The Left Hand of God (The Left Hand of God, #1) by Paul Hoffman

Dec 24, 2011 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: signed-first-or-limited-edition, fantasy, dark-and-gritty, 2006-2010, audiobook, kings-of-badassia

Tis the season…

...and this book sorta grinched my jolly with some flaws, faults and literary faux pas that marred what could have been a terrific tale. However, before I hand the keyboard over to Captain Critical for the inevitable feeling-bruising remarks to come, let me start off chummy and Kris Kringley by stating that the novel’s literate prose and compelling main character were of sufficient quality to raise this to the 3rd floor of the Rating Star Building. That is the "I like it" floor....more

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Aug 26, 2011 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: readers of darker coming of age novels

Shelves: audiobook, library-checkout, fantasy, the-chosen-one, outcast, very-dark-read, ninja-samurai-martial-artist, soldier-or-military, warrior, religion-plays-a-big-role, antihero, coming-of-age, 2011-reading

The Left Hand of God starts out very dreary and grim. It was hard going reading such a dark story, but I found Cale's character compelling enough to keep reading. Reading books in which most of the religious people are the bad guys is difficult for me. Especially when the religion is either Christianity or a thinly veiled, ugly version of what people assume Christianity is. It seems as though Christianity is the religion that gets the most criticism in fiction, and this book is no different. Of...more The Left Hand of God starts out very dreary and grim. It was hard going reading such a dark story, but I found Cale's character compelling enough to keep reading. Reading books in which most of the religious people are the bad guys is difficult for me. Especially when the religion is either Christianity or a thinly veiled, ugly version of what people assume Christianity is. It seems as though Christianity is the religion that gets the most criticism in fiction, and this book is no different. Of course, some tenets are slightly different. But if you are familiar with Christian beliefs, it's clear to see where Hoffman is going here. Think Spanish Inquisition and Mad Monks, and you won't be far off. I won't spend too much more of this review 'ranting' about such things. The churchs of my faith have done enough damage throughout history to draw some negative views from people. But after a while, it's like shooting fish in a barrel, really. Are there bad Christians? Certainly. Are there decent Christians? Certainly. But, more often than not, 'we' get to be the bad guys. Oh well. Despite this unbalanced and rather unfair view of the Christian church, I was still able to enjoy this book, because Cale is a character that draws all this reader's interest back to him. And as magnetic as Cale is, Mr. Hoffman managed to populate this novel with a lot of other interesting characters, from Vague Henry, Kliest, Idris Pook, the Chancellor, Cale's first love, Arbell (who I never grew to like), and the various Matarrazzi citizenry. Also, the humor was very good. Extremely dark and sarcastic, but funny all the same.

One of my friends on GRs remarked that the book seems to have a split personality. I completely agree. The first part seemed like a relentlessly dark story of religious zealotry, and its deleterious effects on young boys. I thought the whole book would be about the boys trying to escape its effect. However, the story turns into a not quite as dark, but still murky coming of age story in which we see a young man go from point A to point Z, and how it affects him. It left me a bit confused at how to take this story. I think that Mr. Hoffman had so much fun writing that he sort of lost his sense of direction. Despite that fact, this was still a very good book. My tastes are odd enough that I can enjoy dark material (depending on the execution), although I am an unrepentant consumer of happy ever after stories. The crucial ingredient that causes me to love a book, or even like it, is a pull towards the characters or the story, and that can overule my desire for happy, sunny reads. In this case, Cale is that sort of character. I listened to this on audio, and I was seduced into a dependence on hearing Cale's story. He's an interesting kid. He scares a lot of people, annoys most others, and inspires a strange sort of loyalty in the rest that they don't quite get, nor does Cale. He's not even the nicest guy. But he shows a sense of honor that causes him to do the right thing, even when his pragmatic nature tells him not to. I hope that he doesn't listen to the junk that the Redeemers seem to want to feed him, about his darkness, his curse, and his true mission. I don't believe that about him at all. I do believe he is a very dangerous person. But why can't that darkness in him be used for good? I think it can.

Towards the end of this book, I listened with a very strong sense of dread. I knew that things weren't going to end well, but I couldn't not listen. I just have to know what is going to happen to Cale. He's important to me, and that means I will be reading the next book: The Last Four Things.

Thoughts on the audiobook narration: The British narrator has a beautiful, smooth voice, with a certain element that lends itself very well to the sinister aspects of this story. He has an ability to employ an almost monotone delivery (lending a paradoxically dark, sharp edge to the violent and also the humorous elements) that he employs in quite the right way to surround the listener with an atmosphere that brings this story to life. I would recommend listening to this book on audio if you can find it.

Recommendation: I would advise those who don't like dark subject matter not to read this novel. However, if you don't enjoy dark stories, but you like very compelling, enigmatic characters, you might find yourself compelled to read it anyway, like I was. (less)

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Mar 18, 2011 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In the hellish Sanctuary of the Redeemer, young boys are trained from the age of five to be unthinking soldiers. Cale, the most promising, is singled out for punishment for the most trivial offenses. One day, Cale stops a Redeemer from dissecting a girl and he and his two friends Vague Henri and Kleist, escape the Sanctuary and go on the lam. Can they stop the Redeemers from conquering the world?

First of all, I'm pissed that there's no indication on the cover that this is the first book in a tri...more

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May 09, 2013 JJ DeBenedictis rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a seriously odd little book. The writing is very good, and the author does a great job of sucker-punching you with the fact this world's mythology is a disturbingly-warped version of Christianity, but it wouldn't be accurate to say I liked the book. The three stars are more because it's so memorable.

