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The Left Hand
A city segregated by genetics. A long-dormant terrorist group. A life saved, a plot thwarted. A cryptic message from a condemned man. And now, Victor Wells is Marked for death. When he saves the life of a controversial politician, Victor Wells is thrust into a world of outcasts and rebels, a place he has been taught to fear. Stripped of his elite status, he finds himself the target of a shadowy organization with a singular goal—his death. Aided by double-dealing Sinisters and friends he once left behind, Victor must unmask his enemies and uncover a truth that will shake the very foundations of society.
- GenresBook Club
410 pages, Hardcover
Published March 7, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 19, 2018
I have to say I was a little concerned about this book. I was starting to take it as a racial issue. Because though this book is fictional, it clearly speaks VOLUMES about what's going on in America today. Nobels (whites) living the good life while the Sinisters (ppl of color) are living the NOT so good life. The main character, Victor believes whole hartedly that the government is right in what they spew out on the news. But it takes him to loose his nobelity and live amongst the sinsiters to find out that it's all nothing but a lie. That the sinisters are not dirty, filthy people, who only think evil thoughts. And I wish a lot more "nobels" would see that not all "sinisters" are bad. Just regular people trying to make it this cruel world. Over all I did enjoy the book.
June 24, 2018
Jordan Allen weaves a semi-dystopian tale of government intrusion gone wrong: a city state’s people divided into Nobles and Sinisters based on DNA differences. The Nobles are the good guys; a privileged class of citizens whose DNA evaluation makes them superior to the Sinisters. Nobles live in the pleasant side of their city-state. Sinisters endure their miserable existence in a rundown habitat populated with unsavory characters and monstrous machines called Sweepers that pick them off the streets like so much trash.
The Left Hand is a mysterious criminal organization that commits all kinds of atrocities, seemingly for unspecified purposes other than to keep its power over the population. This organization brands its victims and murders them within days of the branding.
Victor Wells is the hero of the tale; a teenage champion electric swordsman who The Left Hand marks for assassination for having saved another Noble who opposed it.
There is unrequited love, bloody violence, atrocious wounds, Nobles exiled due to the unexplained decline of their DNA status, mysterious enforcers with super powers, scanners that determine whether you’re Sinister or Noble, nerd freedom fighters and unsung heroes. Allen incorporates all these sub-plots with fine artistry, giving the reader his money’s worth – and isn’t that what it’s all about?
The novel is somewhat reminiscent of “The Hunger Games.” But, to me, “The Left Hand” is written better than “The Hunger Games” and more believable to boot. Honestly, that is not a great compliment coming from me. (See my review of The Hunger Games on this blog).
Moreover, while Jordan follows this initial book with at least one sequel/episode, the plot’s integrity holds more promise than, and is likely to last through potential sequels better than “The Hunger Games,” which fizzles out after an initial bout of creativity. I have not read the sequel(s) so I cannot do further justice to this comparison, but I liked “The Left Hand” a lot more.
On technical aspects alone, including character development, Jordan Allen’s initial novel deserves high accolades, even from someone like me who prefers spy thrillers and police whodunits to science fiction.
I give The Left Hand five qualified stars out of five. Good job Jordan Allen!
The Left Hand is a mysterious criminal organization that commits all kinds of atrocities, seemingly for unspecified purposes other than to keep its power over the population. This organization brands its victims and murders them within days of the branding.
Victor Wells is the hero of the tale; a teenage champion electric swordsman who The Left Hand marks for assassination for having saved another Noble who opposed it.
There is unrequited love, bloody violence, atrocious wounds, Nobles exiled due to the unexplained decline of their DNA status, mysterious enforcers with super powers, scanners that determine whether you’re Sinister or Noble, nerd freedom fighters and unsung heroes. Allen incorporates all these sub-plots with fine artistry, giving the reader his money’s worth – and isn’t that what it’s all about?
