Hammer of Witches - Hardcover

Seth Mlawski

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1600609872 ISBN 13: 9781600609879

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 2013

Synopsis

Baltasar Infante can weasel out of any problem with a good story.

But when he encounters a monster straight out of stories one night, Baltasar faces trouble even he can't talk his way out of. Captured by the Malleus Maleficarum, a mysterious witch-hunting arm of the Spanish Inquisition, Baltasar is put to the question. The Inquisitor demands he reveal the whereabouts of Amir al-Katib, a legendary Moorish sorcerer who can bring myths and the creatures within them to life.

Now Baltasar must escape, find al-Katib, and defeat a dreadful power that may destroy the world.

As Baltasar's journey takes him into uncharted lands on Columbus's voyage westward, he learns that stories are more powerful than he once believed them to be--and much more dangerous.

About this title

About the Author

Shana Mlawski lives in New York but has previously lived in Connecticut and Puerto Rico. You may have read one of her many articles or seen one of her popular infographics on the Overthinking It pop culture blog. In her other life she writes educational materials and teaches teenagers to read and write. HAMMER OF WITCHES is her first novel.

From Booklist

Mlawski combines the history of 1492 with a fantasy about Storytellers and witches in this debut novel. Fourteen-year-old Baltasar’s background is complicated. He has both Moorish and Jewish blood but is now Marrano; his long-gone father, al-Katib, is heroic to some, a horror to others; and Baltasar learns he is a Storyteller who can conjure up mythic characters. When Baltasar is caught by the witch hunters of the Spanish Inquisition, he flees aboard one of Christopher Columbus’ ships and heads for the New World, where unimaginable adventures await. The story is at its best when focusing on its array of intriguing characters: Jinni, the almost genie; Catalina, a girl with powers of her own; the Taíno shamans and rulers; and Baltasar himself, whose boyish charm is perpetually winning. But there is so much nonstop action, the characters and their connections to each other sometimes get lost. Fantasy lovers will relish the wide array of supernatural goings-on, and history buffs will enjoy reading the author’s notes, which explain where Mlawski has stuck to the script and where she takes wing. Grades 6-8. --Ilene Cooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1600609872
• ISBN 13: 9781600609879
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400