The story is intensely cynical, and I can see some readers being delighted by how brutal its view of humanity is and other readers being very put off by the same fact. The book is fairly soph...more

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Aug 13, 2010 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook

Alternate reality, pseudo-history, or distant future Paul Hoffman’s The Left Hand of God takes known elements of Christianity and history and weaves them into a dark and fascinating story that will grab you and drag you forward. Thomas Cale is an orphan apprenticed to the Redeemers; a harsh order of warrior monks and fanatics devoted to a twisted version of Christianity (with definite Catholic overtones) to the point of fanaticism. Subject to cruelty not limited to daily beatings and insufficien...more Alternate reality, pseudo-history, or distant future Paul Hoffman’s The Left Hand of God takes known elements of Christianity and history and weaves them into a dark and fascinating story that will grab you and drag you forward. Thomas Cale is an orphan apprenticed to the Redeemers; a harsh order of warrior monks and fanatics devoted to a twisted version of Christianity (with definite Catholic overtones) to the point of fanaticism. Subject to cruelty not limited to daily beatings and insufficient nutrition, Cale is finally confronted with a horror even he cannot tolerate. The resulting conflict sends Cale and his friends Vague Henry and Kleist on the run into a new and dangerous world far different from what they’ve experience at the Sanctuary.

The Left Hand of God is not a happy book. Cale is subjected to abject cruelty and Hoffman’s clear and unflinching prose describes the beatings and harsh indoctrination to the teaching of the Hanged Redeemer in no uncertain terms. Narrator Steve West quiet, staid voice gives that unrelenting prose the sense of a secret being told the listener and left me almost leaning forward to listen in anticipation. While there are many great audiobook narrators out there it is always a wondrous thing when a publisher manages to pair together an author and narrator whose distinctive styles mesh into a synthesis that elevates the talent of both to a level beyond the text. Such is the case here and I expect that I connected more with this book through West’s narration than I might have had I read the novel myself.

Cale is a fascinating character who we observe from the outside. While the third person narration frequently offers insight that we wouldn’t normally have it remains curiously pulled back leaving us to guess at Cale’s true motivations and highlighting his moral ambiguity. Indeed, as we learn more about Cale he becomes something of an avatar of violence; neither good nor bad outright but unpredictable and nigh inscrutable. His humanity seems scoured away by the brutality he has experienced at the hands of the Redeemers; a fact accented by the disturbing “gift” he displays as the novel wears on. That lack of humanity in what amounts to our main character is highlight by his companions Vague Henri and Kleist who offer both compassion and humor respectively to balance Cale’s cold and dour demeanor.

For all of Hoffman’s clarity in describing the brutal violence of his world he has some frustrating tendencies; particularly a habit of building up a scene a bit more than necessary. This was most notable in the buildup to Cales fight against Solomon Solomon in the arena. The description of the arena and its inhabitants, while apt, only served as a means to delay the confrontation itself. Once that confrontation did occur I felt that the added description did little to enhance what occurred. Similarly he occasionally veers away from the main characters to focus on inconsequential minor characters notably during the final climatic battle at the novel’s end where again I felt that diversion offered little in service to the events that eventually occurred. Again, as if in contrast to his clear vision, Hoffman has a tendency towards vaguery when it comes to the world at large and curiously leaves some plot points unexplained. At its best this leaves the reader fascinated and hungry for more information about a specific character. Particularly with Kitty the Hare I felt that Hoffman’s lack of a complete description aided the aura of menace to the nefarious figure. At the same time the mention of the “heretics” in the Redeemer Sanctuary is a fascinating angle left largely unexplored. Beyond the acknowledgement of heretical practices Hoffman doesn’t explain the strange item Cale finds during his initial escape from the Sanctuary, the presence of Riba, or what the aims of the heretics actually were.

None of the above really detracted from my overall enjoyment of The Left Hand of God. While the world building leaves a lot to be desire and is more than a little confusing the strength of Hoffman’s prose allowed me skirt around the problem with no (or at least very few) qualms. Not quite fantasy, not quite historical fiction The Left Hand of God is a dark book that mature readers, adult or teen, will like find enjoyable. The audiobook version is a wonderful production and Steve West’s narration is amazing and engaging. The saddest thing about The Left Hand of God, and probably my only complaint, is that I’ve heard absolutely nothing about the sequel.(less)

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Mar 25, 2012 Anna rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-packed, badass-dude, brain-junkfood, gods-and-whatnot, grungy, horror-stories, i-have-no-idea-where-i-bought-this, i-m-bad-and-i-know-it, mind-fucked, psyco-people, relegious-crap

To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to expect when I started this book. From what my friends had told me about it, it was a much anticipated release in 2010 and later everyone gave positive reviews on it so I felt compelled to dusty it up and start reading it.

However, I wasn't impressed. The whole thing is fast paced and full of action but it lacks that depth of plot that makes a novel make you want to reread it over and over again. Hoffman concentrated more on creating a dynamic story rat...more

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May 14, 2011 Kira rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Marvelous. The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman is piece of art. There was no overkill of violence and suspense was constant down to the very last word. The only part of this book which I didn’t like was the cliff-hanger ending. I want the sequel to come to Asia faster! The protagonist, Thomas Cale is described as the cold hallways of a haunted house. He expresses limited emotion and it isn’t until well near the end that he is human. Yet he remains somewhere in between a flat and round character...more

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May 27, 2011 Simcsa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, fantasy-paranormal, not-gonna-continue-with-the-series

The premise sounds great, but that's all. Don't get cheated. This book is poorly written, the characters and their feelings are flat and unbelievable and their decisions often unreasonable. It lacked suspense, I was just bored and didn't care about the characters. Yeah, true, it had its bright moments, yet it wasn't enough to keep me interested.

