The Left Hand of God is the first book in a planned trilogy by Paul Hoffman.

Plot:
Thomas Cale is one of many boys at the Sanctuary. They live together under the harsh rules of the Redeemers, are continuously beaten, mal-nourished and prepared for war. One day Cale and his two friends (well as close as you can get to being friends in a place like the sanctuary) Kleist and Vague Henry stumble upon a door that ultimately leads them to the outside world with a girl in tow. But Cale is special and Redeemer Bosco is not willing to let him go easily.

The Left Hand of God was alright. But it’s not a book that really sticks around. And I don’t think I’ll be picking up the sequel(s) anytime soon, if at all.

It took a while until I got into the book, even though the first part that happens at the Sanctuary is the most interesting bit. I did get into it and it was rather entertaining but the battle at the end was so extremely boring that I started skimming. And I never skim. Ever.

The story does have potential but somehow it doesn’t work. While reading I thought it might be because it can never really decide whether it really is fantasy or historic fiction. There are geographic traces of our Europe that could have been intriguing but are caught up somewhere in this Nowhereland between “Alternate Europe” and “Fantasy Setting.” But in the meantime I read Patrick Ness’ review of the book and maybe it really is the fact that it was written as if by and for a focus group.

I quite liked Thomas in the beginning but Paul Hoffman could never make up his mind about him and that made his character development very weird. At first Thomas is too broken to be healed at all, and then Arbell Swanneck heals him with her love in bare weeks? Come on.

Though it might just be my general hatred of the whole storyline with Arbell that taints my judgment and the character development connected to it.

Summarising: it has potential but nothing more.