Review by Ampheromine -- The Bonding by Imogen Keeper
Posted: 29 Mar 2017, 22:44
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper.]
3 out of 4 stars
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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub review of "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper.]
The Bonding is an erotic romance fiction with heavy sci-fi/fantasy overtones and written by Imogen Keeper, who bills it as "science fiction romance". It is the first of what is called the Tribe Warrior Series. The Bonding features a beautiful young queen-designate named Nissa, who must escape her planet of Triannon as it is besieged by murderous invaders called the Vestige. She, her royal parents, and 97 Trianni men and women have no choice but to enter cryogenic pods that are dispersed across the universe, with the hopes of being found by someone who can help reclaim their planet.
Luckily for Nissa, this hope is not in vain. Her pod is discovered by the strong warrior Tam of the planet Argentus. Unluckily for Nissa, by the time Tam gets her back to his home planet, she is nearing death. Tam is forced to Bond with her in order to save her life, and their tumultuous journey together begins. The Bond is a powerful emotional and sexual connection that makes the two physically inseparable, making for a particularly awkward situation for both Nissa and Tam. Can they save Triannon together? Can they manage this new and strange Bond? Or is it too late for the Trianni?
Prose
The Bonding is chock full of humorously casual vulgarity, sex scenes, and occasional violence. However, it took me a while to get into the story because I was thrown off by the prose at first. It felt very cliched and stilted. That made it difficult to immediately connect with the characters like I wanted to based upon the premise. Well, I either got used to it or the author tightened it up along the road. Throughout the story, the author overused the literary construct of pointed repetition. There were also phrases scattered around needlessly; the reader could've certainly come to the conclusion the author wanted without it being spelled out.
Formatting and dialogue can be inconsistent. Sometimes I don't know if the author is intending to write as an omniscient third-person narrator, a character's first person thought process, or something else entirely. As for the dialogue, one moment it's archaic and formal and the next, it's modern and vulgar. Tam and Nissa speak different languages, so some things are written in that language to convey the uniqueness of it. This really helps strengthen the immersion, but the author has a couple words that were "translated" fairly lazily; can you guess what "eeffoc" and "akdov" are on planet Argentus?
I like that the book reads almost like noir. Nissa and Tam's Bond is described very well, often bringing to mind a comparison to drug addiction. You can definitely feel the primal nature of the Bond. This is so well done in the story that it makes up for the other shortcomings. You have to continue reading to see where the Bond will take our protagonists next.
Plot
I very much love the concept of chemical addiction presented in The Bonding. There is a prevailing theme of conflict between primal desire and moral cognition, but because this is erotica, primal desire tends to win out most often. The Bond is so powerful that it literally intoxicates and distracts; Nissa and Tam go through withdrawals if the Bond is not consummated it regularly. Because of the power of the Bond, there is always the question of how real emotions are between them. Even though I've read the book and critically analyzed it, I still wonder about that.
Genders are almost caricatured in this story. Women are portrayed as effortlessly beautiful, sexual "others". Men are portrayed as powerful, sexual, and aggressive. The male characters all express thoughts beyond the surface level; the only female character seemingly capable of thinking deeper appears to be Nissa, and I wonder if that's just because she's the protagonist. Further, Nissa's level of introspection never seems to reach that of Tam's, which is disappointing.
There are several broader themes that I found enthralling. In The Bonding, the color red symbolizes bloodshed, Nissa's home planet, the addictive sexual haze caused by the Bond, and sometimes all three of those things. It often comes up in the storyline in a time of high emotion, whether that be panic or passion. There is a theme of innocence lost in various contexts, and finally, the theme of death and rebirth is prominent.
Character Development
Character development is hasty and uneven. The story deals with time in an inorganic fashion, as if to say "Time passed, that's why they're closer now" rather than really growing the characters. Nissa doesn't seem to begin thinking about the serious implications of being bonded until quite some time has passed. One could theoretically chalk this up to the Bond's way of stifling all emotions that don't have to do with consummation, but I don't think that's the case.
Nissa has certain thoughts and actions that don't seem to align with her established personality traits. She seems to be very prideful yet easily accepts being manipulated. She acts maturely in one moment, then very immaturely the next. As for Tam, he has an offputting reaction of love and sex wherein the two are confusingly conflated.
Immersion
The Bonding weaves in and out of immersiveness in a way that intermittently jolts you out of the author's world, but not for too long. For example, there are several parts that make the reader say "Wait. What? How can that be?" There are also a few grammar and formatting errors that need to be cleaned up. The Bond is very strong, but its intricacies need to be more formally outlined. Sometimes, inexplicable things happen that are just supposed to be accepted by the reader, and that's not always possible.
The prevailing part that won't let me suspend disbelief is the way Nissa questions things. When she does, it seems to only be in spurts up until that questioning is integral to the plotline. Otherwise, the sex scenes are well-described and very immersive. I enjoy the approach of dual-perspectives, showing what both characters are doing and thinking, rather than the author opting for limited omniscience.
Summary
In sum, The Bonding could've easily been missed due to a slow start. The ending was a bit predictable, but still feels good and makes you want to root for the protagonists. I am excited to read the second book in the series and see how the author grows her technique. I look forward to seeing how she advances this interesting world she's created. Despite the critiques described in this review, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The Bonding
View: on Bookshelves
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub review of "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper.]