I don't know, where and when the story happens. Normally I woudn't mind it, but there occurred some cities and countries which exist. Was it just a coinc...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Dana Elmendorf added it

YA? The main character, Thomas Cale, is fourteen. He discovers who he really is, he falls in love, there is light youthful humor but he finds himself living a very adult life, sort of. I’m not sure the average teen would find this interesting because of the dark subject matter of religion, death and war. There are swear words, and sex is mentioned though not described. I would recommend it to an older person who can handle some heavy subject matter. Fantasy? This does not have your heavy alterna...more YA? The main character, Thomas Cale, is fourteen. He discovers who he really is, he falls in love, there is light youthful humor but he finds himself living a very adult life, sort of. I’m not sure the average teen would find this interesting because of the dark subject matter of religion, death and war. There are swear words, and sex is mentioned though not described. I would recommend it to an older person who can handle some heavy subject matter. Fantasy? This does not have your heavy alternate worlds with magic and LORD OF THE RINGS feel. The publishing company compared it to HARRY POTTER, which I don’t agree. To me it seems more like a post-apocolyptic world pre the rebirth of technology.I’d like to tell you this took place in X country during X time period, but I can’t. The writer uses familiar names of places that make you feel this story was from a time forgotten which I feel is a clever way of world building. The familiar names trick my mind into believing this place is real, so when new places and terms are used, I easily accept them. As far as when, it could be the past or a future reverted to pre-technology or an alternate reality. To me, it reads like a historical fiction with sword battles but speaks of something more that I really can’t put my finger on it. There is a diverse use of cultures and contrasts. For instance, the use of Monks, who are thought to be gentle and peaceful but here they are violent and demented. The soldiers in charge of keeping the peace in Memphis sound like Calvary men from the Civil War south. Even one charming scoundrel, IdrisPukke, could be Rhett Butler incarnate. But the King of Memphis has an army of warriors too, called the Materazzi (which I read somewhere are Italian). In the book, they are described as having martial art talents for war, so I think of an Asian culture but they are all six foot tall blond men (superior blond race…Nazi?). Even the princess is blond. So again, oddities that contrast each other but really, they never deter me from loving the story.

In the first few chapters, I really enjoyed learning the type of character Thomas Cale was: untrusting of others but heroic, charming but violent, broken but tough. He is a lot of contrasts all wrapped in one. But, I became frustrated at the use of so many new terms and people and information thrown at me that I wasn’t sure who was saying what. And sometimes the battle scenes at the end dragged but their detail gave me a great visual image.

The book is written in past tense multiple POVs but mostly from Thomas Cale. These POVs were switched from paragraph to paragraph then took on whole chapters. Paul Hoffman did a very good job making clear, after the beginning, of who the different POV’s were.

Romance? Yes, but could use a lot more. There are lots of visually interesting characters that play very pivotal roles to the final battle. The world Hoffman builds feels historically realistic. The multiple subplots going on, which I usually find annoying, worked well here because they are all wrapped around the end of the book. And at the end, there were some huge questions left unanswered and some actions from a few characters that I didn’t think were realistic but overall, I loved it. The story still haunts my thoughts days later, I could not stop turning the pages and I cannot wait for the sequel to be announced. The review for this book was very difficult for me to write because of all the contrasting settings, characters, and plots. I find there is so much more I want to explain and discuss but I don’t want to overwhelm you. So if you are still not sure you want to read it, here are a few links that might help you out. The book’s website and a couple of blog reviews that speak WAY more eloquently than I do.(less)

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Mar 05, 2010 Célia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: porto-editora, 2010, 3-stars, gift, fantasy, not-own

O Braço Esquerdo de Deus, do americano Paul Hoffman, é um dos livros que mais hype causou nos últimos tempos entre os fãs da ficção especulativa. O protagonista desta história é Cale, um jovem que, juntamente com outros rapazes estão num Santuário gerido pelos Redentores, um local repleto de medo, violência e terror – supostamente justificados pelo o objectivo de respeitar a vontade de Deus. Cale e os seus amigos Henri Vago e Kleist descobrem que no Santuário existe mais do que parece à primeira...more O Braço Esquerdo de Deus, do americano Paul Hoffman, é um dos livros que mais hype causou nos últimos tempos entre os fãs da ficção especulativa. O protagonista desta história é Cale, um jovem que, juntamente com outros rapazes estão num Santuário gerido pelos Redentores, um local repleto de medo, violência e terror – supostamente justificados pelo o objectivo de respeitar a vontade de Deus. Cale e os seus amigos Henri Vago e Kleist descobrem que no Santuário existe mais do que parece à primeira vista, o que acaba por levá-los a empreender uma fuga do recinto e a entrarem num mundo completamente diferente, a cidade de Memphis, governada pelos Materazzi.

Toda a fase inicial do livro, quando Cale ainda se encontra no Santuário, é bastante promissora. O ambiente sombrio e claustrofóbico do local é bem transmitido, e surgem alguns mistérios que deixam o leitor curioso. Pena é que a promessa não se concretiza no resto do livro. Achei que parte de uma premissa muito interessante, mas acaba por cair numa série de lugares-comuns que, não tornando a história propriamente desprovida de interesse, poderão não cativar leitores que já leram vários outros livros cujo enredo não foge muito a este. A personagem principal, Cale, sofre um pouco deste síndrome: de início, pouco se revela ao leitor e conserva uma aura misteriosa que o torna interessante, mas com o decorrer da história, acaba por se transformar no herói relutante que já vimos em tantas e tantas histórias. E ele, tal como a grande maioria das personagens, é abordado de forma algo superficial, o que fez com que o laço que criei com elas não fosse propriamente muito forte.

Fiquei também com a sensação que o autor tentou colocar na sua história elementos que agradassem a vários tipos de leitores porque ora assume um tom marcadamente juvenil, até humorístico, ora estamos perante acontecimentos bastante sérios e negros; assume-se como uma obra de fantasia, mas não encontramos magia ou seres sobrenaturais na história; entrevemos um toque de história alternativa, que nunca se confirma propriamente. O mundo criado pelo autor tem um nível de desenvolvimento razoavelmente detalhado, mas pareceu-me que poderia ter sido melhor aprofundado.

