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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a brilliant book about things that are relevant even into our modern age. Creating a prequel series would seem a daunting task, but Oppel handles it deftly.
The book has all the thrills and atmosphere of any great Gothic novel and provides a convincing backstory for young Victor Frankenstein. Other characters from Shelley's work are also here. Notably Elizabeth Lavenza (Victor's adopted cousin) and friend Henry Clerval.
Victor and his twin brother Konrad are inseparable until Konrad becomes ill. Then Victor embarks on a quest to save him that involves his father's dark library and matters of alchemy. This is strictly forbidden by Victor's father because of the danger and because of the family's reputation. Still Victor persists. Along to aid him are Henry and Elizabeth. They go on a series of seemingly impossible quests that will change them in unalterable ways.
Victor genuinely wants to save Konrad, but there is jealousy there as well. Konrad is the more likeable twin and school subjects come easier to him. And Konrad has the heart of Elizabeth. All of this makes Victor a brooding, impetuous character with a fierce drive to succeed, and foreshadow the tragic man he will become.
An interesting start, and I'm sure I'll read book 2 before too long. I may even re-read Frankenstein soon, and I hope this book inspires younger readers to discover a classic.
The book has all the thrills and atmosphere of any great Gothic novel and provides a convincing backstory for young Victor Frankenstein. Other characters from Shelley's work are also here. Notably Elizabeth Lavenza (Victor's adopted cousin) and friend Henry Clerval.
Victor and his twin brother Konrad are inseparable until Konrad becomes ill. Then Victor embarks on a quest to save him that involves his father's dark library and matters of alchemy. This is strictly forbidden by Victor's father because of the danger and because of the family's reputation. Still Victor persists. Along to aid him are Henry and Elizabeth. They go on a series of seemingly impossible quests that will change them in unalterable ways.
Victor genuinely wants to save Konrad, but there is jealousy there as well. Konrad is the more likeable twin and school subjects come easier to him. And Konrad has the heart of Elizabeth. All of this makes Victor a brooding, impetuous character with a fierce drive to succeed, and foreshadow the tragic man he will become.
An interesting start, and I'm sure I'll read book 2 before too long. I may even re-read Frankenstein soon, and I hope this book inspires younger readers to discover a classic.
I absolutely loved this tale of young Frankenstein. It had all the elements of a successful story; rich characters, thrilling action and a wonderfully twist on a legendary character.
Really fascinating take on the idea of how a person like Frankenstein comes to be. In this case, there is a twin involved.
I tried for over two weeks, but I just couldn't read this book. I loved the concept (Frankenstein in his teens), I loved the cover, and I heard Oppel is a great author. Nope. Just didn't do it for me. I stopped at page 123. I was halfway through the book and nothing had happened at all. Someone got sick, and they decided to look for a cure using ancient alchemy. That could be a good plot, but it was all so slow and tedious! It just really wasn't for me.
Una oscura obsesión fue algo que definitivamente no me esperaba, y es que ni siquiera sé qué esperaba jaja
Acabo de leer la historia original, así que como tenia frescos los hechos y los personajes decidí que era hora de leer este libro también, que ya llevaba demasiado tiempo en mi librero.
Es algo así como una precuela del clásico. Se desarrolla cuando Víctor tiene 15 años, al igual que su hermano gemelo Konrad, su amigo Henry y Elizabeth. Estos chicos se embarcan en una aventura cargada de misterio para ayudar a uno de los hermanos Frankenstein en una difícil situación, sin importar lo riesgoso, alocado y oscuro que pueda llegar a ser. Incluso se ven involucrados en cuestiones relacionadas con la alquimia, cosa que es ilegal y es una práctica penada.
Me gustó que todo el tiempo esta pasando algo, y también los personajes porque creo que su personalidad estaba bastante clara. Konrad es el encantador y amable, Elizabeth la valiente y apasionada, Henry el leal y cauteloso, y Víctor el tenaz y ambicioso, pero lo que más me gustó de este protagonista es que es un personaje gris, que tiene pensamientos malvados pero lucha contra ellos…a veces, y otras se deja llevar.
Es cierto que hubo una que otra cosa predecible y también alguna que otra que me parece que estuvo de más, pero en general es un libro bastante entretenido y vaya que hubo cosas que me sorprendieron, pero me gusta como mientras avanza la lectura y se van descubriendo más cosas, todo va encajando.
Debo confesar, y espero que no me condenen al calabozo del castillo Frankenstein por esto, que me gustó bastante el clásico, pero esta versión me gustó más, y creo que mas que nada se debe al estilo de narración más contemporánea y sin tantísima descripción aburrida e innecesaria. Además conecte más con los personajes porque aquí si vi un desarrollo de ellos.
Acabo de leer la historia original, así que como tenia frescos los hechos y los personajes decidí que era hora de leer este libro también, que ya llevaba demasiado tiempo en mi librero.
Es algo así como una precuela del clásico. Se desarrolla cuando Víctor tiene 15 años, al igual que su hermano gemelo Konrad, su amigo Henry y Elizabeth. Estos chicos se embarcan en una aventura cargada de misterio para ayudar a uno de los hermanos Frankenstein en una difícil situación, sin importar lo riesgoso, alocado y oscuro que pueda llegar a ser. Incluso se ven involucrados en cuestiones relacionadas con la alquimia, cosa que es ilegal y es una práctica penada.
Me gustó que todo el tiempo esta pasando algo, y también los personajes porque creo que su personalidad estaba bastante clara. Konrad es el encantador y amable, Elizabeth la valiente y apasionada, Henry el leal y cauteloso, y Víctor el tenaz y ambicioso, pero lo que más me gustó de este protagonista es que es un personaje gris, que tiene pensamientos malvados pero lucha contra ellos…a veces, y otras se deja llevar.
Es cierto que hubo una que otra cosa predecible y también alguna que otra que me parece que estuvo de más, pero en general es un libro bastante entretenido y vaya que hubo cosas que me sorprendieron, pero me gusta como mientras avanza la lectura y se van descubriendo más cosas, todo va encajando.
Debo confesar, y espero que no me condenen al calabozo del castillo Frankenstein por esto, que me gustó bastante el clásico, pero esta versión me gustó más, y creo que mas que nada se debe al estilo de narración más contemporánea y sin tantísima descripción aburrida e innecesaria. Además conecte más con los personajes porque aquí si vi un desarrollo de ellos.
DNFed with less than 100 pages to go because of the sexual assault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Sexual assault
“The purest intentions can stir up the darkest obsessions.”
When sixteen-year-old twins Victor and Konrad Frankenstein are rough housing with their distant cousin, Elizabeth Lavenza, in the library, they unwittingly discover a secret passageway hidden behind a bookcase. The trio is delighted to find a passage they had yet to explore. Fetching a candlestick, they begin to explore the broad square shaft by going down the stairs. Part of the way down, they come across a door. Instead of a handle, there is a hole with the words, “Enter only with a friend’s welcome.” Victor is curious to see what’s behind the locked door and slips his hand into the hole where something immediately grabs it. Elizabeth decides to go for help but discovers the exit to the library closed. Victor panics to free himself but Elizabeth realizes that the saying above the door is actually a riddle and to open the door, Victor must shake hands as if greeting a friend. He does and his hand is freed when the door swings open. Inside they find a library that looks like it hasn’t been used since Wilhelm Frankenstein built the chateau 300 years earlier. Konrad and Elizabeth want to leave but Victor is intrigued by the books and wants to stay. They are soon discovered by their father. He tells them the history of Wilhelm and his Biblioteka Obscura or Dark Library. Wilhelm was an alchemist who tried to find the forbidden Elixir of Life before mysteriously disappearing at the age of 43. Victor is even more intrigued by the library but their father makes them promise never to speak of the library or return again. Victor is deeply disappointed.
When Konrad falls ill, the Frankenstein’s bring in several doctors. No one can determine the cause of his illness and Victor becomes distraught over the “loss” of his brother. When he inadvertently overhears his mother and Maria the housekeeper talking about Konrad’s condition, Victor picks up the word alchemy. He begins to think that maybe the Dark Library may hold the answer to cure his brother. Victor enlists the help of Elizabeth and their friend Henry to sneak back into the Dark Library to look for answers. They find a recipe for the Elixir of Life but it is written in code. They locate a book that contains the cipher for the code, but it has been badly damaged by fire. Victor decides to approach Maria to see if she will tell him what she mentioned to his mother. Victor goes to Maria and asks her what she meant by using alchemy. Hesitant at first, Maria tells Victor about an alchemist who cured a general’s daughter when no one else could. Victor knows his father Alphonse “cannot bear talk of alchemy.” He pressures Maria and she tearfully gives him the alchemist’s name, Julius Polidori. Victor has never heard of him and questions whether he still resides in Geneva. Maria doesn’t know but suggests that he find out.
The next morning, the trio convince Victor’s father to allow them to join him in going to Geneva under the pretense of touring the city as part of their schooling. City Hall and the outlying apothecary shops yield no traces of anyone named Polidori. After scouring newspaper accounts of the incident that Maria recalled, Elizabeth finds the article that mentions Julius Polidori of Wollstonekraft Alley. They find what appears to be Polidori’s shop in a state of disrepair. The threesome become even more alarmed when Mr. Polidori appears to be wheelchair bound. He asks if they are in need of some medicine and Elizabeth states they are searching for the Elixir of Life. He bids them good day but stops when Victor pulls out the Occulta Philosophia. Polidori tells them that both the book and the elixir are nothing but grand delusions and tells them of the path his life took after the general’s daughter was cured. Consequently the elixir worked for some but not for all. When a wealthy merchant’s wife died after taking it, he was brought before a magistrate who forbade him from making the elixir ever again. The magistrate turned out to be Victor’s father. The merchant vowed vengeance and Polidori survived a fall only to be paralyzed from the waist down.
When Polidori finds out that Victor also has The Archidoxes of Magic, which contains the elixir’s cipher, he is immediately intrigued and offers to help repair the fire-damaged book. In the meantime, a young doctor by the name of Murnau has arrived at the Chateau from the university to see if he can determine what ails Konrad. He is engrossed by Dr. Murnau’s laboratory of needles, flaks and a microscope with which he studies Konrad’s blood. Murnau realizes something is terribly wrong with Konrad. He tells the Frankensteins that after a few days of preparing the necessary treatment, he will slowly inject it into Konrad’s veins over the course of a week. In the meantime, the threesome begins gathering the necessary ingredients that Polidari needs to replicate the Elixir of Life.
Can Konrad’s life be saved? Will it be modern medicine or ancient alchemy? Is Polidori to be trusted? And what happens when a bitter love triangle is uncovered? Join young Victor Frankenstein on a life-altering quest to replicate the Elixir of Life in an attempt to save his twin brother’s life.
Check out Kenneth Oppel’s spine-chilling and climatic prequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It might make you want to pick up the original story. Book two in the series, Such Wicked Intent is due out in August 2012.
When sixteen-year-old twins Victor and Konrad Frankenstein are rough housing with their distant cousin, Elizabeth Lavenza, in the library, they unwittingly discover a secret passageway hidden behind a bookcase. The trio is delighted to find a passage they had yet to explore. Fetching a candlestick, they begin to explore the broad square shaft by going down the stairs. Part of the way down, they come across a door. Instead of a handle, there is a hole with the words, “Enter only with a friend’s welcome.” Victor is curious to see what’s behind the locked door and slips his hand into the hole where something immediately grabs it. Elizabeth decides to go for help but discovers the exit to the library closed. Victor panics to free himself but Elizabeth realizes that the saying above the door is actually a riddle and to open the door, Victor must shake hands as if greeting a friend. He does and his hand is freed when the door swings open. Inside they find a library that looks like it hasn’t been used since Wilhelm Frankenstein built the chateau 300 years earlier. Konrad and Elizabeth want to leave but Victor is intrigued by the books and wants to stay. They are soon discovered by their father. He tells them the history of Wilhelm and his Biblioteka Obscura or Dark Library. Wilhelm was an alchemist who tried to find the forbidden Elixir of Life before mysteriously disappearing at the age of 43. Victor is even more intrigued by the library but their father makes them promise never to speak of the library or return again. Victor is deeply disappointed.
