Review: Recommended Read. Very good!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 3, 2012
Book Review: Twin-Bred by Karen A WyleReviewed by J Bryden LloydWriting Style - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)I have to commend this author on making what must have been a complicated leviathan of an idea, into what essentially turned out to be a nicely accomplished story.In general the writing was very good and the dialogue easy-going and flowing in nature, which was - admittedly - unexpected. There were a few sections of the book where I thought the story was getting a little bogged down, but the plot itself provided just enough incentive to keep my interest through these `dark times'.Character Development - 3.5/5.0 (Good)The author made a valiant effort at keeping the key characters to a specific group, but there was the odd time I had to remind myself who was who. In defence of the concept, it would probably be almost impossible to create this work concentrating on just a handful of characters, and certainly more-so as it covered many years and involved an ever-changing political roundabout in the background plot.Those central characters who did become `key', were developed very well and with a nice eye for the detail needed to move between the ages of the younger characters.On occasion it did get a little confusing, but I fear that may just have been the nature of the beast.Descriptive - 3.0/5.0 (Okay)The descriptive in the scene-building was excellent, although I would have liked to have been able to have a clearer visualisation of the towns and cities. Although this was lacking, it was one of those things I only missed momentarily, as the author worked to keep the story flowing and focus on the characters of the moment.In the same way, beyond the main characters, there was very little descriptive offered for the `supporting cast' and any indigenous creatures.Finally, I found it hard to visualise the general locations, i.e. How far away places were from other places, were there differences in climate, time-zones or indeed, any other considerations. Although not all of these would have been important, only the rudimentary information was offered from time to time and I did feel it needed more.Language & Grammar - 4.5/5.0 (Excellent)Good writing, well edited; though it was occasionally too easy to mistake some passages as being poorly edited when there seemed to be too many commas. A second read on those few occasions made the text fall into place. Where some might argue that should not be necessary, I would say that I don't think I have ever read a book and not had to read a few sentences more than once, irrespective of the author.Plot - 3.5/5.0 (Very Good) *MINOR SPOILERS*A standing ovation to the author for writing this book. The plot revolves around a secret experiment by a society of human colonists, designed to create a breed of future leaders and mediators who will be able to work with both Human and Tofa (the indigenous population). The solution; to create twin pairs of Tofa and Human children who will then grow with that strengthened bond and understanding between them.Over the years, the project provides varying degrees of success though it is quickly realised that their ongoing work is being undermined and steered by outside influences.Running through the entire book is the age-old sub-plot dealing with the innate Human ability to show hate and prejudice to everything we do not understand or agree with. In this area, the author provides an outstandingly objective insight into the possible and probable of typical Human reaction.The chapter where the children learn about religion and deities is excellent.General - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)There are parts of this book which are very demanding on the reader, parts which require a little patience to read, and other parts which flow along at a fair pace.I did enjoy this book and will probably read it again at some point when I know I can give it the time to appreciate it fully. In the meantime, I recommend this to sci-fi and cross-genre readers.Recommended. 4 stars.