The Left Hand of God »

Paul Hoffman studied English at New College, Oxford before becoming a senior film censor at the British Board of Film Classification. He lives in the United Kingdom. The Left Hand of God is the first in trilogy following Cale.

They call him Cale.

He is destined to save the world...

...or destroy it.

In the Redeemer Sanctuary, the stronghold of a secretive sect of warrior monks, torture and death await the unsuccessful or disobedient. Raised by the Redeemers from early childhood like hundreds of other young captives, Thomas Cale has known only deprivation, punishment, and grueling training. He doesn't know that another world exists outside the fortress walls or even that secrets he can't imagine lurk behind the Sanctuary's many forbidden doorways. He doesn't know that his master Lord Bosco and the Sanctuary's Redeemers have been preparing for a holy war for centuries-a holy war that is now imminent. And Cale doesn't know that he's been noticed and quietly cultivated.

Then, Cale decides to open a door.

It's a door that leads to one of the Redeemers' darkest secrets and a choice that is really no choice at all: certain death or daring escape. Adrift in the wider world for the first time in his young life, Cale soon finds himself in Memphis, the capitol of culture-and the den of Sin. It's there that Cale discovers his prodigious gift: violence. And he discovers that after years of abuse at the hands of the Redeemers his embittered heart is still capable of loving-and breaking.

But the Redeemers won't accept the defection of their special subject without a fight. As the clash of civilizations that has been looming for thousands of years draws near, a world where the faithful are as brutal as the sinful looks to young Cale to decide its fate.

Library Journal

Starvation, torture, and psychological abuse at the hands of Bosco and his Redeemers have honed Cale into a fighting machine in this first entry in a much-buzzed-about fantasy trilogy debut. When Cale discovers the depth of corruption infecting the military school/monastery/dungeon Sanctuary, his switchblade reaction forces a desperate escape with companions Vague Henri and Kleist. When they land among Memphis's upper class, their discomfort with the ways of foppish city society soon leaves them nostalgic for the Sanctuary's bad food and beatings. It takes all of their considerable skills to survive politics, duels, and the pursuit of the Redeemers. The boys are especially ill-prepared to encounter women. Unfortunately, the author seems equally discommoded: female characters are colorless sex objects to his men, and this somewhat mars the brisk adventure. VERDICT The Ender's Game-meets-the Inquisition premise should draw fans like moths to a flame. Clever phrasing and innate humor shine through Hoffman's brutish story, but over-the-top villains and rushed, unlikely twists lead to a frustrating, cliff-hanger ending. Still, this novel will make a rousing next step for fans of Terry Goodkind, R.A. Salvatore, and their ilk. Hoffman shows promise; his skills may well develop in pace with his trilogy. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/10.]—Neil Hollands, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA