Ian Heller's Perūn's Hammer follows Rich Penton, a reporter working at the renowned Chicago-based RECON news show, who receives a strange video showing what seems to be a missile destroying Chicago. While admiring the surprising realism, he dismisses it and carries on as usual. That's what he intends to do, at least. But the video file keeps returning after being deleted, and no one knows how. Over the following days, more mysterious videos appear featuring various historical moments. As a seasoned investigative journalist, Rich, despite his initial skepticism, enlists the help of RECON's staff to get to the bottom of this enigma. Along the way, he becomes entangled in a larger, dangerous conspiracy as the extraordinary truth reveals itself.

The story starts strong, immediately introducing the mystery and keeping the fast pace and suspense throughout. While the theories, secret identities, and action scenes kept me hooked, what intrigued me the most were the tidbits of historical and scientific knowledge. Heller has done an exceptional job of researching and coming up with simple, engaging explanations on topics such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the Tulsa massacre, aerospace engineering, and the nature of time. These seemingly disparate subjects often shared surprising connections and were all neatly integrated into the plot, so reading about them never felt boring or aimless. I also found the characters compelling, especially when the novel explored the complex relationship between Rich, Angela, and Eliza. Overall, I highly recommend Perūn's Hammer to lovers of thrillers, especially if they enjoy science fiction and history.

Perūn’s Hammer by Ian Heller follows Rich Penton, a journalist who uncovers a potentially catastrophic threat to Earth—a large object, dubbed "Perūn’s Hammer," heading toward Chicago. While caring for his wife Angela, who suffers from Alzheimer's, Penton and his team at RECON investigate mind-boggling historical videos, some of which suggest time travel or potential alien technologies and seem to warn about the impending asteroid impact. As the investigation intensifies, Penton faces opposition from within his own organization, including his boss, Brendan Braswell, who seeks to suppress the information. Meanwhile, Russian agents and an assassin, Viktor Dyavol, pursue Penton to silence him. As the threat becomes more imminent, the team races against time, trying to alert the public and secure a deflection mission, all while battling political and covert forces determined to stop them.

Perūn’s Hammer by Ian Heller is a thrilling, high-stakes adventure that perfectly mixes historical trauma with contemporary geopolitics and cutting-edge science. The author's writing does well in the spinning of multiple plates, but what humanizes Penton the most in a story where the entire concept of humanity, and its future, is questioned, lies in his relationships with his wife Angela and Eliza. There is a lot of philosophical talk, but it rarely feels forced, which keeps the book intelligently paced and allows readers to stay in tune with the unfolding plot and the ramifications of what a head-in-the-sand approach will undoubtedly bring. Heller’s attention to detail, especially in the complicated mesh of AI, government conspiracies, and the investigation into ancient extraterrestrial warnings, all round out the story. It also comes across as timely and relevant. Overall, this is a thoughtful, smartly played, and heart-pounding book that will keep readers turning the pages until the very end.

Ian Heller shows readers a different side to what interference on Earth might look like in the science fiction thriller, Perūn’s Hammer. Rich Penton, lead reporter at RECON, receives videos showing impossible events, like the fate of Amelia Earhart, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and the Tulsa Race Massacre, all verified as accurate without signs of CGI. As he investigates the source and purpose of these videos, the team is sent a new clip depicting a future asteroid strike on Chicago. The discovery prompts a response from U.S. military and intelligence agencies, along with a Russian assassin determined to prevent the videos from being aired. As everything is moving the fate of the world forward, Penton has an additional responsibility to his wife as she succumbs to the effects of dementia.

Perūn’s Hammer by Ian Heller was very different than I believed it would be based on the blurb, and I mean this in the best possible way. I knew the premise was good and that it would make the story interesting, but this was pretty next-level. Setting his wife aside, which sounds terrible, but you'll have to bear with me here, the amount of resistance coming from so many different directions is the plot driver. Is it aliens? Is it advanced or even sentient AI? Both? What incentive would either have to even provide such a sophisticated warning? Penton's first-person point of view was amazing for me as a reader as it let me follow events in real time without any question about his understanding. In short, I loved this book and look forward to anything Heller publishes next. Very highly recommended.

As Rich Penton struggles to come to terms with gradually losing his wife Angela to early-stage Alzheimer's, he receives a strange video on his device. Unable to discern its origin or the sender, he deletes it. However, to his chagrin, the video reappears on his device and refuses to disappear despite his best efforts. As more videos mysteriously emerge, containing information that Rich knows should not exist, he enlists the help of his friend Eliza and his team at RECON to trace the source of the videos. Neither Rich nor his colleagues realize they have stumbled upon information of national significance, and some will go to great lengths to keep those videos concealed. Rich must navigate these unscrupulous forces as he deciphers the clues in a race against time in Perun's Hammer by Ian Heller.

Ian Heller draws inspiration from some of history's greatest mysteries as the foundation for the intricate world-building in Perun's Hammer. Rich's extensive professional background enhances his profound emotional connection with Eliza, offering an origin story for the main character while hinting at a complex love triangle involving him, Eliza, and Angela. These elements are sure to appeal to romance fans. Heller emphasizes the less significant facts behind each historical video, using a unique narrative style to immerse readers as they contemplate whether there is more to the puzzle than meets the eye. I particularly enjoyed the cloak-and-dagger-styled messages between the operatives of the different factions involved and the impressively detailed combat scenes. Perun's Hammer is a captivating fusion of historical fiction, action, and romance, skillfully combined in a way that makes it difficult to put down.