Why the Hogan-Verse Sucks in The Hand of the Dead

The world that Alfredo Hogan created for the Monte Cristo "sequel", The Hand of the Dead, sucks to live in. It has all of the disadvantages of a world run by a pitiless, exacting God, and of a world where "sh** happens and then you die" where no matter how hard you try to follow "God's rules", you're still easily a victim to random occurrences that end your life way prematurely. 

Yeah, I'm still rambling and ranting about this trainwreck of a book. It's even worse than Jules Lermina's books, because at least Lermina allowed Haydee to die of unknown natural causes, the Count managed to live until age 75, and he was able to raise his son Esperance/Spero up to age 21. Hogan doesn't even give the Count that much. Nope. 

Hogan's ever-present moralizing: "Don't be arrogant! Give your money to the poor! Be humble! Renounce and denounce those who aren't following these rules! (e.g. the Count)" completely fall flat because characters like Max and Val obeyed these dictates didn't end up any better off in the end, as Hogan killed them off in a steamer ship explosion, not even sparing the 2 innocent young children aboard. Everybody threw the Count under the bus, and all it took was Benedetto waving around a disgusting, shriveled hand. Both Mrs. Danglars and Edmond Dantes joined religious orders, but neither found peace and contentment there. So there was no cosmic reward for their sacrifice which begs the question: why bother? All of you are gonna die soon, so why live a life of guilt, prayer and deprivation?

Next is the whole idea of Hogan's almost-gleeful punishment of the Count, stripping everything from him and kicking him while he's down, and being lectured by BENEDETTO, who had committed truly worse crimes. Where's the cosmic, or God-driven justice in THAT? What does God (as portrayed in this book) even want? 

Considering that nowadays, there is an audience for dark, darker, darkest in fictional worlds (koff, koff, Gankutsuou) spun by their authors, Alfredo Hogan fits right in. His is a grim world that runs on malice, callousness and fear given free rein. The old biblical adage, "Repent and you will be forgiven" does not apply. Everybody's living with a sword dangling over their heads, in religious fear, fear of folk beliefs AND superstition. Only the survivors of Hogan's bloodbath (straight-washed Eugenie and Louise, Beauchamp, Pastrini and Peppino) lucked out because Hogan's eye (pen) wasn't paying too much attention to them. 

What else is wrong with the Hogan-Verse?

Poor date-keeping, where even in Chapter 1, the date is "1837", said to be one year before the 1838 events of the original book. Then when it focuses on Eugenie and Louise, becoming a hit in Italy's music scene, the year is stated as "Jan 1836" which is TWO YEARS before the Count even got involved with any of them. He was off in the East, and Eugenie was 15 and still living at home with Mommy and Daddy.

Leaps of Logic Required: 

1. Beauchamp, the new King's Prosecutor, is such a "good friend" of Mrs. Danglars that he illegally passes her 60,000 francs to Benedetto, in prison. 
2. Why would the court release Benedetto, a murderer, out on parole to take care of Villefort? If V is broke, isn't that what charity hospitals are for? Rather than letting a killer out on the loose? 
3. Why would Mrs. Danglars think that kidnapping Eugenie would make her daughter lose her taste for performing in musical theater? 
4. Since when is Eugenie not-a-lesbian and falls in love with Luigi Vampa? Why is she so "fragile" and faints so easily when he carries her away? 
5. Why wouldn't Albert recognize Benedetto, his savior, as Andrea Cavalcanti? Why would he become friends with a known murderer? 
6. Why are Albert and Mercedes "remembering things differently" and laying the blame for all their troubles on the Count? He didn't MAKE THEM give up all their money and property. They did it on their own! Made their own beds...
   
7. Why wouldn't Max and Val empty the grotto of the riches the Count gave them, instead of leaving it there, untouched for 3 years (so Benedetto can steal it all)?
8. Why is Haydee's mental state so delicate? She survived a whole bunch of trauma as a child, and she has wealth and the man of her dreams and a son. And *now* she's prone to depression and jealousy? 
9. Does Hogan not understand child development? If the Count's son is 3-1/2, why is he written like he's a helpless newborn? Like being scooped up and passed around during the charity banquet? He's 30 lbs, FFS! How can his past be kept secret when a child his age can talk? Like, "My Mommy is Haydee, the wife of Monte-Cristo. I want my Mommy!!!"
10. Related to #9... why does Benedetto think he can rename the boy TWICE, first as "Edouard" and next as "Edmund"? A kid of that age would say, "My name's not Edouard or Edmund. It's Esperance (or whatever...)! Stop calling me those other names!"
    
11. In a world where a Christian God, or Hogan's interpretation of God exists, why is everyone so spooked about some random kook carrying around a mummified hand? To the point where they all obey this wacko? Why do people set so much store in what a fake Gypsy says? Are they Christians or what? 
12. If people are that dumb, what's to stop the next grifter from digging up a corpse's hand and doing EXACTLY the same thing to extort money and make people do whatever he says? There's always plenty of cemeteries and coffins and dead hands to steal!
    
13. Benedetto's plan is to make the Count live and suffer- a lot. Peppino stops the Count from taking poison along with Haydee. So what's gonna stop him from taking a fatal dose LATER?
14. After Benedetto enjoys ruining the Count, there's just one more little thing he wants: the identity of his mother. He offers his victim "whatever you ask" to know this, and the downtrodden and broken Count gives this info to him FOR FREE. What a stupid-head! He could have at least leveraged this to some advantage. "My son. Tell me where my son is, and I'll tell you about your mother. A fair exchange."