Review by supraja_prasad -- The Hand Bringer

[supraja_prasad]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Hand Bringer" by Christopher J. Penington.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Hand Bringer by Christopher J Pennington is a tale of adventure and romance with a science fiction twist added to it. The premise is simple, or so it seems to be when it gets established. Built upon the classic science fiction trope of – you guessed it – time travel, it is a tale of great intrigue! But it doesn’t end there. The story has a lot of supernatural elements into the mix as well. Here’s a hint. The protagonist travels through time to medieval ages. He lands in a place that we now call Romania. So, you might as well rest assured that vampires lurk in the background, waiting to take centre stage. And with vampires, comes the question of good and evil, light and dark and ultimately God and the devil.

Woven into this tale is an exploration of the past, present and the future. And central to it is a folklore that is oft-repeated but is still most sought for—the story of the birth and the defeat of the most feared of vampires – Vlad Dracula. The story follows Peter Hadrian, a police officer through the loss of his child and the death of his wife. Even with the loss and grief, Peter reports for duty and comes face to face with an adversary whose strengths and powers are beyond human comprehension or capabilities. Bested by the said adversary, Peter is at death’s door but is saved or turned, by the help of advanced sciences. It’s only later that we come to know that the fierce, yet the seemingly gentle vampire Boriana is the reason for the turn of events as they had happened. But it still makes sense in its own way for if not we would have been stuck in a paradox, boiling down to the romance that spans through centuries.

Moving on from the plot to characterisation, the author is consistent. In that Peter comes across as a great strategist rivalling and besting the kings of the old. His friend Luke is more often at the position of the reader, and yet again poised and consistent. Of the others who travel to the past to see that the mission gets carried out is Bat. One is lead to think that his nickname is a result of his notoriety. Still, he manages to fool everyone but the sharp-eyed Peter which we learn only at the very end. And the mission is led by the obsessed, ailing scientist Kolemis who is as eccentric as they come. In the midst of it all shines the love Boriana has for Peter.

On that note, I have but one issue with the book. It is this – why is Peter the Hand Bringer? What or who is the hand bringer is a question that is left unanswered through the book. But, it might as well have been on me, as after a point, I jumped, hopped and skipped over the few questions that I had relating to the plot. I was just so engrossed and pulled into the tale that I didn’t mind ignoring these concerns. The pace and the writing style was just that good. Despite a smattering of words of foreign languages in the pages, it had me hooked. It is for this reason that I give this book a 4 out of 4 stars.

Yes, I believe that the story was that good for me to put my misgivings aside. I found that the language and grammar were so on point that I could not find errors. But it needs to be noted that the book has its share of gore and violence. This is because of the many detailed descriptions of the wars fought in medieval times. Also, I would like to mention that the author has used profane language quite liberally. It is because of this I would not recommend the book to anyone younger than eighteen. At this point, I also feel obligated to mention that there is but one description of the content of sexual nature, but it’s not explicit. As far as recommendations go, I would recommend this book to those who love to read more of time travel and the supernatural, especially tales of vampires.

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The Hand Bringer
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