When Konrad falls ill, the Frankenstein’s bring in several doctors. No one can determine the cause of his illness and Victor becomes distraught over the “loss” of his brother. When he inadvertently overhears his mother and Maria the housekeeper talking about Konrad’s condition, Victor picks up the word alchemy. He begins to think that maybe the Dark Library may hold the answer to cure his brother. Victor enlists the help of Elizabeth and their friend Henry to sneak back into the Dark Library to look for answers. They find a recipe for the Elixir of Life but it is written in code. They locate a book that contains the cipher for the code, but it has been badly damaged by fire. Victor decides to approach Maria to see if she will tell him what she mentioned to his mother. Victor goes to Maria and asks her what she meant by using alchemy. Hesitant at first, Maria tells Victor about an alchemist who cured a general’s daughter when no one else could. Victor knows his father Alphonse “cannot bear talk of alchemy.” He pressures Maria and she tearfully gives him the alchemist’s name, Julius Polidori. Victor has never heard of him and questions whether he still resides in Geneva. Maria doesn’t know but suggests that he find out.
The next morning, the trio convince Victor’s father to allow them to join him in going to Geneva under the pretense of touring the city as part of their schooling. City Hall and the outlying apothecary shops yield no traces of anyone named Polidori. After scouring newspaper accounts of the incident that Maria recalled, Elizabeth finds the article that mentions Julius Polidori of Wollstonekraft Alley. They find what appears to be Polidori’s shop in a state of disrepair. The threesome become even more alarmed when Mr. Polidori appears to be wheelchair bound. He asks if they are in need of some medicine and Elizabeth states they are searching for the Elixir of Life. He bids them good day but stops when Victor pulls out the Occulta Philosophia. Polidori tells them that both the book and the elixir are nothing but grand delusions and tells them of the path his life took after the general’s daughter was cured. Consequently the elixir worked for some but not for all. When a wealthy merchant’s wife died after taking it, he was brought before a magistrate who forbade him from making the elixir ever again. The magistrate turned out to be Victor’s father. The merchant vowed vengeance and Polidori survived a fall only to be paralyzed from the waist down.
When Polidori finds out that Victor also has The Archidoxes of Magic, which contains the elixir’s cipher, he is immediately intrigued and offers to help repair the fire-damaged book. In the meantime, a young doctor by the name of Murnau has arrived at the Chateau from the university to see if he can determine what ails Konrad. He is engrossed by Dr. Murnau’s laboratory of needles, flaks and a microscope with which he studies Konrad’s blood. Murnau realizes something is terribly wrong with Konrad. He tells the Frankensteins that after a few days of preparing the necessary treatment, he will slowly inject it into Konrad’s veins over the course of a week. In the meantime, the threesome begins gathering the necessary ingredients that Polidari needs to replicate the Elixir of Life.
Can Konrad’s life be saved? Will it be modern medicine or ancient alchemy? Is Polidori to be trusted? And what happens when a bitter love triangle is uncovered? Join young Victor Frankenstein on a life-altering quest to replicate the Elixir of Life in an attempt to save his twin brother’s life.
Check out Kenneth Oppel’s spine-chilling and climatic prequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It might make you want to pick up the original story. Book two in the series, Such Wicked Intent is due out in August 2012.
Chiller about the young Victor Frankenstein and other characters that later appear in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I haven't read the original, but I know enough to catch at least some of the allusions. Victor is a terrific character, not entirely likeable, and the setting and plot are creepily Gothic. There seems to be the opening for a sequel but I'm not sure if that's Oppel's intention.
I was interested in reading this book partially because of the hype. This first I’d ever heard of this title came in the form of an announcement that Summit Films had acquired the screen rights. You can read that here.
I also liked the cover (sorry, it’s a weakness). But you have to admit, it’s just kind of a cover just made to appeal to a bookstalker like me, with a keyhole to peep through and everything. And the plot also appealed to my bookstalking nature…a forbidden library! Yeah! This one had my name written all over it.
