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The Left Hand of God

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The Left Hand of God

By: Paul Hoffman
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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About this listen

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman is the gripping first instalment in a remarkable trilogy.

"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."

The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place - a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose - to serve in the name of the One True Faith.

In one of the Sanctuary's vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old - he is not sure and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die.

His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless, and deeply corrupt.

But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price... not because of the secret he now knows but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.

The Left Hand of God is a must read. It is the first instalment in a gripping trilogy by Paul Hoffman. Imagine if Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials met Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose. Fans of epic heroic fiction will love this series.

Praise for Paul Hoffman:
'This book gripped me from the first chapter and then dropped me days later, dazed and grinning to myself' Conn Iggulden
'Tremendous momentum' Daily Telegraph
'A cult classic . . .' Daily Express

Dark Fantasy Fantasy Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction Witty
All stars
Most relevant
Although I acknowledge this book is not particularly great literature and that there is nothing terribly original in it, it is a really entertaining fantasy book. There are elements of it that are contrived and other parts which make you roll your eyes, but on the whole it is fine and keeps going at a great pace and compels one to read it to the end. If you take your fantasy seriously (to me 'Serious Fantasy' is an oxymoron) then you will probably be able to quote lots of better books and authors, but if you want an easy listening experience without taking it all too seriously, then this is as good as the next.

In a nutshell, if you are a 3rd Dan 'Dungeons and Dragons' Master who has memorised everything that Terry Brookes ever wrote and go to LOTR conventions dressed as an Orc, this is probably not the book for you. For everyone else who has realistic expectations (look at the cover illustration, for goodness sake!) of what this book is going to deliver, give it a try.

I for one am looking forward to the sequel.

Guilty pleasure

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Really enjoyable book, with great narrator, perfect pairing as few books seem to have the right narrator for the job! Great listen, engrossing story and looking forward to the next part!

Excellent!

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I didn't remember reading the blurb about this book so found myself very confused for the first few chapters. It was quite unlike something I thought I would have chosen but it was so interesting that I continued to listen. And I'm glad I did, it's brilliantly written, very tense and also very weird! For a while I couldn't figure out if this was set in the real world or a fantasy and I'm still not sure, lots of made up words and places and people but all so believable. If I'd read a hard copy I'd probably have found it 'unputdownable', the fact that I was listening I guess makes it 'unturnoffable'?! Now where's the next part?!

Excellent and weird!

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I read all three parts before commenting so as to see the story through to the end. Okay, the trilogy is not "great literature", but it is a story which draws you in and keeps you there. There are patches which are too drawn out and sometimes the story takes it's time to get where it is going, but it is so worth the effort. Thomas Cale will stay with me for a long time, and I'll come back and listen to these again. The burning question for me is - when will producers wake up to this trilogy and make films of them. These books are a far better source material than many poorer stories which have been made into films costing mega-bucks. Finally a word about the narration. 10 out 10 for Sean Barratt. He captured all the characters well without being over the top in his characterisations, but most of all he totally nailed Thomas Cale's personality. I hope Hoffman will tempted to write a follow-on.

Cries out to be made into a film

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Magnificent, the story, prose and narration are perfect. will be the first to buy part two.

The Left Hand of God

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