Reviewed:
I’ve just binge read The Hand Bound, Book 1 of a projected series. Book 2 is currently ongoing. Unfortunately, PT Brainum put a disclaimer at the end of Chapter 13 of Book 2, last week’s instalment, advising readers that that’s as far as he/she has gone in writing this story, and future instalments may not be forthcoming for a while. Book 1 can be read as a stand-alone, or you can bookmark it and wait until Book 2 starts up again.
Book 1 is a breezy, tongue-in-cheek romp of a science fiction story, combined with a coming-of-age story, both with a standard premise - the former involving super powers and newfound riches, the latter featuring a lower-middle class teenager, whose mother recently died. So far, so clichéd.
But, once you remove all mental links to reality, Brainum injects such fun and warmth into the story, you’re just carried away. The plot, the situations, the father-son relationship and the morals (yes, it’s a morality play too) keep the story moving forward. I really enjoyed reading the book.
Sex is kept to a minimum, and, in this reviewer’s opinion, could, perhaps should, have been left out completely without spoiling the story. Most of it is contained in a few chapters that have no material bearing on the basic story.
Technically, the grammar and spelling were very good. The only problem with the story is the punctuation. Apparently, Brainum doesn’t believe wholeheartedly in possessive apostrophes. It’s annoying, but not a deal breaker.
Read this one when you’re tired of heavily moralistic stories or ones filled with political rhetoric.