The Left Hand Of God by Paul Hoffman
Apr. 25th, 2010 01:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
”Listen. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie, for there is no redemption that goes on there and less sanctuary.”
The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place – a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers, whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose – to serve in the name of the One True Faith.
In one of the Sanctuary’s vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old – he is not sure, and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die.
His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless and deeply corrupt.
But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price ... not because of the secret he now knows, but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.
The Sanctuary is a brutal and isolated religious school used by the Redeemers to both train young boys into soldiers for a religious war that’s lasted for decades and indoctrinate them into the religion of the Hanged Redeemer. Cale is their star pupil – a teenager who excels in every discipline and who’s singled out for one-to-one training with Bosco, the Lord Militant.
Cale and his friends Klein and Vague Henry accidentally discover that disturbing experiments are being carried out in the Sanctuary. Rescuing a girl called Riba they accidentally kill the Lord of Discipline and are forced to escape. They make their way to the city of Memphis where the boys’ military talents attract the attention of Vipond Materazzi, the City’s second-in-command and Cale falls in love with Arbell Swan-Neck, Vipond’s cold and beautiful daughter. Seeing the chance of a new life, Cale is keen to stay but the Lord Militant wants Cale back will stop at nothing to get him – even if that means starting a war.
Hoffman’s fantasy is set in a well-developed world that utilises historical facts (notably the battle of Agincourt, which forms the basis for the concluding set-piece) and religion (i.e. the fanaticism of the Redeemers) to epic effect. However while the backdrop to the book is impressive, the same can’t be said for characters. None of them really come to life – especially Cale, a cold and distant character whose phenomenal talents are constantly described but rarely shown. Neither a hero nor an anti-hero, he’s simply not interesting enough to hold the attention.
Part of the problem lies in the style of narration, which is a very distant third person that’s almost omniscient at times and offers little chance to really get into Cale’s head. Key events, such as the development of his relationship with Arbell occur off-page, removing a much-needed humanising element and leaving only Cale’s brutal fighting skills as something that’s shown to the reader time and again.
There are few surprises within the text, with most of the events telegraphed, which robs them of suspense. The action scenes are blighted by the same sense of distance that dogs the characters and the key final battle reads like something out of a text book.
The novels ends with a set-up for a sequel but while the loose ends that remain aren’t interesting enough for me to want to read on.
The Verdict:
Although the world-building is an interesting mix of religion and military history that creates an epic feel, the characterisation and style of narration is too distant and cold for me to remain interested and Cale too dull to hold my attention.
The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place – a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers, whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose – to serve in the name of the One True Faith.
In one of the Sanctuary’s vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old – he is not sure, and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die.
His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless and deeply corrupt.
But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price ... not because of the secret he now knows, but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.
The Sanctuary is a brutal and isolated religious school used by the Redeemers to both train young boys into soldiers for a religious war that’s lasted for decades and indoctrinate them into the religion of the Hanged Redeemer. Cale is their star pupil – a teenager who excels in every discipline and who’s singled out for one-to-one training with Bosco, the Lord Militant.
Cale and his friends Klein and Vague Henry accidentally discover that disturbing experiments are being carried out in the Sanctuary. Rescuing a girl called Riba they accidentally kill the Lord of Discipline and are forced to escape. They make their way to the city of Memphis where the boys’ military talents attract the attention of Vipond Materazzi, the City’s second-in-command and Cale falls in love with Arbell Swan-Neck, Vipond’s cold and beautiful daughter. Seeing the chance of a new life, Cale is keen to stay but the Lord Militant wants Cale back will stop at nothing to get him – even if that means starting a war.
Hoffman’s fantasy is set in a well-developed world that utilises historical facts (notably the battle of Agincourt, which forms the basis for the concluding set-piece) and religion (i.e. the fanaticism of the Redeemers) to epic effect. However while the backdrop to the book is impressive, the same can’t be said for characters. None of them really come to life – especially Cale, a cold and distant character whose phenomenal talents are constantly described but rarely shown. Neither a hero nor an anti-hero, he’s simply not interesting enough to hold the attention.
Part of the problem lies in the style of narration, which is a very distant third person that’s almost omniscient at times and offers little chance to really get into Cale’s head. Key events, such as the development of his relationship with Arbell occur off-page, removing a much-needed humanising element and leaving only Cale’s brutal fighting skills as something that’s shown to the reader time and again.
There are few surprises within the text, with most of the events telegraphed, which robs them of suspense. The action scenes are blighted by the same sense of distance that dogs the characters and the key final battle reads like something out of a text book.
The novels ends with a set-up for a sequel but while the loose ends that remain aren’t interesting enough for me to want to read on.
The Verdict:
Although the world-building is an interesting mix of religion and military history that creates an epic feel, the characterisation and style of narration is too distant and cold for me to remain interested and Cale too dull to hold my attention.
