Review of Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech

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Chukwuebuka Ifedigbo
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Review of Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech

Post by Chukwuebuka Ifedigbo »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech" by Marcel Sahade.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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The world we live in today is full of corruption, deception and violence. People now have an insatiable thirst for wealth and power and would go to any length to achieve that. Marcel V Sahade's Spellbound – The Workings of DrugTech opens our eyes to this horrid phenomenon.

The book revolves around DrugTech, a pharmaceutical company in Sydney, Australia. DrugTech wields power and wealth from exploiting and manipulating people. They do this to remain relevant in society while also maintaining an economic edge in the market. Typically, DrugTech hires some of the finest scientists to find a cure for problems like cancer, time travel, immortality etc. These experiments are tested on humans, and often, the results are either undesirable or gory.

The book has several positive sides. First, it has an exciting plot that is full of suspense. Such a fantastic storyline magically keep you glued to every word and page. While reading, I was always eager to know how each story ended. For example, in "The Problem with Submarines", on page 104, I was curious to see how a Captain and his crewmembers, 1050 feet underwater, managed to escape being hit by an enemy vessel. Also, every chapter in the book centres on a moral wrong, making the book very easy to understand. For instance, "The Charlatan" emphasizes deception, "The Inducer" narrates a story on deception and so many others. Lastly, the book is written in first-person narrative, which is lovely. The use of carefully selected pronouns backed by a vivid description makes the narrative relatable and immersive.

However, I noticed several negative aspects too. Although this piece is interesting, the stories are disjointed and seemingly disorganized. At first glance, an impatient reader may be unwilling to read the book because it might be challenging to understand the stories and see their connection. For example, "The Gaolbird" on page 32 is linked to "Mr Solitary" on page 88, "The Cure" on page 15 is connected to "DrugTech" on page 64, and "The Science Ball" on page 43 is related to "Project X23" in page 68. Only an intelligent reader may be patient enough to read up to the last two chapters to find how these stories are linked. In addition, the author used a foreign term in the book but failed to translate it. Marcel used the word "Ute" severally in the story "Occupational Discord". Readers who are not Australians might find it difficult to understand its use in the book.

This is a good book. Hence, I would be rating it 4 out of 4 stars. It is professionally edited as I only noticed a few errors, which does not warrant me removing a star. Accordingly, I will recommend this book to people who enjoy reading fiction books on crime, adventure and societal ills.

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Spellbound - The Workings of Drugtech
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Ellylion
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Post by Ellylion »

I loved this book very much. A very intriguing collection of short stories :) Thank you for a great review!
Joyful17
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Post by Joyful17 »

It can be stressful to have to work to piece disjointed stories together. I wonder if I have the patience required. Thanks for a detailed review.
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NancyDrew12
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Post by NancyDrew12 »

I'm intrigued by this book. But reading a story that isn't properly put together seems stressful. Great review!
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