Review of Unbound

[Stephanie Runyon]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Unbound" by Christopher Hinton.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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In Christopher Hinton’s Unbound, the world has taken freedom from the people for food and shelter. The elite monitored the human workers for efficiency, convincing them that working was a moral duty to eliminate poverty. However, one man has decided to honor his father’s legacy of living authentically. As a maintenance worker, he programmed an automated harvester to plow down the fences as a distraction for his escape. A police officer caught him at a train station. To his surprise, the officer told him to email the details of his escape and what living free was like. The officer provided distractions for the cameras, allowing the man to escape undetected.

The man exits the train at a grain company. Initially, he believed the place was automated, but then he was struck on the head. He wakes up to a 20-year-old dragging him by his feet. He realizes the emaciated youth's dire need for help. He assures him he will secure a place for them to stay and promises to return. As he sets out to leave the building, a group of dockworkers attacks him, drugging him. When he awakens, he finds an older woman and a group of dockworkers tying him to a truck with other men. The woman brags about the money they will earn by selling the men as slaves. Suddenly, the woman and the workers fall to the floor. The young man slides from under the truck and frees everyone. A close bond has formed that will alter both of the two men’s lives permanently.

Unbound features an automated setting that addresses human trafficking and slavery. The men aspired to a clandestine life that would prevent them from becoming ill-treated slaves. The older man's morals shifted as he witnessed the younger man's weakened state, changing his escape plans. It provides an opportunity to dive deeper into their survival plans. The elite's denial of poverty's existence is understandable. The introduction of supporting characters adds depth to the plot, making it more unpredictable. The line between right and wrong becomes blurred as the actions of the first man are not legal.

There are some improvements that I believe would make Unbound more appealing. Naming the characters would be beneficial. It's not until the tenth chapter that the identities of both men are disclosed. This made it difficult to connect with the characters. The tenses shifted on multiple occasions. For instance, the man was buying shoes, and the store sales agent was “pushing the shoes to me.” Then it reverts to “He swiped the shop merchant’s device.” Another round of editing would be beneficial, as I encountered over ten errors.

My rating for Unbound is three out of five stars. The two stars were deducted because of editing and character identity issues. The details to describe the setting and the characters were vivid. It was easy to envision the scenes as the unpredictable plot unfolded. The book clearly portrays a social divide between the elite and the working class.

Unbound will appeal to mature readers who enjoy watching impoverished people rise up from their difficult lives. It will also appeal to adults who are interested in what tyrannical power does to strip people of their human rights. Profanity, severe abuse, slavery, and explicit scenes could overwhelm some readers.

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Unbound
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[NetMassimo]

I'm not sure I want to read such a dark story right now but it certainly has good potential and needs some more editing to improve some parts and to fix all the errors. Thank you for your honest review!