Reader's Discretion Advised

The pdf opened and it scared me. I mean, look at the texture of that skin. And all right up in yo' face. I almost felt like I was getting abrasion burns from the rough metal...but then it was skin. And now the imagery won't leave.Thresl are peculiar. They come off as a weird cross between an animal, a shifter, and a bio-engineered weapon. They're regarded as either tools or pets. They seem...well, like animals.Even Muir, the humanoid one, doesn't quite seem like a sentient human-like being. Hmm...an android, programmed for certain purposes and capable of some level of simple AI, but that's the extent of it. It's quite peculiar.It was somewhat mitigated by the Commander-dude's comments, which seem to...sentient-ize them.I have a bit of a problem with the diction here:The Thresl curled next to his human, sniffing at the young man he'd chosen as his. He smelled sweet. The Thresl wanted to roll around in the man's essence until he stank of the soldier's scent. (emphasis my own)Surely there was a more, dare I say, romantic way of putting, that?Yes, there was.And this whole thing. The whole once they change shapes, they stay that shape...it seems like quite an odd thing. They seem designed to cater to the needs of others, which enforces the impression that they're bioengieered weapons. I mean, before they bond and shift into a permanent form to fit the needs of their bonded, they're confined to an animal shape and appear to have sub-human intelligence? Of course, one can argue that human intelligence may not be intelligent, after all, and that animal intelligence is far superior, but that is another tangent that, if I pursue it, would lead me to a land far over the rainbow into a land of Technicolor glory from which I shall be hard-pressed to return in a timely manner.You know, if they really can change into any shape, why didn't he just keep the tail if he was really going to miss it? I for one like tails, too, at the very least in my fiction. I mean, if you're going to have this waaaaay out there Thresl concept, why not let the dude keep his tail?Huh. As I read, there's that "Fate" element in the choosing. Okay, so bioengineered weapons that didn't quite come out as adaptable and user-friendly as the original creators would have liked it, but not enough of a problem for them to scrap the project and start over.And then...oh, geez. Please, narrate screams and don't onomatopoeia them. Please, for the sake of the world and posterity and the legacy of the written word.Exhibit A:...Kres finished up his shower and pulled open the curtain."Ahhh." Clutching his chest, he glared at the large man who invaded the bathing space. "You scared me."You know, if the dude was going to take on an initial animal form, I would have loved there to be more kitty-loving. It's all right for it to happen; it would have been inadvertent kitty-loving, and then the dude suddenly snapping out of it going "*gasp* I'm supposed to be trying to get him to hate me, not like me" and we could have moved on, but the world have been a better place because there would have been kitty-loving. It's especially sad since the Vohne dude is never going to be a kitty again. He didn't even get to keep his tail *sad face*And of course the bonding is through sex. Why didn't I see that coming? Oh wait, I did. I was just hoping it wouldn't come to that. Ah. Revelations. Thresl become the essence of their bonded. You see? Bio-engineered weapons, created for narcissists. "Inadvertent Big Reveal" was stupid. It was like the reveal in Now You See Me. It was gimmicky and didn't make sense, in the scheme of things. If you really were going to pull that, there should have been more hints leading up to it, more tidbits thrown out, ones we would initially ignore or write off, but after the reveal, would think back on and remember we found them slightly odd at the time, though not any more so than "usual."It seems highly unlikely that Thresls would be able to have their own planet...unless it was granted to them by whatever scientist people or the people paying/controlling the scientist people to create them. I still hold to that per their design, they must be bio-engineered. It seems highly evolutionarily inefficient for these beings to be entirely dependent on outside species to, theoretically, "thrive." What happens to Thresl who don't bond? Do they remain in cat form for the rest of their lives? Can they procreate as cats? Can they procreate at all? Do they only procreate as cats? Are the cats actually as sub-humanly intelligent as we're led to believe or are they somehow able to form their own civilizations that allows them to space-travel and search for their bonded? And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Ultimately, as evidenced, the whole fabrication of the Thresl, while compelling, creates a lot more problems than it solves. Unless it's like the Acorna unicorn people and space travel's what makes 'em change and stuff. That's a horrible analogy.And Vohne's still bemoaning the loss of his tail. Why couldn't he have just kept the tail? Then neither of us would be bemoaning its lack.The Big Reveal of Vohne being a reincarnated King dude wasn't reassuring at all and again, raised many, many problems. First off, if he's The True Alpha, how is it that he can reflect his mate's inner whatever each time? He says the "sexy, tough warrior version was one of the best," implying his mate never really was a tough warrior before. How can he be and rule as a True Alpha if, for example, his mate was reborn as a peace-loving artist? Is that only for others and Vohnny gets his own fucked up set of rules? Cuz that's what it's starting to sound like.As I read on, some questions seem to be answered, although plenty of logistical questions were then raised.I suppose I should stop analyzing into this. I suppose I would if I knew how to stop. I can't quite say it's a shame I can't stop analyzing into this.The last fifth or so was just tedious. I lost interest somewhere...I dunno, man. I almost want to read on just to see where this clusterfuck's heading, but at the same time, I dread the idea of having to read on and witnessing/trying to keep up with the clusterfuck.You know, I miss series that are, you know, about the same character(s) throughout and not merely deemed a series because they're set in the same universe....Ah, I've been reading too much M/M.Eh. What the hell. I'll give it 3 stars. Partly because bk 2 (I presume already who it'll be about) sounds like it's got loads of angst-fodder. Oh, I hope that one, at least, is good.