The novel is somewhat reminiscent of “The Hunger Games.” But, to me, “The Left Hand” is written better than “The Hunger Games” and more believable to boot. Honestly, that is not a great compliment coming from me. (See my review of The Hunger Games on this blog).
Moreover, while Jordan follows this initial book with at least one sequel/episode, the plot’s integrity holds more promise than, and is likely to last through potential sequels better than “The Hunger Games,” which fizzles out after an initial bout of creativity. I have not read the sequel(s) so I cannot do further justice to this comparison, but I liked “The Left Hand” a lot more.
On technical aspects alone, including character development, Jordan Allen’s initial novel deserves high accolades, even from someone like me who prefers spy thrillers and police whodunits to science fiction.
I give The Left Hand five qualified stars out of five. Good job Jordan Allen!
February 23, 2019
This dystopian book is about a society divided by DNA. Those DNA traits found to be admirable set the carrier aside as being "Noble" and if you are not noble you are "Sinister." Victor Wells is born noble but he unintentionally gets involved in a murder attempt by the extremest group the "left hand" and he finds himself no long a noble, but a sinister with a literal death mark on him given by the "left hand."
The book has a good message about making our own choices and not letting our DNA say who we are. The book hooked me right away and moved fast. There are a lot of fun secondary characters and a lot of fun scientific gadgets. The book is part of a trilogy with the 2nd coming out soon.
I actually listened to the audiobook (which is currently not an option for an edition) and it was well done. I enjoyed listening to the book for its own sake, but what made it even better was being able to do a video chat with the author. This book was written by the nephew of one of the gals in my book club and we were able to talk with him about his writing experience. When we asked for a teaser about the sequel he wasn't very forthcoming. Guess I'll have to wait to read it. ;)
Popsugar Challenge #25 A Debut novel
The book has a good message about making our own choices and not letting our DNA say who we are. The book hooked me right away and moved fast. There are a lot of fun secondary characters and a lot of fun scientific gadgets. The book is part of a trilogy with the 2nd coming out soon.
I actually listened to the audiobook (which is currently not an option for an edition) and it was well done. I enjoyed listening to the book for its own sake, but what made it even better was being able to do a video chat with the author. This book was written by the nephew of one of the gals in my book club and we were able to talk with him about his writing experience. When we asked for a teaser about the sequel he wasn't very forthcoming. Guess I'll have to wait to read it. ;)
Popsugar Challenge #25 A Debut novel
June 5, 2018
Listening to The Left Hand by Jordan Allen on Audible, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This futuristic sci-fi/dystopian was a surprisingly fresh and original book involving saber fights, a DNA-based segregated society, and one young man's realization that it is our actions that define us, rather than any physical attributes.
Predictable, yet surprising, I really enjoyed listening to the book. Personally, I can't listen to super complicated books because I'll get confused (I'm a visual learner), but this one was perfect to listen to. Simple, but not overly so, it had plenty of cool twists and turns that kept me engaged through the end and left me wanting more. Plus the writing was good. Good plot+good characters+good writing=good book.
Read my full review at:
https://readwriteeatlive.wordpress.co...
Predictable, yet surprising, I really enjoyed listening to the book. Personally, I can't listen to super complicated books because I'll get confused (I'm a visual learner), but this one was perfect to listen to. Simple, but not overly so, it had plenty of cool twists and turns that kept me engaged through the end and left me wanting more. Plus the writing was good. Good plot+good characters+good writing=good book.
Read my full review at:
https://readwriteeatlive.wordpress.co...
March 15, 2018
I'm the author! Great to meet you via this goodreads post on the internet! I just wanted to thank you for checking out my book. I had a blast writing it and I can only hope you have a blast reading it! As a little show of gratitude I've got a free ebook for you over on my website www.jordanallenmedia.com. Thanks again and enjoy!
March 13, 2018
Great new author, Fantastic book!
I did NOT want this book to end. Hope he's working on the next one and it comes out soon!
I did NOT want this book to end. Hope he's working on the next one and it comes out soon!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews