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A review by annasirius
The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman
2.0
Positive things first: this is well written, and the characters are fleshed out well enough to fulfil their function.
On the downside, this brims with clichés. Strict religious convents led by fanatics, political leaders that are seriously called 'Gauleiter' (ouch, ouch, this hurts!), tough guys who can take a beating vs. soft girls who've been pampered all their lives, and heavy-handed, cloiteringly sweet foreshadowing. "How different history would have been had Cale not encountered her inside the great wall that afternoon, or lacked the deftness in that dark and slippery place to pull her back and, as certainly would have been the case, she had broken her oh-so-beautifully long and elegant neck on the flagstones below." (p. 184) Sigh. Beside the fact that this is bad story telling style, how does a boy who has not seen any female being since the age of seven even know what in his culture constitutes a beautiful woman? And why would someone as guarded as the main character develop fixed ideas about romance from such a short encounter when his mind is bent on fleeing the place?
I read a lot of recently published fantasy, and I am surprised how few authors come up with original ideas and make an effort to overcome fantasy tropes and develop complex, deep characters. :/
On the downside, this brims with clichés. Strict religious convents led by fanatics, political leaders that are seriously called 'Gauleiter' (ouch, ouch, this hurts!), tough guys who can take a beating vs. soft girls who've been pampered all their lives, and heavy-handed, cloiteringly sweet foreshadowing. "How different history would have been had Cale not encountered her inside the great wall that afternoon, or lacked the deftness in that dark and slippery place to pull her back and, as certainly would have been the case, she had broken her oh-so-beautifully long and elegant neck on the flagstones below." (p. 184) Sigh. Beside the fact that this is bad story telling style, how does a boy who has not seen any female being since the age of seven even know what in his culture constitutes a beautiful woman? And why would someone as guarded as the main character develop fixed ideas about romance from such a short encounter when his mind is bent on fleeing the place?
I read a lot of recently published fantasy, and I am surprised how few authors come up with original ideas and make an effort to overcome fantasy tropes and develop complex, deep characters. :/