Review by alavirafi -- The Hand Bringer

[alavirafi]

[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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Peter, a smart policeman who lost his child and his wife earlier, gets a distress call while in duty and rushes to the spot. There he gets attacked by a vampire. He kills it, not until the vampire pushes its fangs in his neck. As injured Peter was being taken to the hospital by his friend Luke McElroy, on the way they are received by the Apocalypse Suppression Administration (ASA), a secret organization working to eradicate vampirism under the FBI. There Peter becomes their interesting subject as he was bitten by a vampire. He gradually gets cured by the ASA and they inject him with a number of substances that increases his strength and immunity against the vampire virus. Then the ASA proposes Peter that if he helps them to destroy the source of vampirism by going back to the medieval Romania through time, they will help him to get his son back. A team is sent including Peter, Luke, Doctor Kolemis and Bat to 1476 for fulfilling their mission. Thus an adventure full of mystery, romance, battles, heroism, betrayal and friendship starts. Will Peter be able to fulfill his mission of eradicating vampirism? Will he be able to get his son back? Read to find out.

Vampire mythologies have existed since ancient times bearing a special interest by the fantasy lovers. The literary existences of these mythologies were expedited in the 18th and 19th centuries. Bram Stoker’s reinvention of Dracula as a menacing and tormented creature acts as a catalyst in this aspect. Prince Vlad Tepes nicknamed Dracula is the most celebrated character in the vampire fantasies. The Hand Bringer also highlights the mythologies of vampirism in an astounding manner.

Christopher J. Penington has used his experience as a police officer in this novel. He effectively described the qualities of a police officer through Peter Hadrian. In this novel, Christopher chose to mix classic folklore with his induced science fiction through time travel. The result is an appealing blend of fantasy and sci-fi.

Throughout the story, the author has maintained a smooth pace, inducing patches of romance, battle and betrayals along the way. The characters are also brought on by the author in a fantastic way. The story revolves around Peter Hadrian and the author gradually develops the character by adding different qualities to the personality. Other supporting characters include Luke who is always thinking about momentary gains. My favorite character in this novel is Boriana who is tantalizingly beautiful as described by the author. Other important personalities are Theodoric, Adrian, the Wallachian Prince Dracula and the Ottoman warrior, Musa Hussad. The complications of the story are eased by the author in the last two chapters through conversation of Oliver and Lewis. The author has also used some early Romanian dialects like ‘strigoi’, ‘vampiri’ etc throughout the story and I was pleased to know their meaning as I read on.

Since there is nothing I disliked in this book, I rate it 4 out of 4 ignoring minute editing errors. The thing I liked most in this book is the meticulous description of the events by the author. But there is certain profanity which I do not encourage. The story also contains erotic scenes which delineates that this book is for the adults. This book can be recommended to readers who like to read about vampires along with a hint of sci-fi.

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The Hand Bringer
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[bookreviewmi1111]

I enjoyed the book, the characters were built so well to me. Thanks for the nice review!

[Tonika632]

Such a well-developed book. I really enjoyed it. Great review!