Review by RaeBella9119 -- The Hand Bringer

[RaeBella9119]

[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, penned by Christopher J. Pennington, is a story that combines sci-fi adventure with horror and deals with the implications of time-travel, faith, free will and predestination and the occult. It took numerous cues from and inspiration from Romanian folklore, military adventures such as Stargate, as well as elements from Arthurian legends. The story is an unexpectedly wonderful mix of elements from the above-mentioned inspirations. Its protagonist, Peter Hadrian, started out as a typical tragic hero and ended the story as a very well-developed character.

I have to say, I enjoyed reading this book. It was able to combine so many elements and placed them at the right time and place. The characters, even the minor named ones, have been developed to the point that once their part in the story ends, you get to feel at least a slight disappointment that their part was up to that point only. On the other hand, many of the major players were given proper closure by the time their part of the story ended. The book was also full of well-placed twists and transitions that the changes in the story did not appear forced.

As there are always two sides to a story, so does a review of a book wherein not only its merits are discussed but also it’s demerits. Honestly, there are only two things that I could see as possible downsides to this title. The first is that the ending may appear to be a bit rushed or a bit oversimplified. On the other hand, it doesn’t need to be drawn out and by the story ends, all of the major plot points have been resolved with a little bit leeway for a sequel should the author desire to make one. The second one is where the secondary couple’s relationship looks a bit forced. Yes, they are still integral to the story but the way their relationship was developed felt shoehorned. This is probably what I least liked about the story but can be overlooked as the secondary couple are more or less aren’t exactly the focus of the story so to speak

As for additional merits to the title, for starters, the title itself is enticing and also managed to avoid being a spoiler. Going over the numerous loving details that the author used to describe the locations and scenarios found in the book, especially the historical ones, it is evident that the author did his homework. Every character who was introduced had a role to play and played it well, contributing to the forward movement of the story. The book also did not shy away from certain aspects of the Romanian mythology and life in the 16th century.

What I like most about the book is that it was able to short of flawlessly blend all the elements that it used and transition them from one element/genre to the next. It is for this reason, along with those mentioned earlier that I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars.

This is a title that I can definitely recommend and I won't mind reading it again.

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The Hand Bringer
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