Heather’s Bookshelf: Bound
Author: PL Sullivan
Released: 12/07/20
Genre: Adult SciFi
“Everyone within the Polis contributed to the Consensus, and everyone felt its conclusions. The Consensus gave freedom without license. It caused each person to feel the consequences of their actions on the people around them. And it brought peace to thousands of worlds.”
“Bound” introduces Adin and Shennan, each a Keld (gifted warriors) bound into a complicated connection. While each personality and conscious remains independent, they share the same body. They can also regenerate in the case of death—into either of their visual presences. They are members of the Polis Federation which has connected many species and planets into one combined moral neural link. But something’s gone wrong a new threat, the Madness, threatens the pair and all of those around them.
Adin and Shennen are different in so many ways- they like different things, love different people, and react on polar opposite sides of emotional spectrums at times. But they work together when they need to in ways that are completely complementary.
They are placed in impossible situations during a very tumultuous time and often make terrible, though needed, decisions. Will they be able to find their enemies before everything they hold dear comes to an end?
Trigger Warning: wartime violence and death, sexual situations, adult language
Overall, I was a little torn about this story. I found the premise different and interesting: two women with different skills and enhancements not just working together, but connected by the same shared body with ability to communicate internally. I also found the concept of the moral neural link to be a good one full of promise. The beginning of the story was well done with intrigue between what was going on, who the characters were, and how the reanimation happened. But about halfway through the story, I felt a little lost. The personal losses were hit or miss- some were felt by earlier character development and others were lost by a lack thereof. The battle scenes I found to be scattered, hard to follow, and drawn out. I did enjoy that the author really went there for some of the more morally ambiguous decisions by Adin and Shennan but wish their bound status could have had more talents than just communication. The ending felt like a reset for me, which may have been the author’s intention for the sequel, but I would have preferred more resolution.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A scifi story with interesting and novel ideas that didn’t quite come together in the end.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with PL Sullivan
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