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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book is a very interesting take on Victor Frankenstein in his early years.
This Dark Endeavor is the story of how Viktor Frankenstein is drawn into the world of science. His brother falls ill. Viktor and his friends, Elizabeth and Henry, stumble upon a book that could possibly hold an elixir that could save his brother's life. The only problem: it's written in a lost and forgotten language.
Read this for Teen Book Club. Loved it! It's been too long since I've read [b:Frankenstein|18490|Frankenstein|Mary Shelley|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311647465s/18490.jpg|4836639] for me to really attest to how good of an adaptation this book is in terms of the writing, but I felt that the tone of this book was exactly what I was looking for. Makes me want to go back and read Frankenstein again.
Victor was an incredibly troubling protagonist - in a good way. His character kind of needs to be a little screwed up for this story to work.
Not sure how I feel about the ending. I mean, it had to happen. But I felt it was a tad abrupt. Perhaps appropriately so? We'll see how I feel after I have some time to mull it over.
Victor was an incredibly troubling protagonist - in a good way. His character kind of needs to be a little screwed up for this story to work.
Not sure how I feel about the ending. I mean, it had to happen. But I felt it was a tad abrupt. Perhaps appropriately so? We'll see how I feel after I have some time to mull it over.
meh. I had to read this book for school. It's been very boring and tedious. Big buildup for predictable ending.
Ten out of five stars, if I could. I cannot say enough good things about this book! What an incredible read.
First, I'll say I haven't read Frankenstein, and my knowledge of the story is nothing substantial, so I'll speak purely of This Dark Endeavour as a standalone (though I was surprised to find I actually noticed some hints to Mary Shelley's novel during the reading!).
Oppel's portrayal of Victor was enthralling, to say the least. He gave me the chills. To quote Elizabeth, "There is a passion in you that scares me." I can't decide if I'm in love with him or rather disturbed by him! Both. He's real, he's nuts, he has tender moments that undo me, he becomes enchanted with alchemy. THIS GUY IS GREAT. It is he that trips with fear for his brother's illness and sets out, risking his life for a cure. It's this tenderness in contrast to the other flow of his mind—the flow that makes me think he might lure his brother to some remote reaches and push him off a cliff.
Both are believable; this not only makes him an excellent character, but a great villain. I call him villain, yes. Because no other "protagonist" will stick with me quite like him. He's a double-edged blade. He's no sappy, wonderful, perfect male lead that the ladies must fawn over because he can do no wrong (except keeping a serious secret in order to protect the heroine. bleh). Instead, they must look down their noses at Victor because he is indeed a scoundrel. The things he says, from the silly to serious, all of it just makes me believe him. His complaints, his jealousy toward his brother, his disquieting regard for Elizabeth, his defiant attitude and short fuse. Whereas other girls might think him creepy and might like to kick him, I find him stupidly attractive. Not only for those things, of course. Those I listed for their merit in Oppel's crafting a realistic character. One that breathes the air we breathe.
The story itself was convincing. Oppel's writing style was, to me, vastly immersive, and more than once I had to come up for air. I loved the historical setting and the chateau, the adventure, the friendships, the devotion, Victor's obsession, the meticulous pacing; all the way through my attention certainly wasn't going anywhere. What's more, this was a relatively clean read (except for some violence), which certainly added to its merit.
It was a highly entertaining, darkly beautiful story. I don't know how else to describe it. I'm impatient to read the sequel, Such Wicked Intent. This story was utterly, utterly fabulous.
First, I'll say I haven't read Frankenstein, and my knowledge of the story is nothing substantial, so I'll speak purely of This Dark Endeavour as a standalone (though I was surprised to find I actually noticed some hints to Mary Shelley's novel during the reading!).
Oppel's portrayal of Victor was enthralling, to say the least. He gave me the chills. To quote Elizabeth, "There is a passion in you that scares me." I can't decide if I'm in love with him or rather disturbed by him! Both. He's real, he's nuts, he has tender moments that undo me, he becomes enchanted with alchemy. THIS GUY IS GREAT. It is he that trips with fear for his brother's illness and sets out, risking his life for a cure. It's this tenderness in contrast to the other flow of his mind—the flow that makes me think he might lure his brother to some remote reaches and push him off a cliff.
Both are believable; this not only makes him an excellent character, but a great villain. I call him villain, yes. Because no other "protagonist" will stick with me quite like him. He's a double-edged blade. He's no sappy, wonderful, perfect male lead that the ladies must fawn over because he can do no wrong (except keeping a serious secret in order to protect the heroine. bleh). Instead, they must look down their noses at Victor because he is indeed a scoundrel. The things he says, from the silly to serious, all of it just makes me believe him. His complaints, his jealousy toward his brother, his disquieting regard for Elizabeth, his defiant attitude and short fuse. Whereas other girls might think him creepy and might like to kick him, I find him stupidly attractive. Not only for those things, of course. Those I listed for their merit in Oppel's crafting a realistic character. One that breathes the air we breathe.
The story itself was convincing. Oppel's writing style was, to me, vastly immersive, and more than once I had to come up for air. I loved the historical setting and the chateau, the adventure, the friendships, the devotion, Victor's obsession, the meticulous pacing; all the way through my attention certainly wasn't going anywhere. What's more, this was a relatively clean read (except for some violence), which certainly added to its merit.
It was a highly entertaining, darkly beautiful story. I don't know how else to describe it.
Spoiler
And it ended how the story of a conflicted villain must end; in tragedy, to fire their will.
Loved the setting and pacing. Great portrayal of light and dark in twins. Good intentions leading to poor choices and evil results.
I really loved the other books by Kenneth Oppel that I had read and this new book does not disappoint. It was really awesome! It tells the story of a young Victor Frankenstein as he sets out on a journey to find the secret ingredients that make up the Elixir of Life. There is a love triangle in this book, which at first worried me because there have been a lot of love triangles in books lately, but unlike most books, it does not involve a girl flip-flopping between two guys. The book contains a lot of things I did not expect and was a very exciting read. I cannot wait to read more from Kenneth Oppel!
I read this book in a day.. it was definitely fast paced, exciting, intriguing and dark. I liked that it was twin brothers at the center of the story. They are both similar but very different characters that you can see why Elizabeth could potentially love either of them. I liked the love triangle aspect and the brotherly bonding. The action literally started on the first page and kept the reader interested! It was a short book, but covered a lot of plot points within the 300 pages. I can't wait to see what trouble Young Victor Frankenstein gets into in the next book. Also Canadian spellings.. which I enjoy.. being Canadian...a lot of Canadian authors change their spellings to the American spellings.. which I get.. the market and all that.. but as a small town Canadian girl.. I enjoyed that he kept his essence in this book!
An interesting prequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, though I'm not sure if I'm intrigued enough to go on reading the rest of the series.