“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” ...
This is how The Left Hand of God begins. Then on, it is miles of morbid drivel, relentlessly clouded in a miasma of dark, and sometimes confusing, descriptions of unimaginative scenarios, in which are embedded characters and sub-plots, invented and executed with the literary slovenliness typical of amateur fantasy writers. However the author is Paul Hoffman, a film censor and screenwriter who has assisted the legendary Francis Ford Coppola. The plot follows the journey of 14-year- old Thomas Cale who, after spending years of confinement in the sinister Sanctuary of the cruel Redeemers, and suffering the caprices of his brutal mentor, Redeemer Bosco, escapes to the wonderful city of Memphis along with his friends Vague Henry and Kleist, and a voluptuous girl called Riba, who was enslaved in the Sanctuary.
Stereotypes
At Memphis, he is first captive, then informer, then street-fighter and rebel, then guardian of the beautiful princess Arbell Swan-Neck, then lover-boy, then a war-strategist, then a warrior and, lastly, again a captive.
The story is littered with stereotyped characters like Cale's friends Henry and Kleist, Marshal Materazzi, and Solomon Solomon, but also sprinkled with some interesting ones like Chancellor Vipond and Idris Puke – an eccentric metaphysician, wanted by no-one, but always on the run, whose wisecracks and witticisms make the narration occasionally enjoyable. Arbell Swan-Neck, the angelic damsel who conquers Cale's heart, manages to fascinate the reader as well.
Apart from average writing style and an uninspiring story, the book suffers from multiple levels of identity crisis. Trying to combine JK Rowling (characterisation and fantasy), Terry Pratchett (invented landscapes) and Dan Brown ( quasi-biblical references) into one product, Paul Hoffman have rolled out The Left Hand of God which will be quickly rolled over.
Title: The left hand of god
Author: Paul Hoffman
Publisher: Penguin
Price: Rs. 499
