drey's library

Thomas Cale has only ever known one reality--that which the Redeemers provided in the Sanctuary, with the daily abuse and revolting food. You learn two things quickly there--keep your head down and your mouth shut. Unfortunate for Cale, who doesn't seem to possess either skill in any quantity... Then he discovers there's a whole world outside Sanctuary.Cale reminds me a bit of Kvothe, star of Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles. They're both smart, brash, and just a wee bit too full of themselves. And they just can't seem to not do that last little thing that crosses the line. Which, as you can imagine, doesn't quite make them many friends... They're also both young, so nobody listens to anything they say, even if they could be right. Poor things... I do wish though, that Cale was just a bit more real--I don't quite understand his thoughts or actions where it regards Arbell, and I sometimes wanted to smack him on the head for his infantile behavior.Paul Hoffman has created an intriguing world for The Left Hand of God, and interesting characters to inhabit that world. I enjoyed the story even if parts of the plot slogged and other parts raced through, and I was sometimes in the dark as to the characters' motivations. Overall, though, this is a pretty good debut effort and I will have a review of its sequel The Last Four Things up for you soon...