Apesar de tudo isto, não posso dizer que não gostei do livro. Apesar de todos os aspectos menos positivos que apontei, as páginas viram-se muito depressa e torna-se estranhamente viciante. Isto, juntamente com a curiosidade em saber que direcção a história irá tomar – a verdade é que as pistas são escassas – , faz-me ficar com vontade de ler a continuação.(less)

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May 19, 2013 Tonari rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

E questo sarebbe il caso letterario dell'anno? Di questo libro mezzo mondo starebbe tessendo lodi e elogi? Ma per favore, siamo seri.
Personalmente gi�� parte male in quanto primo capitolo di una trilogia (le trilogie, bieche operazioni di marketing, devono bruciare).

Due punti a favore: la trama non prevede la solita compagnia di elfi e nani sciroccati e l'idea del santuario dei frati masochisti mi �� piaciuta. L'inizio in effetti �� la parte scritta meglio. Per il resto per�� siamo messi male, m...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Samuel76 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lem_6, scat_34

Parafrasando un poeta del V secolo D.C.: "questo libro mi sembra una cagata!"; usando parole mie invece: "Idea magnifica, ma splendidamente rovinata!". Scrittura infantile, anche se il romanzo poteva essere indirizzato a giovani menti, inoltre i continui tentativi di "coinvolgere" il lettore rivolgendogli domande o opinioni, l'ho trovato quantomai esagerato e soprattutto fuoriluogo, sempre che il libro non sia rivolto a bambini dell'asilo! Storia che sarebbe potuta essere di ben altro livello, r...more

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Oct 25, 2011 El Templo de las Mil Puertas added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 14-eltemplo, reseñas

"Oscura, siniestra, misteriosa, trepidante y repleta de acción. Así es La mano izquierda de Dios, la primera novela de la trilogía escrita por el inglés Paul Hoffman. En ella conocemos a Thomas Cale, un muchacho de unos dieciséis años que vive junto a otro millar de niños en el terrible Santuario de los Redentores donde, como bien pone al comienzo de la novela, ni hay redención ni santuario. Y decimos “de unos dieciséis años” porque ni siquiera él lo sabe con seguridad, igual que tampoco sabe qu...more

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May 18, 2013 Thomas Holbrook rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book opens inside what appears to be a monastery in a time that could be far in the future, of a past era or being in a “time out of time,” this is not a book that is overly time dependent. The monks who attend this “holy retreat” area are known as The Redeemers and a less gentle, violent bunch one would be hard pressed to find anywhere, real or imagined. They capture male children (if they are old enough to walk, they qualify for training) and train them in the art of war. This training i...more This book opens inside what appears to be a monastery in a time that could be far in the future, of a past era or being in a “time out of time,” this is not a book that is overly time dependent. The monks who attend this “holy retreat” area are known as The Redeemers and a less gentle, violent bunch one would be hard pressed to find anywhere, real or imagined. They capture male children (if they are old enough to walk, they qualify for training) and train them in the art of war. This training is beyond brutal, any error is severely beaten or the offender is killed outright. No one has ever escaped from The Redeemer Sanctuary in over 1000 years until Thomas Kale, 14-year-old, life-long “disciple,” enacts his escape plan.
What Kale finds upon his escape is a world beyond anything he could have imagined. The capital city of Memphis holds such wonders as he cannot initially comprehend. Soon he and the two friends, Klaas and Vague Henry, who escaped with him, find the talents they have developed in the tortures of The Sanctuary are much in demand yet they manage to find a way to alienate themselves from those whose influence can be of most help. This book ends with the answers posed in the opening pages and the reader is left with hanging form a cliff sufficiently high that they will want to read the second installment of this trilogy – maybe.
This book is violent. Thomas Kale is found to be a savant of warrior capabilities. His years of training merely honed what was his nature, supporting the idea that talent must be refined to be of best use. His fighting skills, and those of his pals, are the highlight of his book. The plot is shallow and unoriginal – the unrefined stranger is abused by the “powers that be,” is found to be of use when there is a threat but never trusted, has no reason to be honorable but a hint of love causes him to risk everything only to be betrayed. Listening to the book was fun, as it reminds me of hearing a bedtime story. The early part of the book is very slow, dark and trying. The pace picks up after the escape, but there are still long passages that are draggy. The author appears to be British and Steve West reads the characters with distinct British accents (he does this very well with multiple characters). It is possible that the pace is more a cultural event but it was often difficult to follow the story due to the many accents.
If I can find the second book in the trilogy, The Last Four Things, on CD, at a sale price, I will enjoy hearing it. I doubt, however, that I would invest the time needed to read it in book form.
(less)

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Feb 11, 2013 Eamonn rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Terrible.

How did this mess ever get published? I only got as far as chapter 2 and gave up. The writing is dreadful with some sentences as long as a paragraph. That's the kind of shit you expect in vanity publishing, not from Penguin. Does Hoffman know you're supposed to start a new paragraph when someone else is talking and what about shifts in POV? Is it written in first person POV or omniscient or a mix of the two?

Also, the first incident was SO convenient.

When Vague Henri and Kleist found...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Arianna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Mi è piaciuto molto questo primo capitolo. A dire il vero non avevo capito si trattasse di una saga se non quando, a metà libro, sono andata a cercare informazioni sull'autore.
È il primo libro che leggo con una trama del genere. I fantasy (a dire il vero thriller-fantasy in questo caso) non sono esattamente il mio genere ma questo mi è piaciuto..spero sia il primo di una lunga serie.
È risultato molto scorrevole e di piacevole lettura, tant'è che leggevo tre o quattro capitoli di fila. Alcune pa...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Una rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: karamākslas vēstures entuziastiem; people baffled by Agincourt

Recommended to Una by: brālis

Shelves: fantasy, gothic, m-sdienu-rzemju

Interesants piedzīvojums. Šo man ieteica brālis, kurš krietni skaidrāk par mani apjēdz, ar ko atšķiras dažādi ieroči, stratēģijas un citi karamākslas aspekti laikmetu gaitā, un bez kompleksiem lasa aizraujošas un asprātīgas grāmatas, kas neizskatās pēc Augstās Literatūras.
Otrs iemesls, kādēļ šo izvēlējos - ne gadu bez grāmatas, kuras nosaukums sākas ar "The Left Hand of". Protams.
Visu cieņu autoram: galvenajiem varoņiem un viņu piedzīvojumiem tiešām bija saistoši sekot visu gandrīz 500 lappušu g...more Interesants piedzīvojums. Šo man ieteica brālis, kurš krietni skaidrāk par mani apjēdz, ar ko atšķiras dažādi ieroči, stratēģijas un citi karamākslas aspekti laikmetu gaitā, un bez kompleksiem lasa aizraujošas un asprātīgas grāmatas, kas neizskatās pēc Augstās Literatūras.
Otrs iemesls, kādēļ šo izvēlējos - ne gadu bez grāmatas, kuras nosaukums sākas ar "The Left Hand of". Protams.
Visu cieņu autoram: galvenajiem varoņiem un viņu piedzīvojumiem tiešām bija saistoši sekot visu gandrīz 500 lappušu garumā.
Bruņotās sadursmes grāmatā norisinās nevainojami loģiski saskaņā ar visiem apstākļiem, kas realitātē to ietekmē (un par kuriem man iepriekš nojausma bija dziļi miglaina). Esmu šai grāmatai mūžīgu pateicību parādā par to, ka beidzot sapratu, kā varēja notikt tāds paradokss kā angļu strēlnieku uzvara pie Azenkūras (? - Agincourt) pret nejēdzīgā pārspēkā esošu franču karaspēku 15. gadsimtā. Un tas nebija tikai tāpēc, ka angļu pusē būtu bijis Dievs Tas Kungs, kā man mēģināja iestāstīt Šekspīrs, vai pat ne tāpēc (kā es līdz šim uzskatīju), ka angļu pusē bija Toms Hidlstons, kā redzams lugas "Henrijs V" BBC ekranizējumā. Azenkūras kauja šajā romānā, cik saprotu, ir visai tiešā veidā izmantota par pamatu galvenajai kaujai starp Pestītāju ordeni un Materaci impēriju.
Pārējos grāmatas notikumos un īpaši varoņu dzīves uzskatos mani ārkārtīgi mulsināja šī romāna pasaulē valdošais eklektisms. Pauls Hofmans ir būvējis savu pasauli, ņemot gabaliņus no viduslaiku kultūras, renesanses Venēcijas un diesvēlsazinkā un bagātīgi piemaisot anonīmus Šopenhauera, Larošfuko un Homēra citātus, kā pats atzīstas pēcvārdā. Mana sūri grūti iegūtā kultūrvēstures izjūta saka, ka tāda atsevišķu sistēmu fragmentu līdzāspastāvēšana nevar un nedrīkst būt. Protams, mūsdienu kultūrā notiek tieši tas, bet ne apvienojumā ar tādu stabilitāti un viengabalainību, kādu Hofmana romānā izrāda katra atsevišķā kultūra un varonis. Vārdu sakot, es apjūku.
Nedaudz kaitināja arī plakanie sieviešu tēli, bet tie tiek attaisnoti, rādot katru izkāpināto tipa tīrradni kā tikpat īpatnējas audzināšanas produktu.
Gandrīz pietiekami forša, lai uzreiz lasītu otro daļu. Gandrīz.(less)

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Dec 08, 2012 Bücherplanet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Als Fantasyfan bin ich äußerst überzeugt von dem Buch Die Linke Hand Gottes, geschrieben von Paul Hoffman.
Dies ist auch eines der wenigen Bücher, wo ich nicht nur sage, dass ich diese Rezension schreibe, weil es als eine Hilfsrichtung dienen soll, sondern der Überzeugung bin, dass jeder Fantasyfan, der ein bisschen Gewalt in Kauf nehmen kann, dieses Buch lesen Muss! Hierzu möchte ich zuerst einen Teil des Klappentextes vorstelle, dann kurz zum Stil des Autors gehen und zu allerletzt zum Buchinha...more Als Fantasyfan bin ich äußerst überzeugt von dem Buch Die Linke Hand Gottes, geschrieben von Paul Hoffman.
Dies ist auch eines der wenigen Bücher, wo ich nicht nur sage, dass ich diese Rezension schreibe, weil es als eine Hilfsrichtung dienen soll, sondern der Überzeugung bin, dass jeder Fantasyfan, der ein bisschen Gewalt in Kauf nehmen kann, dieses Buch lesen Muss! Hierzu möchte ich zuerst einen Teil des Klappentextes vorstelle, dann kurz zum Stil des Autors gehen und zu allerletzt zum Buchinhalt einiges berichten, welche mich in meiner Überzeugung verstärken, diesem Buch jedem Fantasyfan unter die Nase zu jubeln. :D

Sie nennen ihn Cale. Er is der Engel des Todes. Seine Geschichte beginnt in einer Festung der Angst und Unterdrückung. Wo sie endet, weiß nur er...
Das heilige Kloster des Erlöserordens ist ein trostloser Ort, an dem Hoffnung und Freude unbekannt sind...

