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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Initial Impressions 10/25/13: It started out a tiny bit slow, but the end really finished with a bang and quite the surprise in that last chapter! I did not see that coming.
I think I was expecting a little bit more Frankenstein's monster and gore, but it looks like this is leading up to that and giving the reader more background on Victor Frankenstein as a young adult.
Definitely interested in the next book and so curious about what will happen!
Full review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: I'm so glad Alyssa got me this book for All Hallow's Read because I had been curious about it for quite a while! The Apprenticeship of VIctor Frankenstein?! SO excited to see "how it all started"! Admittedly, it started out a little bit slow, but I think the ending was super strong!
So, THIS DARK ENDEAVOR is the story of a teenaged Victor Frankenstein and his twin brother Konrad. They live in Switzerland and naturally have a few quarrels being brothers and all, of course one of which is over a girl -- their cousin Elizabeth. (I know, I know, very distant cousin, but still... why even make it a cousin? It always throws me off and gives me the heebie-jeebies.) The plot ultimately thickens when all of the kids find a secret passage and an entirely secret room extending from the library of the Frankenstein Mansion dubbed "The Dark Library". There are books of all sorts there, of course, all forbidden, especially the ones about alchemy. When Konrad falls perilously ill, Victor decides that the only way to save him is by making the Elixir of Life.
The plot explanation is important for this review because without it, you may be tempted to think that this is a teenaged Victor Frankenstein already working on his monster. THIS DARK ENDEAVOR is the very, very beginning of VIctor Frankenstein's story so I think it's important for readers to know that you do NOT see Frankenstein's monster in this book nor his work on it -- this is more of a prequel to Mary Shelley's classic FRANKENSTEIN (which I also had to Wikipedia -- so shamefully!!! -- because I really remember ZERO details from when I read it as a freshman in high school... To be fair, that was over 10 years ago). THIS DARK ENDEAVOR more of a glimpse into Victor and how he ended up spiraling on such a dark path.
This story brings us the tale of alchemy and the Elixir of Life. We see Victor, Elizabeth, and their friend Henry go on many quests in order to obtain the proper ingredients for the elixir as deciphered for them by the outcasted, former Alchemist Polidori. The alchemy side was incredibly interesting to me and I loved the way it played out. Victor really put all of his heart and soul into finding the ingredients for this elixir that could possibly cure his brother when no other cures were working. I really enjoyed how much faith Victor had in the alchemy and how much doubt his own father had. I was really thrown back and forth from belief to disbelief and I couldn't quite figure out who was right until the very end.
Admittedly... I wasn't quite into the adventures that went into finding the ingredients for the elixir because I think was anticipating more of a scientific approach than adventure. I was much more hoping for suspense and intellect -- how the elixir was made, things that may go wrong there -- than a hunt for unusual ingredients. I think it may also have to do with my personal reproach for the fantastical tucked within the realistic. The ingredients were a bit TOO abnormal and I don't know if such things really do exist, but they seemed entirely invented which just took me out of the "wow, this could actually have happened" mindset. The adventures themselves seemed a bit fantastical as well, going to such great heights and depths that the characters probably never would have survived. Unfortunately, those were moments that just took me out of the story. Also, HI! The Dark Library? Let's just see SO MUCH MORE of that!
I really did love the ending -- some perfectly horrific scenes, dabbling in gore and true horror -- and the question of the elixir itself. Could they actually make it? Would the elixir work? Would they even be able to get it back home? Just a fantastic collection of suspenseful moments there. The book finished strong and ultimately allowed me to bump up my overall feel of the book just a bit. I think it probably would have been more enjoyable had I remembered so much more of the original FRANKENSTEIN before reading it. I had more of pop culture memory and not so much of the original gothic horror as well as the characters and situations that appear in both FRANKENSTEIN and THIS DARK ENDEAVOR.
I think I was expecting a little bit more Frankenstein's monster and gore, but it looks like this is leading up to that and giving the reader more background on Victor Frankenstein as a young adult.
Definitely interested in the next book and so curious about what will happen!
