A review by papidoc
The Nine Pound Hammer: Book 1 of the Clockwork Dark by John Claude Bemis

3.0

Not bad for a book targeted to young teens. While it was clearly oriented to that age level, I think when I was a teen, I would have really enjoyed this book. The Nine Pound Hammer is the first in a trilogy that weaves old American legends (John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, etc.) into a modern retelling and reimagining of those legendary figures. For example, the machine conquered by John Henry in the legend is, in this retelling, the embodiment of evil (Magog), given life and directed by a man bound to take over the world to his own evil purposes (Gog). The only ones standing in his way are the children of the legendary American heroes, endowed with budding powers by their parents.

I think any teen would enjoy these books, and it might inspire them to look back to the original American mythology. I hope so…sadly, those stories that used to be told around American hearths on cold winter evenings are rapidly being forgotten.