Zum Stil des Autors muss ich sagen, dass Herr Hoffman die Handlungen in einem fesselnden Kontext beschreibt und sich in der Kunst auskennt, den Leser jeder der Handlungen vor dem Auge erscheinen zu lassen. Gewalt steht in dem Buch an der Tagesordnung, doch muss man bedenken, dass sich die Menschen in einem Orden befinden, der sich stets im Krieg mit den "Antagonisten" befindet. Kriege sind nun mal brutal und um diesen Zweck des Krieges zu erfüllen, erscheint es mir logisch, dass auch die Ausbildung, als Mittel zum Zweck brutalgewandt sein muss. Auch stimmt es, dass es in dem Buch Leichen über Leichen gibt und doch sollte man bedenken, dass auch in Herr der Ringe überall Leichen sind. Nur weil es dann Hobbits, Ents oder Orks sind, heißt das noch nicht, dass der Kampf nicht brutal ist. Wenn man im Buch genau liest, und versucht alles zu mitverfolgen, so wird man sicherlich auch einen äußerst trockenen Humor merken und dies sei gesagt sein: Vergessen Sie niemals die Morddrohungen Cales, die mir öfters mal ein Lächeln beim Lesen auf das Gesicht gezaubert haben. :P

Nun zum Buch selbst:
Ein junger Novize Cale, in dem Kloster des Erlösers, wird Zeuge einer unglaublichen Tat. Mönche, die die Novizen im Namen des gehenkten Erlösers für den Krieg ausbilden und dabei die Jungen misshandeln, verprügeln und auf jeglich erdenkliche brutale Art und Weise "erziehen", gehen nun dazu über ein lebendes junges Mädchen zu sezieren.
Cale, jung und erbarmungslos, wie er zu sein scheint, lässt diese Tat jedoch nicht vor seinen Augen passieren und rettet die noch junge Riba mit seinen Freunden Kleist und VagueHenri.
In der Erkenntnis geschockt, dass sie nun aus der Burg entfliehen müssen, da der Mord an einem der Mönche nicht geduldet wird, beginnt das Abenteuer für diese 4 Menschen. Alles liegt an Cale und seinen verborgenen Talenten, denn er ist der Engel des Todes, der das Unheil über diejenigen bringt, die seiner Meinung nach den Tod verdient haben.
Jedoch ist Cale in diesem Buch nicht nur ein einseitiger Held, der alles bewerkstelligen kann und es scheint, als könnte er jeden töten der in seine Missgunst fällt, er ist auch noch ein normaler Junge in einem Alter von 14-15Jahren, der erst nach und nach die Erkenntnis der Realität außerhalb der Erlöserburg realisiert. Dies erweckt den menschlichen Teil in Cale, sodass er im Buch eine Wandlung von einer "Tötungsmaschine" in einen wirklichen "Menschen" übergeht. Man sollte sich auf Kämpfe, Strategien und vor allem vielschichtige und übereinander lappende Intrigen bereit machen, geschickt und intelligent in die Geschichte von Hoffman verflochten, sodass man sich leichter in diesem Buch verfangen kann, als einem vielleicht lieb ist.

Auf jeden Fall, ein ganz großer Start für Hoffman mit dieser Reihe. Ein MUSS für jeden Fantasyfan

xanatos von MexxBooks(less)

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Nov 08, 2012 Mónica Silva rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Este é um livro estranhamente viciante. E porquê estranhamente? Porque simplesmente não era nada do que estava a espera: para um livro de fantasia, não possui componentes que o definam como tal; alguns diálogos evidenciam um tom juvenil mas as descrições intensas e violentas contradizem este facto; o mundo criado pelo autor é inicialmente bem desenvolvido para depois carecer de aprofundamento. Contudo, o enredo tem o seu encanto e acaba por suplantar algumas falhas.

