Review by CaitlinLau -- The Bonding by Imogen Keeper
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CaitlinLau
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- Latest Review: "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper
Review by CaitlinLau -- The Bonding by Imogen Keeper
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper.]
3 out of 4 stars
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I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The Bonding is science fiction, and the characters are loosely based on human physiology, and the author has created two main races. The male protagonist is from a race that forms a mental bond with spouses which lasts a lifetime. To break the bond, both parties must go through a long and painful withdrawal process akin to a program to wean addicts off their drugs. The female protagonist's race does not bond, and aside from their willingness to live as a united group led by a single ruler, are similar to humans.
The story begins with the female (Nissa), whom we later discover is the crown princess of her race, being found frozen in a capsule. The male (Tam) finds this capsule and defrosts her. Unfortunately, she is unable to survive the defrosting process without Tam bonding with her. Since she is not of his race, there are some modifications to their lives that have to be made to accommodate the bond. She needs to drink his semen every few hours in order to survive, and also to have sexual intercourse with him. They fall in love fairly quickly.
Nissa's planet has fallen into anarchy, and she was ejected into space with a few others from the royal court, including her father the King. Tam and his race agree to help them reclaim their planet. Once the plan succeeds, the King decides that Tam is not suitable to be King, and demands that Nissa divorces him. The two go through the painful separation process. The King then organizes a tournament, and decrees that whoever wins it will marry Nissa and rule alongside her. Tam sneaks into the tournament disguised, and wins it. At the prize-giving ceremony, he reveals his identity. They then live happily ever after.
The book is well-written, though the language is fairly simple. The author uses fragments often, and sometimes not very well, but it does not interfere with enjoying the book. The storyline and characters are developed adequately. A great deal of the book, perhaps 40% of it, is descriptions of the intercourse that Nissa and Tam have. One sex scene involves a rape which is graphically described. These scenes are also well-written. The only cavil is that with so much of the book devoted to sex scenes, the flow of the storyline is somewhat jerky. Occasionally, I had to refer to the parts before these scenes in order to pick up the story again after reading the sex scene. The rape scene is not for the faint-hearted, as it is fairly graphic. Overall, the sex scenes are tastefully written, and the rape scene is not offensive.
I find the premise of the book somewhat akin to the storyline of a pornographic movie -- that is, the fact that they have to have sex every three hours, and she has to drink his semen to live. Coupled with the number of sex scenes, The Bonding reads like the written version of a porn movie, albeit a very good movie. This may not to everyone's taste, which is why I did not award the book four stars.
Overall, The Bonding is worth reading, provided the reader does not mind the sheer quantity of sex in the book.
******
The Bonding
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3 out of 4 stars
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I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The Bonding is science fiction, and the characters are loosely based on human physiology, and the author has created two main races. The male protagonist is from a race that forms a mental bond with spouses which lasts a lifetime. To break the bond, both parties must go through a long and painful withdrawal process akin to a program to wean addicts off their drugs. The female protagonist's race does not bond, and aside from their willingness to live as a united group led by a single ruler, are similar to humans.
The story begins with the female (Nissa), whom we later discover is the crown princess of her race, being found frozen in a capsule. The male (Tam) finds this capsule and defrosts her. Unfortunately, she is unable to survive the defrosting process without Tam bonding with her. Since she is not of his race, there are some modifications to their lives that have to be made to accommodate the bond. She needs to drink his semen every few hours in order to survive, and also to have sexual intercourse with him. They fall in love fairly quickly.
Nissa's planet has fallen into anarchy, and she was ejected into space with a few others from the royal court, including her father the King. Tam and his race agree to help them reclaim their planet. Once the plan succeeds, the King decides that Tam is not suitable to be King, and demands that Nissa divorces him. The two go through the painful separation process. The King then organizes a tournament, and decrees that whoever wins it will marry Nissa and rule alongside her. Tam sneaks into the tournament disguised, and wins it. At the prize-giving ceremony, he reveals his identity. They then live happily ever after.
The book is well-written, though the language is fairly simple. The author uses fragments often, and sometimes not very well, but it does not interfere with enjoying the book. The storyline and characters are developed adequately. A great deal of the book, perhaps 40% of it, is descriptions of the intercourse that Nissa and Tam have. One sex scene involves a rape which is graphically described. These scenes are also well-written. The only cavil is that with so much of the book devoted to sex scenes, the flow of the storyline is somewhat jerky. Occasionally, I had to refer to the parts before these scenes in order to pick up the story again after reading the sex scene. The rape scene is not for the faint-hearted, as it is fairly graphic. Overall, the sex scenes are tastefully written, and the rape scene is not offensive.
I find the premise of the book somewhat akin to the storyline of a pornographic movie -- that is, the fact that they have to have sex every three hours, and she has to drink his semen to live. Coupled with the number of sex scenes, The Bonding reads like the written version of a porn movie, albeit a very good movie. This may not to everyone's taste, which is why I did not award the book four stars.
Overall, The Bonding is worth reading, provided the reader does not mind the sheer quantity of sex in the book.
******
The Bonding
View: on Bookshelves
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Latest Review: "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper
