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Le Quattro Cose Ultime (2011)

by Paul Hoffman(Favorite Author)
3.54 of 5 Votes: 2
ISBN
8842916560 (ISBN13: 9788842916567)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Nord
series
The Left Hand of God
review 1: 4 StarsThe Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman picks up right where the first book the Left Hand of God left off. After my first read through the first book, I doubted that I would ever go on with the series. I decided to reread the first book, and I am glad that I did. The problems that I had with it the first time through now seemed forgivable and the story felt fresh and new. It is rare but on occasion a second time through can change your perspective. Here I am now having completed the second book and glad for the ride…“‘Death, Judgement, Heaven and HellThe last four things on which we dwellMortification, death and sinThese are the clothes that we lie in.’”This is a much smaller scoped story and plot but the book is epic in its adventure and battles. We are trea... moreted to more story and more development of Cale. “‘Why would you do such a terrible thing? Because it is in your nature to do so. You are not a man, you are God’s anger made flesh. There is enough of mankind in you to wish to be other than what you are. You want to love, you want to show kindness, you want to be merciful. But in your heart you know you are none of these things. That is why people hate you and why the more you try to love them the more they fear you. This is why the girl betrayed you and why you will always be betrayed as long as you live. You are a wolf pretending to himself that he is a lamb.”The story moves along at a brisk pace and I found that I had quickly read through it. I recommend this series and will be quickly moving on to the next book.
review 2: While reading this book, I felt that there were times when I couldn't understand sentences. I wasn't sure if it was due to my brain not understanding English or what. It turns out that the writing seems to have an allergy to pauses, mainly commas and the like. It's very annoying to have to read a sentence or a paragraph more than once and sometimes read it aloud in order to make those natural pauses. And it's not just a chapter or two. It's the whole book. Is this how English is changing in my lifetime? I hope not because I will be put out if the language continues like that.Anyway.Thomas Cale kicks butt in his very 15 year-old mind. Yes, he's still a teenager with no definite moral compass. He goes along with Bosco's plan despite his hatred for the man. I like the story itself (despite its lack of natural pauses) and keep thinking about Cale and and everything that he does, says and plans. Bosco convinces Cale to help him get to Avignon where the pope resides and make him become the next pope. The best surprise out of that is that the pope turns out to be a woman and they only discover that after she dies. Cale manages to win a major battle for Bosco which causes the coup d'etat in Avignon and while Bosco is celebrating his triump, Cale escapes him again.Aside from the lack of natural pauses, I have a problem with the timeline. There is no specific mention of weeks or months going by, as far as I can remember. I do feel that when I read the book, months had gone by since the end of the last book which is when Bosco recaptures Cale. Right before all that Cale is "betrayed" (and I put that in quotes because the betrayal takes place under duress and after the fact that Cale had surrendered himself to Bosco). Cale was Arbell's lover and I wondered at the end of the book if she'd end up pregnant after all that boinking. In the second book we see Arbell again after she's already married and very pregnant. By that account, it's assumed that 6-8 months have gone by since she hasn't given birth yet. The timeline feels all out of whack. It felt as if Cale's battles and eventual escape from Bosco happened over more than 6-8 months. Spatially it makes no sense.All that notwithstanding, I couldn't come up with a story like this. All the characters have a purpose, even Arbell and Cale's two friends. I can't wait for the final installment just so I can see Cale be a boy again. That is my hope for him. less
Reviews (see all)
tamil
I really wasn't going to go forward with this series. After finding Left Hand a painful and clumsy exercise in poor writing I decided to ditch the series (which is a big thing for me)Unfortunately some well-meaning friends gave me the third book for xmas last year. Well me being me, rather than thanking my friends and returning the book, I loaned The Last Four Things from the library.What struck me first is an apparent change in tone. Maybe I just didn't pick up on it in the last book, but the voice narrating this piece espoused far more sarcastic humor than before. While the change in tone was welcome in a way as it morphed the melodrama of the story into satire, the series is still difficult. The main problem with Last Four Things it the protag Thom Cale, currently back with his Redeemer 'buddies' spends the majority of the book non-plussed about his situation, creating a similar effect in the reader.Only by the last quarter does stuff start happening, and its reasonably exciting stuff, but like many episodes in a series, one finds the author may just be filling time before some decent events because these days your epic fantasy has to be at least seven books to be respectable.Nonetheless Four Things was an improvement on the first book, less cringing prose (less not good mind you) the narration is slightly tighter and the flow of the book is smooth enough to read quickly which is a good thing.
nancy
After the first book in the series, (The left hand of god) I felt fairly engaged in the characters that are involved. Unfortunately the main character seems to fall down, Thomas Cale the protagonist, comes across to the reader as a somewhat shrewd leader in the first book. Brought up in a strict religious society he escapes (a desire he had harboured for a while) and experiences a life outside of the sanctuary, we quickly learn that he has an ability to fight that is unequaled by anybody else and has been trained as a master tactician. When he escapes the sanctuary he discovers a different life and new freedoms that come with it, so it is with some disbelief that even after the events of the first book he goes so easily back to the sanctuary and redeemer Boscoe.I must confess to only getting half way through this second installment, Thomas cales return and acceptance of his new revered place within the sanctuarys heirachy just didn't fit. I must confess I had my doubts after the first book but wanted to give the series a chance the more I perservered the more I disliked the character. I enjoyed the premise of the book and thought there were some really good characters within it but the main drive of Thomas Cale just left you with nobody to root for.
Saumya
Realistic and brutal.
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