I’ve never been that into the Frankenstein story—it’s not one of my personal favorites. However, I finished This Dark Endeavor wanting to revisit Mary Shelley’s classic. I have a feeling many teens will finish this book and go on to read Frankenstein for the first time. Any book that encourages kids to read a classic is a good thing, but This Dark Endeavor is also good in its own right.
One of the things I really loved about This Dark Endeavor was the pacing. There is no lag in the middle. Action scene follows action scene, and the suspense in some of them is painful. Oppel hooks you from the opening scene and does not let go until the conclusion. Dark, claustrophobic caves! Giant, should-be-extinct aquatic creatures! Nightmarish scavengers! Preternaturally clever mammals! Secrets, plots, betrayals! Whew…
Victor and Konrad are both sympathetic characters. Victor’s motivations, given his personality and complex feelings for his brother, are believeable. Konrad is almost angelic in his goodness, generosity, and fair-mindedness, but Victor has plenty of flaws to balance Konrad out. Elizabeth, the distant cousin the boys’ age who was adopted into the family, is as fiery and strong-willed as you could want a heroine to be—and it’s believable that both Konrad and Victor would fall for her. Their parents are the kind of progressive thinkers that cook dinner for their servants once a week and stress the importance of an equal education for Elizabeth, despite the fact she is female. The reader gets enough of a glimpse into this loving, seemingly perfect family that we can appreciate how devastating it is for all of them when their beloved Konrad falls ill.
I can’t say much more about the plot without spoiling it. I will say I really did not like one scene due to what happened in it—but the scene was not gratuitous and part of the reason I was upset is because Oppel wrote it so skillfully. So I can’t fault him for it even if it did make me mad. It served the story.
Conclusion? I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves gothic stories, enjoys books like The Monstrumologist and its sequel, and for fans of Shelley’s Frankenstein. Die-hard fans may not approve of what Oppel has done with the story—as with any fans approaching a new take on something they feel strongly about—but I think they will find it compelling nonetheless.
I also liked the cover (sorry, it’s a weakness). But you have to admit, it’s just kind of a cover just made to appeal to a bookstalker like me, with a keyhole to peep through and everything. And the plot also appealed to my bookstalking nature…a forbidden library! Yeah! This one had my name written all over it.
I’ve never been that into the Frankenstein story—it’s not one of my personal favorites. However, I finished This Dark Endeavor wanting to revisit Mary Shelley’s classic. I have a feeling many teens will finish this book and go on to read Frankenstein for the first time. Any book that encourages kids to read a classic is a good thing, but This Dark Endeavor is also good in its own right.
One of the things I really loved about This Dark Endeavor was the pacing. There is no lag in the middle. Action scene follows action scene, and the suspense in some of them is painful. Oppel hooks you from the opening scene and does not let go until the conclusion. Dark, claustrophobic caves! Giant, should-be-extinct aquatic creatures! Nightmarish scavengers! Preternaturally clever mammals! Secrets, plots, betrayals! Whew…
Victor and Konrad are both sympathetic characters. Victor’s motivations, given his personality and complex feelings for his brother, are believeable. Konrad is almost angelic in his goodness, generosity, and fair-mindedness, but Victor has plenty of flaws to balance Konrad out. Elizabeth, the distant cousin the boys’ age who was adopted into the family, is as fiery and strong-willed as you could want a heroine to be—and it’s believable that both Konrad and Victor would fall for her. Their parents are the kind of progressive thinkers that cook dinner for their servants once a week and stress the importance of an equal education for Elizabeth, despite the fact she is female. The reader gets enough of a glimpse into this loving, seemingly perfect family that we can appreciate how devastating it is for all of them when their beloved Konrad falls ill.
I can’t say much more about the plot without spoiling it. I will say I really did not like one scene due to what happened in it—but the scene was not gratuitous and part of the reason I was upset is because Oppel wrote it so skillfully. So I can’t fault him for it even if it did make me mad. It served the story.
Conclusion? I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves gothic stories, enjoys books like The Monstrumologist and its sequel, and for fans of Shelley’s Frankenstein. Die-hard fans may not approve of what Oppel has done with the story—as with any fans approaching a new take on something they feel strongly about—but I think they will find it compelling nonetheless.
