Book review : The hand bringer by Christopher Penington

The Handbringer by Christopher J. Penington is what you get when urban fantasy, high fantasy and historical fiction have coffee together. If you love a good adventure story this would be right up your alley. While the book boasts a combination that promises to deliver, did it really?

Peter Hadrian the dashing cop protagonist is savaged by a vampire when he takes a distress call. He wakes up in the facility and told he has been chosen for a mission, one that takes him backwards in time! He is sent to defeat the source of the vampirism outbreak by killing Dracula. It’s not that simple (as expected) and on the way love is found, friendship bonds are forged, and adventure is had.

I love the premise of this book clearly. Chris fleshed out Romania’s history and put some colour into the possibilities of the reality of Vlad. I learned about the politics of living in ancient Romanian times before it was actually Romania. It's very immersive if you've fantasized about being a strapping medieval warrior that is. It’s funny and sad to see in writing how people in the past would have reacted to such an outbreak and even a possible cure outside the realms of their knowledge. There’s a big dollop of Christianity inspired concepts in this book and it was nice.

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Now the characters are well done. The main hero broods sufficiently. Heroics are performed left and right and the rest of the cast are funny and compelling while delivering premium banter...except the women. They are so empty and read like caricatures. If you took out the romance plots it would make no difference to this book. Sexual violence against women was used as a plot booster and it added nothing to the story. Elizabeth was particularly wasted. Boriana well, what’s the point in falling in love with such a person? The man must be stupid or very damaged. Poor sod.

The book is light on the day to day drudgeries of living in medieval times but I was okay with that. There are a few plot holes but hey it’s a fantasy I can ignore. It starts off interesting but the middle sagged a bit with too many unnecessary things while the ending was rushed.

There is violence, nudity and sex so hide your kids. Profanity and violence on page 5. Nudity/sex on page 36. Editing errors on page 38.

I give this book 2 stars because I enjoyed the idea and the beginning of it so very much. If you don’t believe every adventure book you read has to be excellent, then do grab this.

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Review by Gloria Anni.