The Beating Of His Wings - Paul Hoffman

RATING: THREE STARS

The Hanged Redeemers are nearly ready to unleash their holy war against mankind. Their soldiers, the best and most highly trained in the known world, are moving and they have already left the Sanctuary in the dust behind. The only person who can hope to stand against them is Thomas Cale, a once proficient warrior who is ailed by a crippling disease. Yet Cale cares nothing for the world around and would gladly watch it burn if it meant others would leave him alone.

No-one will and Cale is pursued and manoeuvred mercilessly by those who think to use him. The Swis King means to have him lead his armies against the Redeemers. Kitty the Hare means to use Cale's talents in violence to make him richer than he has ever been before. Brusco, the Pope of the Hanged Redeemer Church, believes Cale to be the Left Hand of God and the incartion of His wrath. Cale is supposed to wipe man - God's greatest mistake - off the face of the world.

All Thomas Cale sees is chaos and the suffering of his broken soul.

The Good
The Beating of His Wings was a satisfying conclusion to an undoubtedly superb religious fantasy and Paul Hoffman ties up every loose end that has split during the trilogy. It's exciting and inventive, being filled with tactical battles, multi-layered characters and the justifications of faith.

Hoffman has also continued to write in his dry, quirky manner that I really liked in the previous instalments and the book has this odd childishness to it (despite it NOT being for children!). Beloved characters such as Vague Henry and IdrisPukke are back, wandering through Spanish Leeds and adding their wits to Cale's own.

The Bad
My main fault with The Beating of His Wings is with the strange geography of Hoffman's world (once again). No map has been included with the book and he never really makes references to places or the distances between them, simply flinging in real places so they mix together strangely. I assume this is a subtle attempt to remind his readers of the real world so we link to it and add depth to the book, but I found it a little disconcerting!

My Thoughts
Overall though, I think the book was pretty good and I enjoyed reading it. It certainly wasn't a page turner and I had been expecting more from it (although I suppose I was still stunned by the quality of The Martian by Andy Weir and had forgotten that not all books were like this), yet it ended the Left Hand of God trilogy well. I would recommend this book (and series) to anyone who is looking to read something a bit different, especially if you're after something dark and gripping.