Full review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: I'm so glad Alyssa got me this book for All Hallow's Read because I had been curious about it for quite a while! The Apprenticeship of VIctor Frankenstein?! SO excited to see "how it all started"! Admittedly, it started out a little bit slow, but I think the ending was super strong!
So, THIS DARK ENDEAVOR is the story of a teenaged Victor Frankenstein and his twin brother Konrad. They live in Switzerland and naturally have a few quarrels being brothers and all, of course one of which is over a girl -- their cousin Elizabeth. (I know, I know, very distant cousin, but still... why even make it a cousin? It always throws me off and gives me the heebie-jeebies.) The plot ultimately thickens when all of the kids find a secret passage and an entirely secret room extending from the library of the Frankenstein Mansion dubbed "The Dark Library". There are books of all sorts there, of course, all forbidden, especially the ones about alchemy. When Konrad falls perilously ill, Victor decides that the only way to save him is by making the Elixir of Life.
The plot explanation is important for this review because without it, you may be tempted to think that this is a teenaged Victor Frankenstein already working on his monster. THIS DARK ENDEAVOR is the very, very beginning of VIctor Frankenstein's story so I think it's important for readers to know that you do NOT see Frankenstein's monster in this book nor his work on it -- this is more of a prequel to Mary Shelley's classic FRANKENSTEIN (which I also had to Wikipedia -- so shamefully!!! -- because I really remember ZERO details from when I read it as a freshman in high school... To be fair, that was over 10 years ago). THIS DARK ENDEAVOR more of a glimpse into Victor and how he ended up spiraling on such a dark path.
This story brings us the tale of alchemy and the Elixir of Life. We see Victor, Elizabeth, and their friend Henry go on many quests in order to obtain the proper ingredients for the elixir as deciphered for them by the outcasted, former Alchemist Polidori. The alchemy side was incredibly interesting to me and I loved the way it played out. Victor really put all of his heart and soul into finding the ingredients for this elixir that could possibly cure his brother when no other cures were working. I really enjoyed how much faith Victor had in the alchemy and how much doubt his own father had. I was really thrown back and forth from belief to disbelief and I couldn't quite figure out who was right until the very end.
Admittedly... I wasn't quite into the adventures that went into finding the ingredients for the elixir because I think was anticipating more of a scientific approach than adventure. I was much more hoping for suspense and intellect -- how the elixir was made, things that may go wrong there -- than a hunt for unusual ingredients. I think it may also have to do with my personal reproach for the fantastical tucked within the realistic. The ingredients were a bit TOO abnormal and I don't know if such things really do exist, but they seemed entirely invented which just took me out of the "wow, this could actually have happened" mindset. The adventures themselves seemed a bit fantastical as well, going to such great heights and depths that the characters probably never would have survived. Unfortunately, those were moments that just took me out of the story. Also, HI! The Dark Library? Let's just see SO MUCH MORE of that!
I really did love the ending -- some perfectly horrific scenes, dabbling in gore and true horror -- and the question of the elixir itself. Could they actually make it? Would the elixir work? Would they even be able to get it back home? Just a fantastic collection of suspenseful moments there. The book finished strong and ultimately allowed me to bump up my overall feel of the book just a bit. I think it probably would have been more enjoyable had I remembered so much more of the original FRANKENSTEIN before reading it. I had more of pop culture memory and not so much of the original gothic horror as well as the characters and situations that appear in both FRANKENSTEIN and THIS DARK ENDEAVOR.
This was a nice little YA book. It was reasonably well written, and I enjoyed all the little things the author added, like that the alchemist lived in an area called Wolstenkraft. The story was decent too, but it seemed to lose steam with the ending. Still, I enjoyed this one and would recommend it.
A different take on the Frankenstein story that is interesting to hear because it's not one that you really have heard of. I thought it was kind of boring in the beginning because it's more background and daily life things than action. Once it got into the second half of the book it was not too shabby.
An enjoyable middle grade action book aimed probably more at the boy crowd - so good for fans of Percy Jackson. This is an imagining of the childhood of the future Dr. [b:Frankenstein|18490|Frankenstein|Mary Shelley|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1381512375s/18490.jpg|4836639]. In this he is a teenager of a wealthy (and ridiculously modern/liberal) Swiss family, stuck in a love triangle and beginning to be seduced by the practice of alchemy.
Victor Frakenstein loves his twin brother Konrad, but is also incredibly jealous of him. Victor decides he is in love with Elizabeth - a girl he and Konrad grew up with - most likely because Konrad is in love with her. Victor has a huge complex about his brother being "better" than him, and Elizabeth is just one more toy that Konrad has that Victor is jealous of. When Konrad falls mysteriously ill (with...leukemia? maybe?), Victor puts his faith in alchemy to save him. The lengths Victor will go to save his brother and the dark path this puts him on is interesting.
Victor Frakenstein loves his twin brother Konrad, but is also incredibly jealous of him. Victor decides he is in love with Elizabeth - a girl he and Konrad grew up with - most likely because Konrad is in love with her. Victor has a huge complex about his brother being "better" than him, and Elizabeth is just one more toy that Konrad has that Victor is jealous of. When Konrad falls mysteriously ill (with...leukemia? maybe?), Victor puts his faith in alchemy to save him. The lengths Victor will go to save his brother and the dark path this puts him on is interesting.
It was okay. It was interesting enough for me to finish it. But halfway through there is a very long lull in the plot and I found myself wondering what the point of the story was.
It's hard for me to accurately judge because it was written for teens and that was the main cause of my lack of enjoyment. I read it because I work with teens so I'm familiarizing myself with what they're reading (and admittedly wanted something I could get through quickly). I did appreciate the fact that, though it was set in a period when women weren't seen as equal to men, Oppel made a point of including strong(er) female characters in the book. He explicitly incorporates this fact into the story. A part of me wishes the female characters could be strong on their own without the author having to point it out. Perhaps he's trying to demonstrate the issue for the readers because many may be too young to understand on their own. If that's the case it's a good thing.
This was super fun to read and I liked that the main protagonist was so flawed, it's not something I often see and I think it really made all the difference. What I gathered is this book is meant to be a backstory to the events that happen in the original "Frankenstein". There are just a few questions left to hang in your head which isn't uncommon with stand-alone books but made more sense when I found out there was another book in the series. The characters were very well thought out and had clear motivators, there were scenes that had me on edge, and you end up with a little bit of a hole in your chest in the last chapter. All in all, a great book for me.
Victor’s twin Konrad, “the better” of the two, suddenly falls ill and no cure is available. Fearing for his brother’s life and determined to prove himself, Victor turns to the alchemy books he discovers in the Dark Library. With the help of his cousin Elizabeth and dear friend Henry, they concoct a potion said to restore life. But as the quest for the Elixir of Life proves more and more dangerous, Victor begins to discover a side of himself much darker than he ever thought possible, as nature, science, religion, and love pull his motivations apart.
I’m astonished, somewhat proud, and slightly embarrassed to say I’ve gone through my entire academic career not having reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I’m not sure how it happened, and I’m surprised it was never assigned in my undergraduate Victorian lit and Gothic lit courses. It turned into a game, seeing how long I could go in my academic career — potentially my life — without reading this classic, just out of pure sport. That’s not to say I have no idea what happens in Frankenstein. I can easily give a full synopsis of the book and characters and big impact moments and themes, and that’s simply because I listened to conversations. I’ve never seen a TV show on it, I’ve never seen the movies, I haven’t even seen the play. But with this thesis, I must end this game and read the book.
That being said, my enjoyment for Oppel’s prequel to Frankenstein might have been diminished simply because I have not read the classic first. I spotted all of the historical references to the birth of the story (Wollstonekraft Alley is based on Mary’s mother’s maiden name, Wollstonecraft; Polidori was named after the physician friend of Shelley and Byron’s who wrote Vampyre the same night Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein), all the references back to Frankenstein (from my meager listening skills), and it’s easy to see the madness begin in Victor Frankenstein. Armed with all of this information, though, I still did not fully appreciate it.
