Hammer come down

Told in first person, HAMMER COME DOWN depicts the atypical life of Jason, man-servant to Tolin Cobb. Cobb's family developed a small plantation in Alabama in the 1820s; Jason was born there. He grows up knowing well the restraint demanded of a black man, yet always dreams of freedom. It is a mysterious concept to Jason, and as he moves toward it, he continually tries to define it. Jason's thoughts about his "master," Tolin Cobb (only two years older than Jason) provides a deeper look into slave life, confused by how different Tolin is from other slaveholders. Without white companions his age and fired by altruistic concepts learned from his mother, Tolin interacts with Jason on a compatible level, even providing Jason with basic education. The 1836 Creek Indian war changes the life of the two young men when the Cobb plantation is destroyed. Devastated by the loss of family and friends, Tolin takes them West. Here, Jason survives various adventures at Fort Laramie, Independence, Missouri, and in Indian Territory, and each shows him different levels of Freedom. Through a generous dollop of Fate, Jason even finds his true love who had been missing since the Alabama war, making the Freedom he attains much more complete than anything he imagined. Tense, dramatic and historically accurate, Hammer Comes Down records Jason's persistent desire for freedom, and his unique friendship with his one-time master, Tolin Cobb