Thomas Cale is a young acolyte in the Sanctuary, home to a order of warrior monks. His life is brutal, cold, hungry and tough. Friends aren't tolerated in the order of the Redeemers and training to wage war is the order of the day. It is clear that Cale is being trained for some special purpose but nothing is clear.
Following a horrific discovery, Cale is forced to flee the Sanctuary along with two fellow trainees and a young handmaiden. Although ferociously hunted by the Redeemers, they manage to evade their persuers and make their way to the city of Memphis, where their lives start to take some interesting turns.
Thomas Cale is a interesting character - he is at turns a killing machine and devoid of feeling, but he also struggles with latent feelings and emotions. In a way, Cale is typical of this novel. It struggles with an identity. I was uncertain in which timeline or world this story was set. Was it a post-apocalyptical tale, an early medieval tale or a story of a parallel universe? Although Hoffman writes eloquently, he fails to elicit real emotion or interest. A climatic battle scene simply passes by without raising a real sense of doom or defeat.
The book is the first of a series, but I won't be reading further. It simply didn't engross me enough to buy more.
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