The Left Hand of God

I was intrigued by the first chapter, but shortly after that, I could tell it was going nowhere. The narration became far too active in the story for me, constantly popping in to fully explain the context behind something a character says, or explaining why the character is correct/incorrect despite them not knowing, or going on tangents about the distant past or stuff that isn't even in the same room. I found myself gradually more and more annoyed at character's names the more they popped up. "Solomon Solomon," "Vague Henri," "IdrisPukke(this one struck me as a tag in a video game)," etc., never being referred to by nicknames. If these were shortened, the book would likely be 20,000 words shorter. And it really needed to be. Overexplained, underdeveloped. Adding a star because the sarcastic narration made me laugh quite a few times.

As enjoyable a read as it was, I became more and more irritated by the jumping around of the plot and several dead ends/unexplained circumstances... What was Daniel Cadbury doing on Silbury Hill, what was the relevance of the big crossbow they found, Cale went to find Simon in the battle and found Mond instead and saved him, why didn't he go on to find Simon, and how did Simon turn up safe? Arbell's mother flitted into the story for one paragraph and disappeared. etc etc If loose ends drive you mad, don't read it. I know it's supposed to be the first of 3 but Tolkein never had the same trouble

2012/06/07. I liked the universe the author created. Though with the references to Memphis, Jesus of Nazareth, and Jerusalem, I am wondering if it set in an alternate Earth. I enjoyed the main character and will be interested to see how he fares in the next book. It was nice that the author credited his inspiration for the big final battle to Agincourt.