Hammer of Witches

The story is heavily punctuated with fantasy violence that draws a fair amount of blood. Zombie-like creatures come up from the earth, and desiccated corpses litter the ground after a battle. Some of the imagery is bloody and gory, but all fantasy based. The strongest example is when Baltasar fantasizes about wanting to kill his Inquisitor; he wants to "crack open his stupid face and watch the blood spill from his blubber."

Baltasar kisses Catalina once and he's not wearing a shirt. Nudity is mentioned but no body parts are described. Adults and 14-year-old Baltasar make jokes with sexual innuendo, including a joking reference to virgin sacrifices and orgies. Women are sometimes depicted as sexual objects, and an instance of rape is implied without any detail or even the word "rape." Baltasar tells a story of a girl called "Dirty Mary" who's debauched, and the men imply they'd like to sleep with her. The queen of a Taino tribe is mentioned as wearing only a skirt and described as having a voluptious body. The Author's Note at the end assumes we knew that history debates whether one of the characters had syphilis and talks about whether that might be true.

People say "hell" and "damn" about a dozen times. There's one instance of "ass" and one of "whore." Early on there are several name-calling instances toward Jews ("Christ-killer," "dirty Jew") probably accurate to the time and part of the hero's identity quest.

Salty sea dogs smell of alcohol and sometimes seem to be drunk. Fourteen-year-old Baltasar wishes once he had wine to help him forget, and he tells us that he drank cheap wine with friends in the past. A Taino village leader chews "cohiba" leaves, presumably tobacco but it's never called by that name.

Parents need to know that Hammer of Witches isn't about witches at all. Fourteen-year-old Baltasar conjures and battles magical creatures to save the world. The story is heavily punctuated with fantasy violence that draws a fair amount of blood. Zombie-like creatures come up from the earth, and desiccated corpses litter the ground after a battle. Some of the imagery is bloody and gory. There are at least three strong female characters, but women are several times depicted as sexual objects. Many of the conjured creatures are epically destructive; some are helpful, and some are zombie-scary. There's some mild salty-sailor swearing ("hell," "damn") and one instance each of "ass" and "whore," and some anti-Semitic epithets directed at the hero.