The Bonding is an erotic romance fiction with heavy sci-fi/fantasy overtones and written by Imogen Keeper, who bills it as "science fiction romance". It is the first of what is called the Tribe Warrior Series. The Bonding features a beautiful young queen-designate named Nissa, who must escape her planet of Triannon as it is besieged by murderous invaders called the Vestige. She, her royal parents, and 97 Trianni men and women have no choice but to enter cryogenic pods that are dispersed across the universe, with the hopes of being found by someone who can help reclaim their planet.
Luckily for Nissa, this hope is not in vain. Her pod is discovered by the strong warrior Tam of the planet Argentus. Unluckily for Nissa, by the time Tam gets her back to his home planet, she is nearing death. Tam is forced to Bond with her in order to save her life, and their tumultuous journey together begins. The Bond is a powerful emotional and sexual connection that makes the two physically inseparable, making for a particularly awkward situation for both Nissa and Tam. Can they save Triannon together? Can they manage this new and strange Bond? Or is it too late for the Trianni?
Prose
The Bonding is chock full of humorously casual vulgarity, sex scenes, and occasional violence. However, it took me a while to get into the story because I was thrown off by the prose at first. It felt very cliched and stilted. That made it difficult to immediately connect with the characters like I wanted to based upon the premise. Well, I either got used to it or the author tightened it up along the road. Throughout the story, the author overused the literary construct of pointed repetition. There were also phrases scattered around needlessly; the reader could've certainly come to the conclusion the author wanted without it being spelled out.
Formatting and dialogue can be inconsistent. Sometimes I don't know if the author is intending to write as an omniscient third-person narrator, a character's first person thought process, or something else entirely. As for the dialogue, one moment it's archaic and formal and the next, it's modern and vulgar. Tam and Nissa speak different languages, so some things are written in that language to convey the uniqueness of it. This really helps strengthen the immersion, but the author has a couple words that were "translated" fairly lazily; can you guess what "eeffoc" and "akdov" are on planet Argentus?
I like that the book reads almost like noir. Nissa and Tam's Bond is described very well, often bringing to mind a comparison to drug addiction. You can definitely feel the primal nature of the Bond. This is so well done in the story that it makes up for the other shortcomings. You have to continue reading to see where the Bond will take our protagonists next.
Plot
I very much love the concept of chemical addiction presented in The Bonding. There is a prevailing theme of conflict between primal desire and moral cognition, but because this is erotica, primal desire tends to win out most often. The Bond is so powerful that it literally intoxicates and distracts; Nissa and Tam go through withdrawals if the Bond is not consummated it regularly. Because of the power of the Bond, there is always the question of how real emotions are between them. Even though I've read the book and critically analyzed it, I still wonder about that.
Genders are almost caricatured in this story. Women are portrayed as effortlessly beautiful, sexual "others". Men are portrayed as powerful, sexual, and aggressive. The male characters all express thoughts beyond the surface level; the only female character seemingly capable of thinking deeper appears to be Nissa, and I wonder if that's just because she's the protagonist. Further, Nissa's level of introspection never seems to reach that of Tam's, which is disappointing.
There are several broader themes that I found enthralling. In The Bonding, the color red symbolizes bloodshed, Nissa's home planet, the addictive sexual haze caused by the Bond, and sometimes all three of those things. It often comes up in the storyline in a time of high emotion, whether that be panic or passion. There is a theme of innocence lost in various contexts, and finally, the theme of death and rebirth is prominent.
Character Development
Character development is hasty and uneven. The story deals with time in an inorganic fashion, as if to say "Time passed, that's why they're closer now" rather than really growing the characters. Nissa doesn't seem to begin thinking about the serious implications of being bonded until quite some time has passed. One could theoretically chalk this up to the Bond's way of stifling all emotions that don't have to do with consummation, but I don't think that's the case.
Nissa has certain thoughts and actions that don't seem to align with her established personality traits. She seems to be very prideful yet easily accepts being manipulated. She acts maturely in one moment, then very immaturely the next. As for Tam, he has an offputting reaction of love and sex wherein the two are confusingly conflated.
Immersion
The Bonding weaves in and out of immersiveness in a way that intermittently jolts you out of the author's world, but not for too long. For example, there are several parts that make the reader say "Wait. What? How can that be?" There are also a few grammar and formatting errors that need to be cleaned up. The Bond is very strong, but its intricacies need to be more formally outlined. Sometimes, inexplicable things happen that are just supposed to be accepted by the reader, and that's not always possible.
The prevailing part that won't let me suspend disbelief is the way Nissa questions things. When she does, it seems to only be in spurts up until that questioning is integral to the plotline. Otherwise, the sex scenes are well-described and very immersive. I enjoy the approach of dual-perspectives, showing what both characters are doing and thinking, rather than the author opting for limited omniscience.
Summary
In sum, The Bonding could've easily been missed due to a slow start. The ending was a bit predictable, but still feels good and makes you want to root for the protagonists. I am excited to read the second book in the series and see how the author grows her technique. I look forward to seeing how she advances this interesting world she's created. Despite the critiques described in this review, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The Bonding
View: on Bookshelves
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