As personagens são marcantes e...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Jess Lawrence rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Left Hand of God is the first book in a trilogy that follows a young boy named Cale as he journeys through life, starting with his time in The Sanctuary of the Redeemers and leading towards his involvement in a great war that plagues the land.
What first drew me to choose this book instead of the countless others that crammed the shelves was its title. The Left Hand of God caught my attention as connotations of dark, evil adventure entered my mind. I hoped for an exciting tale full of twists...more The Left Hand of God is the first book in a trilogy that follows a young boy named Cale as he journeys through life, starting with his time in The Sanctuary of the Redeemers and leading towards his involvement in a great war that plagues the land.
What first drew me to choose this book instead of the countless others that crammed the shelves was its title. The Left Hand of God caught my attention as connotations of dark, evil adventure entered my mind. I hoped for an exciting tale full of twists and turns with a sinister tone throughout.
Gripped by those first five words I turned to the blurb to see a little more. Quite honestly, when I read the tagline ‘His name is Cale. They told him he could destroy the world. Maybe he will.’ I was sorely tempted to return the book to the shelf and never cast eyes on it again. There could not have been a more boring caption written. Those sentences should have created anticipation and excitement but instead I was greatly disappointed. ‘Maybe he will’ I believe was used to add suspense but it just made me feel like the author hadn’t decided for himself whether Cale would succeed. Having checked out the book’s website I found another tagline that I think would have been remarkably more fitting but, alas, Hoffman chose these unimpressive lines instead.
Nevertheless, I bought the book and began reading it that same night. Now, I’ll give credit where it’s due, the first chapter gripped me. I was intrigued by this unusual Sanctuary of the Redeemers and the sharp minded Cale. The pace was fast and there was action enough to keep me reading with interest. Unfortunately, that’s just about all I can say in its favour.
I was highly confused from the offset by the intended audience for the novel. I’d had it in mind that it would be a young adult piece of fiction aimed at twelve year olds and up. However, some of the themes explored were far darker than what I would have read as a twelve year old, so then I figured it was perhaps more of a sixteen, seventeen plus kind of book. But the plot didn’t have that more ‘senior’ feel to it. It felt like a children’s book wrapped up in abundant swearing, scenes of strong violence and references to sex.
Reading the dialogue between the three main boys I felt that their continued use of expletives was highly unnecessary. It was as though a child had been dared to use his first ‘naughty’ word and was now feeling cocky and confident enough to use it in every sentence. A small boy wearing a grown-up’s shoes is what I picture, not the ominous looking chap on the cover.
Cale is barely fifteen years old in the book and yet he wears this aura of cold indifference and severe hostility. I can understand completely why Hoffman wrote him as such; the boy was brought up in an environment where he was physically abused daily and practically shaped into a soldier. While bearing this in mind though, it just wasn’t very believable. I thought the abuse from the Redeemers was over done and there was no clear explanation for why they beat the sense out of the young acolytes at every opportunity. It seemed as though Cale had to be heartless and uncaring for the plot to work and savage abuse was the only way it could have happened but sadly it wasn’t done to a realistic standard and that let the story down.
The romance between Cale and Arbell Swan-Neck was a nice touch but, again, it was over worked. They seemed to go from mutual hatred to sleeping together in the space of just a few chapters.
While on the lines of characters, the unusual fellow Idris-Pukke was perhaps one of Hoffman’s better creations, aside from Kleist and Vague Henry who had their shining moments. Idris-Pukke was witty, smart and brought a good sense of humour to the dark tale. Now not that I'm really trying to put a bad turn on every positive, there were faults with his character. For one, he was utterly random. Take him away from the story and it wouldn’t throw the plot into disarray. I recall in one chapter, Idris-Pukke exclaimed that Chancellor Vipond was his brother. This was a surprising revelation and, having it be the end to the chapter, made me read the following section only to find that Hoffman strayed completely away from the statement and barely brought it up again. A chance to add an intriguing sub-plot wasted.
I could go on to explain several more scenes and characters that made absolutely no sense at all but I’ll refrain and instead just drop in a comment on Hoffman’s painfully frequent use of clichés. There was a lot of scope for originality in some of the dialogue. Fantasy writers have the freedom to write pretty much whatever the hell they want and yet Hoffman seemed to fall back on hackneyed phrases too many times for it to be acceptable.
The most unusual element to the story was the time, I found. The whole narrative stretches across a very long period, some scenes explaining a presence in one area for months on end or training for several weeks. However, I didn’t feel like all that much happened. The key events were basically Cale leaving the Sanctuary, arriving at Memphis, explaining the Redeemers’ plans and then helping to foil them. Even looking back, I can’t comprehend how Hoffman managed to expand these scenes into almost five hundred pages. Even with the necessary detail and the ‘slow scenes’ to balance out the action it seems like an impossible feat.
Furthermore, I found that upon closing the book after page four-hundred-and-ninety-eight, the novel felt more like a very elaborate prologue. The main ‘shocker’ didn’t appear until the very last chapter where we are told that Cale is ‘The Left Hand of God, also called the Angel of Death’. At this point, I'm well and truly excited. What does this mean for Cale? What will he prevent or what will he bring about for the world? So imagine my disappointment when this revelation appears on page four-hundred-and-ninety-six!
There were handfuls of unanswered questions and interesting focuses throughout but Hoffman seemed content with merely dropping the bait and not elaborating on a single one of them. I haven’t the foggiest about the Redeemer’s war with the Antagonists and heck knows what’s going on with Redeemer Bosco, the primary ‘bad guy’. This is little more than a book of hooks hoping to snare you for the sequels.
As a reader, I wasn’t satisfied with this at all and as a consequence I shall not be buying the next instalment. It’s a shame because I'm really intrigued with where the story is going but I'm not at all excited by the thought of wading through pages of bumf just to see that nothing really happens until book three. There was a lot that I’d have been content not to read in The Left Hand of God which could have been replaced by an earlier twist, thus maintaining my interest.
All in all, Hoffman had a really creative and original idea to play with but, in my opinion, did not do it justice. I feel genuinely cheated. Lured in by a promising title that allowed my mind to imagine battles on a godly scale and then sold a less than average book about a heartless boy with a sort of irritating tendency to swear and fight.(less)

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Aug 27, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked this up from the supermarket after being attracted to the cover (I know! I know! How shallow of me!) But nothing could prepare me for the surprise I got when I started reading it.

It's dark, it's gritty and very.. male! Ha! There is something very XY chromosone about this, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.

I rubed my chin and tried to figure out what this reminded me of, it's a strange mix of

and

. Ha! Both very 'male' books.

I loved the filth, the mud, the grimy grit of this. It...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Philip O'Donnell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overall I enjoyed this book and am reading and enjoying the 2nd part of the trilogy - ‘The Last Four Things’ - at the moment.
Cons
It is a difficult to classify book - it could be set several hundred years in the future or past (probably the past) as it refers to many place names and characters that we are familiar with such as Memphis and Jesus. So, it is definitely our world but when? The familiar name usage sometimes feels as if the author was them in a offhand way, which is slightly confusing....more

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Jul 07, 2012 Tempo de Ler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

{Blog} http://tempodler.blogspot.pt/2012/07/...

Confesso que este review seria muito mais entusiástico se eu não tivesse lido já o segundo volume desta trilogia. Não recomendo «O Braço Esquerdo de Deus» a 100% porque o título que se segue, «As Quatro Últimas Coisas» é, em comparação, uma desilusão!
Gostei imenso d'«O Braço Esquerdo de Deus», embora grande parte da narrativa esteja mal concebida e estruturada. Mas a sua intrigante história leva o leitor a lê-lo afincadamente, quase sem o conseguir...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I very much enjoyed this first installment of the trilogy. I have read the second book in the mean time, and feel better equipped now to comment on the first.

The book is about a boy, who in a world constantly plagued by wars, be it religious ones or just wars for power and money, is seemingly special. He resides in a `school' of sorts, led by a religious faction, who train boys to become killers. However, Cale, as the boy is called, is treated differently from others. The `why' becomes clear lat...more I very much enjoyed this first installment of the trilogy. I have read the second book in the mean time, and feel better equipped now to comment on the first.

The book is about a boy, who in a world constantly plagued by wars, be it religious ones or just wars for power and money, is seemingly special. He resides in a `school' of sorts, led by a religious faction, who train boys to become killers. However, Cale, as the boy is called, is treated differently from others. The `why' becomes clear later in the book, and is the main reason for reading this first book. It drives you towards the end.