The plot was good, the characters well-rounded, the action and suspense well-placed and paced. However, I believe all of the inner turmoil, the progression from mere brotherly competition to mad jealousy, could have done better in an adult fiction novel, or a much larger YA novel. This is book one of a series, but I still believe Oppel could have fleshed out more of Victor. He’s such a Byronic hero — I understand his selfishness and his inner conflict, he’s easy to love and easy to hate — but it was all too rushed and sudden. He needs to develop slowly, otherwise the sudden switch in personality can be jarring for the reader and almost cheesy.
I’m astonished, somewhat proud, and slightly embarrassed to say I’ve gone through my entire academic career not having reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I’m not sure how it happened, and I’m surprised it was never assigned in my undergraduate Victorian lit and Gothic lit courses. It turned into a game, seeing how long I could go in my academic career — potentially my life — without reading this classic, just out of pure sport. That’s not to say I have no idea what happens in Frankenstein. I can easily give a full synopsis of the book and characters and big impact moments and themes, and that’s simply because I listened to conversations. I’ve never seen a TV show on it, I’ve never seen the movies, I haven’t even seen the play. But with this thesis, I must end this game and read the book.
That being said, my enjoyment for Oppel’s prequel to Frankenstein might have been diminished simply because I have not read the classic first. I spotted all of the historical references to the birth of the story (Wollstonekraft Alley is based on Mary’s mother’s maiden name, Wollstonecraft; Polidori was named after the physician friend of Shelley and Byron’s who wrote Vampyre the same night Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein), all the references back to Frankenstein (from my meager listening skills), and it’s easy to see the madness begin in Victor Frankenstein. Armed with all of this information, though, I still did not fully appreciate it.
The plot was good, the characters well-rounded, the action and suspense well-placed and paced. However, I believe all of the inner turmoil, the progression from mere brotherly competition to mad jealousy, could have done better in an adult fiction novel, or a much larger YA novel. This is book one of a series, but I still believe Oppel could have fleshed out more of Victor. He’s such a Byronic hero — I understand his selfishness and his inner conflict, he’s easy to love and easy to hate — but it was all too rushed and sudden. He needs to develop slowly, otherwise the sudden switch in personality can be jarring for the reader and almost cheesy.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved it.
Its kind of unique to me how the protagonist is both the one we sympatise with bc he is the protagonist and we get why he acts the way he acts, but yet he does some terrible stuff. Its conflicting and intense.
I also love the brothers dinamic. Victor loves his Twin and would do anything for him, but he also is jealous as heck. i like to see that dynamic.
Its kind of unique to me how the protagonist is both the one we sympatise with bc he is the protagonist and we get why he acts the way he acts, but yet he does some terrible stuff. Its conflicting and intense.
I also love the brothers dinamic. Victor loves his Twin and would do anything for him, but he also
I like to read stupid and sometimes bad books. I picked this one up because I saw it when searching “frankenstein” to put the actual book on my shelf and figured that this would be a funny read. It wasn’t.
I didn’t expect it to be somewhat problematic in the romance. Not only is it between two brothers fighting over their cousin who was raised as their sister, but victor has no respect for elizabeth’s boundaries. He kisses her without consent, insists he knows better about her feelings than she does, and even says that he will “make elizabeth his” someday. Yet I’m supposed to want them to be together?
Also, I haven’t forgotten how the author pulled the whole “yeah we’re a rich family but we’re a good one. We treat our servants nicely. We even cook them dinner sometimes!!” thing at the beginning of the book. I couldn’t decide whether that made me want to laugh or die.
Besides all that, it was just pretty boring. There were things that could have been interesting, but weren’t. Then again, I don’t know what I expected.
I didn’t expect it to be somewhat problematic in the romance. Not only is it between two brothers fighting over their cousin who was raised as their sister, but victor has no respect for elizabeth’s boundaries. He kisses her without consent, insists he knows better about her feelings than she does, and even says that he will “make elizabeth his” someday. Yet I’m supposed to want them to be together?
Also, I haven’t forgotten how the author pulled the whole “yeah we’re a rich family but we’re a good one. We treat our servants nicely. We even cook them dinner sometimes!!” thing at the beginning of the book. I couldn’t decide whether that made me want to laugh or die.
Besides all that, it was just pretty boring. There were things that could have been interesting, but weren’t. Then again, I don’t know what I expected.