The Right Hand of God (Fire of Heaven Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The company has been scattered far and wide in its mission to prepare Faltha for war - now the armies of the Destroyer are near and invasion is imminent.

Leith has returned to the city of Instruere. Bearing with him the legendary JugomArk, thousands flock to him to fight for Faltha in the coming battle. But Leith struggles to accept their faith in him, and his role as custodian of this sacred artifact.

As the land darkens under the shadow of impending battle, the company must strive against treachery and self-doubt - for a great evil approaches.

About the Author

Russell Kirkpatrick's love of literature and a chance encounter with fantasy novels as a teenager opened up a vast number of possibilities to him. The idea that he could marry storytelling and mapmaking (his other passion) into one project grabbed him and wouldn't let go. He lives in New Zealand with his wife and two children. Find out more about Russell Kirkpatrick at www.russellkirkpatrick.com.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316003433
• ISBN-13: 978-0316003438
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #217,881 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Conclusion, May 17, 2008

By	R. Morris "Rob & Matt Morris" (Idaho Falls, ID USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first book was just good enough to make me read book two. Book two was just good enough to make me read book three. Good thing there is no book four, because I wouldn't have continued. This is a very disappointing conclusion to the trilogy. Kirkpatrick is a marvelous writer, to be sure, and his evocation of place is excellent, but in the end the characters just don't do enough to justify a book.

Without entering any spoilers in thie review, suffice it to say that the final showdown between the Falthans and their evil nemesis finally takes place in a fairly dry manner. In the end, this series would have worked better as a single book, with some tight editing and more attention to character development and plotting.

If you liked books one and two, you'll probably like book three. I found it disappointing and probably won't buy any more of Kirkpatrick's books until he stops trying to stretch one book into three.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good conclusion, April 12, 2008

By	P. Budney (Amherst , MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Enjoyable conclusion to the trilogy. At the end of this book, I felt as if I was saying goodbye to old friends, which for me is a sign that the author did a good job bringing his characters to life.
The battle scenes were well done , and the apparent defeat of the Falthan army at the end was an interesting twist.
As others have noted, the detailed descriptions of the different landscapes added to the realism, though the author/cartographer's abundance of place names was at times confusing.
In the tradition of Tolkien's work, if not quite as good, this trilogy held my interest right to the end.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, but not unexepected., April 8, 2008

By	David "dtstrange" (Pleasant Hill, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Sometimes I wonder how this stuff gets published. I mean, this trilogy started out OK. And I mean, just plain OK. A real LOTR ripoff, but lots of books are, so that's no big deal. The second book really improved upon the first and I was looking forward to the third. But, Kirkpatrick really let us down with a formulaic, poorly written and wholly unbelievable conclusion to his little epic. The book starts out bad and just gets worse. Even the evil wizard/Sauron guy, who was fairly interesting in limited appearances throughout the first two books, becomes nothing but a weenie in the end. It's one thing to kill the bad guy, it's quite another to turn him into a weenie. It just doesn't make sense.

There's lots and lots of "this doesn't make sense" bits in this book, too many to mention. The set up for the war is implausible (all of a sudden, tons of armies just APPEAR, ready to fight!!!) The battle scenes are not well-written. The lead character's emotional problems and refusal to deal with them don't seem true to form and again, don't make sense. The ending is just plain silly and wholly predictable. The main female character, who was supposed to have some important part to play in everything, doesn't really do much except suffer. Her appearance at the end of the book attempts some form of clever ending, but it really doesn't do much. The book still retains the travelogue aspect of the first two as yet more geography is traversed. Eventually, you get tired of this gigantic mass of characters going through yet another storm in yet another mountain pass. Can't these guys travel to San Diego or something to get out of the weather for a few days?

I guess if you're 15 years old and think "Eragon" and "Harry Potter" are good books, you MIGHT like this series. For anyone older, it probably won't do much for you. Too bad, really, as the second book showed some promise. I hear there's another book or something similar coming up. I have no idea if I'll get it. Maybe if I'm desperate or stuck in an airport or something.