Review by kdhutchinson -- The Hand Bringer

[kdhutchinson]

[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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Arguably the most debonair of the modern-day movie monsters, the vampire has been the subject of literature for hundreds of years. Christopher J. Penington’s The Hand Bringer presents a refreshing take on the origin and spread of vampirism. Combining the traditional aspects of a medieval fantasy and the technological advancements of a science fiction novel, Penington develops the idea of seenjites, enigmatic microbes that cause the vampiric disease. Using the mingling of genres, combined with an undercurrent of romance and an antagonist who is Dracula himself, The Hand Bringer introduces a unique world for the reader to explore.

Peter Hadrian is a police officer and an ex-marine, living in the aftermath of his estranged wife’s death and his son’s disappearance. When he is called to the scene of a disturbance, he comes face-to-face with a vampire, whose infectious bite sends him on a journey that he has been predestined for since his childhood. Quickly transported to a scientific facility run by the Apocalypse Suppression Administration (ASA), he learns that vampires are far from being creatures of myth; they are actually humans who have been infected with a mysterious disease that causes them to reanimate after their apparent deaths. More than that, they are very real and spreading the seenjites rapidly. Peter also discovers that he himself is very special, having been initially infected as a child, but never transformed.

After being inoculated and trained in the facility, Peter is ready for the mission he was destined for: to go back in time to medieval Romania and end vampirism where it began, with Vlad Dracula. He agrees to this only after being promised that ASA will use their time travelling technology to also help him locate his son. However, Peter’s mission will become more complicated as he meets Boriana, the vampire who had infected him as a child. Will Peter Hadrian be successful, and will he make it back to save his son?

Throughout the novel, there are multiple ways that a tinge of sci-fi is added to this primarily fantasy-themed novel, and in my opinion, it really works. Penington does a nice job of weaving these pseudo-scientific elements together so that they do not feel out of place and, as a reader, I appreciate that I couldn’t predict them beforehand. In particular, the element of time travel is an interesting choice for this novel overall, and the author really runs with it. Although I knew that time travel was going to be involved from the novel’s summary, when it was introduced as a plot device, I was still pleasantly surprised and engaged in the character’s journey. Overall, I give this novel 4 out of 4 stars.

Though I liked a lot about this novel, I think the actual thing I enjoyed the most was the intermingling of Romanian. The author could have easily written the entire novel just “assuming” that the Romanians were speaking their native language, as many novels and even movies do, but he opted to include actual phrases and sometimes full sentences in Romanian to make the dialogue more authentic. I appreciated this small detail.

The thing I would have to say that I liked least about the novel is that in the initial chapters, the plot can feel a little jumpy, the way the early drafts of a novel can sometimes feel. I feel like all the substance of the novel is there, but there are times when further explanation or elucidation is needed to really understand what the characters are doing and why. For example, in one scene a prominent character is killed suddenly by a bear, and the death is written off with little acknowledgement. To me, it seems like Penington had a well-developed vision for the bulk of the novel, but the introductory chapters to get there seem a bit like an afterthought. This could easily be fixed by a thorough revision from the author. There were also some grammatical errors early on. I do not rate the novel lower based on these critiques, because I feel that in general, they are minor problems that do not persist in later chapters.

I would recommend this novel to most readers that are interested in fantasy motifs. However, this novel does heavily involve Christianity, including discussions about the Messiah. People who may not enjoy religious themes would probably not relate to this book for that reason. There are also mentions of sexual violence--though they are not described graphically--and this may be offensive to some.

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The Hand Bringer
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[bookreviewmi1111]

I enjoyed this movie-like book much. It was exciting to read. Thank you for your rating and review!

[Tonika632]

I agree with you abot the rating. This was ineed an interesting read.