In many ways, the book felt a bit uneasy to read, it felt as if it was more the author's uneasiness than my own. The writing wasn't always as great as it could've been (I know it could've been, because in the second book this improved tremendously). A lot of repetition in the starting chapters. By this I mean, `himself' popping up in three subsequent sentences. These things do not go unnoticed. It hampers the reading flow. For me at least, it is one of my pet peeves. The first book is not verbose at all. Descriptions are scarce, and when they are there, to the point. No poetry or throwing of adjectives. Although I like verbose, a straightforward way of writing does not trouble, if done well.

Narration; this is where the author kind of jumps from one style to the next. You get a glimpse of excellent narration. It is hard to compare it with anything. But the author talks to the reader. He explains things directly to the reader, you feel as though the author is addressing you personally. This does not happen frequently, but it happens enough for it to be noticeable. I liked this way of narration and found myself amused by it often, but felt it wasn't obvious enough to really be the author's style so to speak. There was a bit of this and a bit of that, where I felt, only a bit of this would've done the book more justice.

The story is intriguing, but drags on after a while. I was disappointed by how short the starting chapters were. Before you know, we have left our starting point and are proceeding into the story, which I felt was a shame. The starting point was a very strong one, and to dwell on that, elaborate on it, go a bit deeper into its history and day-to-day workings, would've only strengthened the book.

All in all, a good start to the trilogy. The ending is very powerful. Let's just say that 90% into the book I found myself wondering `do I even want to know how this ends?', but then you find out a few things, and you yearn for the sequel. Must have it NOW. So a strong and good book, but the ending I felt, was way more powerful than the rest of the book. However, the rest of the books does do its job in keeping you interested, and thus, keeping you reading.

I have also written a review of the second book. I feel I must add here, that the second book improves on almost all of the `weaker' points of the first. Almost.

I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy readers. (less)

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Mar 19, 2012 Nuno Almeida rated it 3 of 5 stars

É um livro complicado de avaliar por ser tão inconsistente. Tem momentos brilhantes, seguidos de outros deploráveis, e continua neste carrossel até ao fim. A personagem é interessante, um adolescente psicopata à semelhança do Prince of Thorns e outros livros recentes, que parecem ir propositadamente contra o paradigma do género, mas a escrita em si é, no máximo, razoável. O autor comete erros de escritor principiante, pela forma abandalhada como mistura narração com devaneios pessoais, um uso ex...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Superb - an interesting 'hero', and a different level of fantasy from the usual fair. The the Redeemers are based on Catholics is obvious, given the cruel and bloody history of that faith, but Hoffman has given himself an imagined realm, so he is free to produce his won scenarios rather than writing historical fiction.
The use of language is excellent, and the way the style frequently drops into little cameo scenes is refreshing. When characters suddenly speak or act out of character only goes to...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Peebs rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Holy cow! I haven't read a book this fast in some time.

This book just blew my mind away. We're dealing with everything from the spartan training of children up the ladder of torture, death, maiming, sodomy (though, not graphic) and down the other side where love, friendship, betrayal and defeat reside. This was quite the ride.

We meet Thomas Cale who lives with the Redeemers in The Sanctuary. It's a place where something similar to Roman Catholic males live. Except that it's a religion taken to t...more Holy cow! I haven't read a book this fast in some time.

This book just blew my mind away. We're dealing with everything from the spartan training of children up the ladder of torture, death, maiming, sodomy (though, not graphic) and down the other side where love, friendship, betrayal and defeat reside. This was quite the ride.

We meet Thomas Cale who lives with the Redeemers in The Sanctuary. It's a place where something similar to Roman Catholic males live. Except that it's a religion taken to the extreme. Everything we take for granted as a free society is considered a sin by the Redeemers. This is the place where boys younger than 10 are taken to be trained. The training is brutal and if the author had been any more descriptive, I wouldn't have been able to continue reading. Cale is one of these children and along with his friends Henri and Kleist, they discover something that was never meant for them or the Redeemers. This secret forces them to escape with Cale's cunning and planning.

That's just the first part of the story. This is a dark fantasy that had me rooting for these boys. They're barely 14 years old, but they already think like grown adult men. Even their bodies have skipped the adolescent body from childhood and now look like smaller versions of body builders. They're children bred to be soldiers and assassins. They hate and loath the Redeemers. They're also pragmatic and at times it seems as if there's something else guiding their actions.

Cale changes people wherever he goes. It's satisfactory to me as a reader to watch him be the hero and the antihero. I cheered for him when he beat up a group of bullies because he was doing the right thing. I found really hard to dislike him.

The only thing that shocked me was his fatal relationship with Arbell Materazzi. Cale's age was never an issue or forefront in my mind. At least not until he got intimate with Arbell. His falling into her felt rushed. I feel that it was better when he felt love-hate for her than when she's suddenly sleeping with him. There wasn't enough of a lead to reach that point so quickly. That's about the only problem I had with the book.

Overall, this was an excellent read and I'm looking forward to the second book.(less)

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Jan 14, 2012 Tal rated it 3 of 5 stars

"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...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Mackenzie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hm.

I've tried to sit on this review for a few days and I still don't know what to say. I'm not even sure that I want to say anything about it but seeing as the book has been disturbing my mind, I thought, why not. I might as well get it book out of my system by saying one or two things about it here.

To begin with, I only started reading this book out of sheer boredom because I had the bad luck of having to spend a few long hours in my bookstore without the books I wanted to read (I couldn't very...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Marije rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was in de mood for some fantasy and picked this one because it had a promise of combining a fantasy plotline with religious imagery.
Can't say I liked it. First of, it was a little too graphic for my taste. I'm not a fan of gore. Second, the female chracters were just so very... whiney (with the exeption of one hitwoman), and the main character seems to have two emotions: determination and anger.
But it was well-written and I thought I could as well finish it, because nothing is as frustrating...more

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