Everyone in town knew there was something different about Lois Wilson.
But Lois didn't care. Lois cared only about Science. Behavioral Science.
Even when the kids at school taunted her, Lois didn't care. Even though
her parents were disturbed by her, and her little brother worshiped
her--Lois didn't care. And when her father suffered a stroke and her
mother began drinking, strong, implacable Lois was in complete
control.Now her scientific curiosity could have full expression. If she
could control the behavior of laboratory animals, imagine what she could
do with...people.
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Brainchild's plot may sound far fetched and silly from the surface, but it’s fascinating and portrayed in an addictive light. I couldn’t put the book down from the first word. The beginning foreshadowed what was to come while establishing who was who, the middle kept climbing up and never sagged once, and the ending was powerful, particularly the resolution and final paragraphs.
In the past Neiderman has been guilty of not fleshing characters out enough, but this book is an improvement. The moral type lessons are in this story, the age-old Frankenstein theme, stand out so clearly they could be picked out by a fourth grader.
The pace of Brainchild was evenly distributed and effective. Although it wasn’t a novel full of action-paced suspense, it had interesting incidents that held my attention. I literally read this in two sittings, breaking the first time only because I had to go out to dinner with the family.
Neiderman’s style is easily comprehended and straight forward. He used various points of view throughout the novel, but avoided skipping around too much, primarily telling through the eyes of Lois. His use of dialogue was ideal, and his methods of writing was is to follow.
Brainchild left me stunned. It is most likely my favorite Neiderman novel. You won’t regret reading this one; even if it’s not completely unpredictable, it’s still entertaining.
