Reviews

Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

lsoccer12's review against another edition

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4.0

I really liked this book. Delightful character development and an original plot; can't expect any less from Kenneth Oppel. Cannot wait for the next book!

marieweitzel77's review against another edition

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5.0

very thrilling! I read it in two sittings!

siobhan27's review against another edition

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4.0

This Review can also be read on my blog Conversations of a Reading Addict

When I first read the first novel in this series, This Dark Endeavor, I fell in love right away. The story was original and amazingly well written. When I saw that there would be a sequel I was just as excited, but I have to say that this one did not live up to my expectations. Sequels are tricky creatures that either blow you away, or leave you feeling a little flat, and I hate to say that for me it was the latter.

I hated Viktor in this novel, he was selfish and a little whiny at times and I just wanted to smack him. I know that Viktor is not supposed to be a likable character, since in the original story by Mary Shelley he was just as unlikable, but I really wanted there to be a redeeming quality in there somewhere, and I didnt see until the very end of the book, and at that point I think it was too late.

In this sequel, Viktor and his friends cross the barriers of the living a dead going in search of yet another way to bring Konrad back to life. Although the imagery and scene setting were absolutely stunning and well written, I felt like at times it went too far into the unknown, and I felt myself disbelieving the events that took place.

The end was something that will stay with any reader, and I had to read it over a couple of times to actually grasp what was happening and wow was it a fantastic scene, filled to brim with fantastical elements and amazing imagery that has stayed with me even weeks after I finished reading it. If you have read the original Frankenstein the last line of this book will leave you giddy and wonder is there is another book in the works or if it will be left at 2. It is all left in the air at the end of Such Wicked Intent, but I loved the last line, It was fantastic.

dreamerfreak's review against another edition

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4.0

O. M. G.

I'll admit it. After reading [b:This Dark Endeavor|9779094|This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, #1)|Kenneth Oppel|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1339610786s/9779094.jpg|14668834], I wasn't anticipating enjoying Such Wicked Intent greatly. I'd thought I'd read it, and like it... and forget about it. But Victor didn't agree. And believe me, it's all about Victor.

SpoilerAfter Konrad's death at the end of the first book, Victor determines to bring him back to life. And so begins our brave trio's adventures in what might just be the afterlife, as they scramble to build Konrad a new body and bring him back. But things are never easy with Victor, and this time he might just have doomed them all - even Konrad.


Still, Such Wicked Intent ends on a slightly more positive note than the last, but it's still Victor, and he's always half mad.

[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]

winterpirate's review against another edition

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5.0

Oh dear, my heart. Where to begin?

I picture Oppel thinking something like this: How am I going to beat the rather disturbing three trials from the first novel? Solution- let's have some creepy mud children and butterflies mixed with a little body snatching and maybe we'll even drown someone.

I have to say I rather hated Elizabeth this novel. She can be as religious as she likes, please stop forcing it on Victor, and stop being so self-righteous. I suppose the ending explains some of her stupidity, but I was past irritation when she
Spoiler picked up the baby despite Victor's insistence that that is NOT how things work. He was the only one who saw it, maybe listen to him? That child's facial transformation was really disturbing. Still, I felt kind of sad at his drowning. I wanted Victor to help him, but I also wanted him dead. So conflicted.


SpoilerI knew Analiese was bad the moment her face shifted, and I had often wondered about Wilhelm disappearance but I never put the two together. I felt a little sick to my stomach actually, when he ran off with Victor's ring and stole his body.


Actually, the whole novel made me uncomfortable and I loved it.

I'm sure everyone knows the original story of Victor Frankenstein, who used electricity make his resurrection work.
Spoiler So does anyone else feel really shuddery and panicky about that last paragraph?


Update: I'm still waiting desperately for the third but there has been no news...
Update: I guess this was a duology?

court4short's review against another edition

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4.0

Having read and enjoyed "His Dark Endeavor" previously, I was really excited to find that a sequel had been written. While this book had a many of the same things I loved about the first, the overall theme was different. There was definitely a more supernatural-feel to the plot.

With HDE, you got the feeling that much of it was plausible, despite being a bit outlandish. The books in the hidden library, the ingredients and even the adventures to retrieve them. But with SWI it was something completely different and on a whole new level. It wasn't something I would have expected, but still enjoyed.

Everything tied together nicely, and it kept me guessing and wondering up until the very last page.

sapphire_mayo's review against another edition

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4.0

I will start this review off with the last thoughts I had at the exact moment I finished this book: "He never fucking learns!" Victor Frankenstein is my favorite hate-able character. He is such a dickhead and so power-hungry and arrogant it is the most frustrating thing in the world to watch him self-destruct (as well as bringing out the worst in everyone around him at the same time).
This book is spent split between the living world and that of the dead, where his twin brother Konrad and other beings dwell. There, Victor and his friends who are close enough to be family, look for a way to bring Konrad back to life.
We get to see obsession and desperation take root in our main characters, and how those desperations cause conflict between them all. It was super fast paced and never dull, I had a lot of moments when I had to close the book and allow myself to breathe.
I will say there is a scene where we see what looks like an attempted rape, so trigger-warning for that.

beammey's review against another edition

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3.0

So, I'm one of the people that liked the first book in the series better. Was this still a good book? Oh yes! I did enjoy it, quite a lot, I just enjoyed the other book more. I do like the cover of this one better though, so it has that going for it. I think the pacing of this book was just too slow for me? And I just couldn't get into it as much as I wanted. I would still recommend it though because it is a very interesting take on Frankenstein and how he became the way he did. 3.5 out of 5 stars. A very well written book.

pali_zae's review against another edition

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3.0

Actually rating: 3.5 stars

anniemariek's review against another edition

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4.0

Once again, I've come to the point where all I want to do is sit here and rant about how much I wish I could write books like Kenneth Oppel. Though This Wicked Intent did not have as much of an effect on me as the Matt Cruse series or This Dark Endeavor, it was certainly an excellent book.


I like the way Kenneth Oppel writes. He doesn't use flashy, flowery, gorgeous prose. It's not something you immediately look at and say "Wow, that's beautiferific!" (In this situation, "beautiful seemed inadequate, and "terrific" just wouldn't do. And so, "beautiferific".) It's not until after you read the book that you realize that, wait, somebody wrote that. Somebody wrote this book and used nothing more than words to tell the story. Everything was so clear and defined in your head that somehow the narration, in a way, ceased to exist.


I want to be able to accomplish this marvelous feat.


This book makes me look forward to reading Frankenstein later this year in my British Literature class. If you don't already know, this series is a prequel, of sorts, to Frankenstein. The Victor Frankenstein in this book is, well, THE Victor Frankenstein.


Because of this prequel-ness, I pretty much knew ahead of time that this book couldn't have a happy ending. That didn't make it any easier to deal with. I won't spoil it, but...


Victor's disappointment made me sad. It really did. And here lies the heart of the paradox that is Victor. He's not very likable. He's greedy and arrogant and selfish and does some pretty nasty things. He's an antihero.


And yet...I wanted him to succeed. I don't know whether or not I actually liked him, but I felt for him. I was sad when he was sad. Kenneth Oppel had a very difficult character to work with, because he was such an antihero and was pretty much already defined. But Oppel worked with it, and he did a great job with it.


Overall, I recommend this series. Recommended for fans of historical fiction with a sci-fi and/or paranormal twist, or readers looking for something a bit darker and thought-provoking. Four stars!