Review of The Hand That Bears the Sword

Summery from back of the book –

“In the midst of their joyous “honey month,” newlyweds Packer and Panna Throme are once again thrust unwillingly into high adventure. Pirate Scat Wilkins, no longer in command of his great ship, has returned with evil intentions for Packer as the Trophy Chase sets sail for deep waters once again. While Packer is away, Panna, his bride, faces danger at the hands of the lecherous Prince Mather.” (Polivka, 2007).

My thoughts –

This is the second book in the Trophy Chase Trilogy, and it picks up right where the previous book left off. It is the largest book in the trilogy clocking in with 423 pages. There was so much good stuff in this one that I cruised right through it. All the key characters, that I had met in the previous book, were back. Some of the scenes also reminded me of the Hornblower series which I would also recommend.

I would say that I enjoyed this plot better then the first. The author introduced a new nation, Drammun, and I loved learning how they were different then the Vast. Throughout this book we find out more about Talon which helped me to understand her. Packer had more theological questions that put his faith to the test. Should he trust in his sword or let God do what he had planned? Panna also seemed to grow up a little bit and I liked her as a character better.

Violence –

The violence was dialed back a couple notches, and the violence that was there was mostly related to battles. At one point Packer believed that God wanted him to save his friends by killing all the enemies on his boat. He killed many men, but was not descriptive.

The Firefish returns in this book in a way that I was not expecting, but it worked. The Firefish does destroy a couple ships and ate all that fell into the water.

A character is shot with arrows and dies in his wife’s arms. Another character is hung, but people tried to save him to no avail. Afterwards, the people revolt and fight the Drammun.

Language –

None that I remember.

Innuendo –

If the language was toned down, then the innuendo went up. Panna is kept at the palace and the prince there has a thing for her. For a while she does not realize that he likes her. Once she does realize, she tries to stay away from him. At one point he tries to kiss her, but she rebuffs him with a punch and explains that she is married. At one point he asks to have dinner with her, and she accepts, but knocks him unconscious before dinner.

Another character gets married for political reasons and does end up loving her husband. She becomes pregnant.

Overall

This was a great squeal to the first book. I would say that this one was my favorite. I loved the character development and how the author was able to take me to this different world. Even Talon, had a human side to her. The violence did not bother me, but it is in there. I was annoyed with the prince for the majority of the book. However, this was definitely a step up from the first book.

Works Cited

Polivka, George Bryan. The Hand that Bears the Sword. Harvest House Publishers, 2007.

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