, as well as standard, Tolkienesque fantasy elements that form the bedrock of the narrative structure. - BlueInk Reviews The stories, while somewhat derivative, offer an impressively complex, action-packed series of adventures featuring the orphaned, magical young prince Matthew, Princess Cybele, and archer Tristan. In their quest to defeat a vampire king named Drahkuhl (the nod to Bram Stoker's legendary baddie hardly feels coincidental), they find a rich and varied troupe of allies, from the wizard Eldarus to white wolves and dragons (nod to Game of Thrones) to an emperor named Caesar (nod to ancient Roman history) to gods, goddesses and spirits pulled from such avenues as ancient Celtic mythology, Buddhism and the Greek pantheon of gods. - BlueInk Reviews Taken singly, the four books of the series feel rather hurried as the author works to fit a surprising amount of action, plot and intrigue into the novella form. Yet Hammer's over arching vision for his characters has a sense of cohesiveness. Even as the heroes shuttle between adventures in short bursts and rapid perspective shifts, the format offers readers the space to find connections between the separate stories and elements. - BlueInk Reviews

L. A. Hammer has a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art Painting and Literature studies. In 2020 he was awarded to the Degree of Master of Arts, Writing and Literature, Specialising in Creative Writing. His Masters' exegesis was of a new King Arthur mash up, with Cleopatra, Robin Hood, Julius Caesar and Dracula, all rolled into the one adventure, and that's just a few of the planned names to feature in this symbolic reality where animals and humans fight side by side, and magicians are a rare breed. The exegesis was complemented with studies into Arthurian Celtic Legends of the 12th to 13th centuries A.D. such as Wolfram's Parzival, and looking at religious symbolism in such stories, as well as studying Joseph Campbell's hero journey, Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, Carl Jung, and other related texts, such as Nicholas J. Higham's King Arthur text, and Stephen Knight's texts on Robin Hood. This new series; Book One of the Heroes of Legend was first published May 2021.

Hammer has walked the Kokoda Track at age 16, and has swum with white tipped reef sharks on the Great Barrier Reef in northern Queensland at a similar age. His childhood holidays included many trips to Queensland, including Expo '88, and a crocodile cruise at night where he played spotlight boy at the front of the boat. He fed the giant milkfish at the Darwin Aquascene at about age 8. He has many fond memories of those days, as well as his high school studies at a country college where he flourished in his love for art, reading and writing, drama, though his passion for reading fantasy novels began at a much younger age.

Books Four to Five of Sons of Odin was published in print late 2020. There will be another 800 page Book Six at least, or perhaps a Books Six to Seven in one printed volume, with a possible middle series of six books that detail the early adventures of Highlander's son and grandson, Pendral and Rayne Dragonsword.