The Hammer of Eden

The Hammer of Eden is a technological thriller by Ken Follett. Published in 1998, it is one of around two-dozen novels written by Follett since the 1970s.

The novel begins in a vineyard in California owned and operated for twenty-five years by a hippie commune led by the charismatic Priest. The residents of the vineyard live in harmony with nature, while Priest uses the isolated location as a place to hide. As a former member of organized crime, he has been on the run from the law since the early 1970s.

However, Priest and his followers’ idyllic existence is interrupted when they receive word that the government of California plans to build a new power plant, damming the nearby river in the process and flooding the vineyard. Priest’s lover, Melanie, comes up with a way to set off an earthquake at will by using a seismic vibrator, a machine that sends pulses into the earth. Priest uses the information to threaten the government of California with a series of devastating earthquakes if their demands are not met.



Renaming themselves the Hammer of Eden, the group steals a seismic vibrator from an oil truck and uses talk radio host John Truth to broadcast their intentions. Few people take the threat seriously at first until a small earthquake strikes a remote area. Though the quake does not cause much damage, it is deemed too convenient to be a coincidence.

After that, Judy Maddox, a talented FBI agent, is assigned to the case. Having a grudge against her, Judy’s boss seeks to punish her by giving her an assignment that is considered a waste of time. However, Judy meets with seismologist Michael Quercus who informs her that the threat is real, and the terrorists are capable of generating a much larger earthquake.

Judy and Marcus set about trying to track down the Hammer of Eden. They have two small but significant clues to work from. The first is the missing seismic vibrator stolen from the oil-drilling rig, and the second is a telephone message from one of Priest’s followers to John Truth. They also find a potential lead in Bones, a drug addict and an old friend of Priest, and his lieutenant Star from before they started the commune. Though he is not loyal to the group, Bones has recently reconnected with Priest because he needs a place to stay.



Using audio data from the recorded message, Judy and her team construct profiles of three suspects that match Priest, Star, and Melanie. From this, Judy begins to suspect the group that lives on the vineyard. When she finds out about the proposed power plant and the motive it establishes, she becomes even more convinced. However, her superiors will not authorize a raid on the vineyard without more concrete evidence. Due to their hesitation, the hammer of Eden strikes again, making an earthquake occur in a small town.

Judy’s final lead comes shortly after when she realizes that Melanie is Marcus’s estranged wife. Melanie stole information on earthquake faults from Marcus and gave it to Priest so he would know where to position the seismic vibrator. After briefly reconnecting with Marcus, she tells him that she is living in a commune in Northern California, which helps Judy narrow down her search area. Marcus’ son, Dusty, is there with Melanie; Judy knows that he might be in danger if Priest realizes Marcus is helping with the FBI investigation.

Judy finds Priest’s commune by looking for places that are threatened by the construction of the power plant. She realizes that her agents had previously visited the commune but not realized that it was the place they were looking for. With the help of the local FBI office, Judy begins to plan a raid on the compound.



The raid progresses peacefully for the most part. Only Bones puts up resistance and is killed. Star is captured and all the children in the compound, including Dusty, are recovered safely. Priest and Melanie manage to flee ahead of the FBI. Though Star ties to help the FBI, she doesn’t know where they have gone. Soon after, Melanie calls Marcus to check up on Dusty. He manages to persuade her to tell him where the earthquake will be so that he can make sure Dusty is not in the area.

Judy uses Dust as a decoy, making it seem that he is in the area that will be affected by the earthquake. Melanie spots her son on television and calls Marcus again. This time, Judy manages to talk her into giving up the location of the seismic vibrator. She rushes to the location just in time to stop the earthquake, but Melanie is killed when she tries to stop Priest from triggering the vibrator.

Judy shoots Priest, though he manages to escape. He slips away from the police and returns to his vineyard where he waits for the flooding to start and drowns.