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A review by teaxmillions
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
3.0
This Dark Endeavor follows a young Victor Frankenstein and his adventures with his brother Konrad, his cousin Elizabeth, and his friend Henry Clerval. He delves into the forbidden alchemy to save his brother from a mysterious sickness.
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way, shall we? My first issue is none of the characters appealed to me. They all annoyed me with their decisions and how they reacted with the other characters. Elizabeth was a bit too obnoxious with her insistence on there being a god when it wasn't really a central theme in the book? Konrad was annoying in that he seemed to be better in everything and wasn't afraid to take control all the time. Henry was too timid. Victor, the main character, almost had NO REDEEMING QUALITIES. He was arrogant and disgusting most of the time. The only thing that I can see that might be a little good that he did was his devotion to his brother. Basically the characters were a mess.
The love triangle between Elizabeth, Konrad, and Victor was annoying. That's all the book would ever talk about when it clearly wasn't that important! Not when you're messing with alchemy to cure your brother from an illness! I think I might have liked it if Oppel wouldn't have made it so repetitive.
The book also got a bit slow at times, I felt. I don't know if it was the constant reiteration of the love triangle, but it was an issue for me.
HOWEVER, there was quite a bit I DID like. I've read Frankenstein, so this was an interesting read on seeing how what he did when he was young affected him in his adulthood. (I know that this wasn't written by Mary Shelley and that everything written is Oppel's take, but I like how he used the original novel, okay?) It explained Victor's fascination with death and bringing things back to life.
The book was very addicting. Even though I had no love for the characters, I always wanted to find what stupid decision they would make next.
I don't recommend this book actually unless you're starving for more Frankenstein literature. Overall, kind of meh.
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way, shall we? My first issue is none of the characters appealed to me. They all annoyed me with their decisions and how they reacted with the other characters. Elizabeth was a bit too obnoxious with her insistence on there being a god when it wasn't really a central theme in the book? Konrad was annoying in that he seemed to be better in everything and wasn't afraid to take control all the time. Henry was too timid. Victor, the main character, almost had NO REDEEMING QUALITIES. He was arrogant and disgusting most of the time. The only thing that I can see that might be a little good that he did was his devotion to his brother. Basically the characters were a mess.
The love triangle between Elizabeth, Konrad, and Victor was annoying. That's all the book would ever talk about when it clearly wasn't that important! Not when you're messing with alchemy to cure your brother from an illness! I think I might have liked it if Oppel wouldn't have made it so repetitive.
The book also got a bit slow at times, I felt. I don't know if it was the constant reiteration of the love triangle, but it was an issue for me.
HOWEVER, there was quite a bit I DID like. I've read Frankenstein, so this was an interesting read on seeing how what he did when he was young affected him in his adulthood. (I know that this wasn't written by Mary Shelley and that everything written is Oppel's take, but I like how he used the original novel, okay?) It explained Victor's fascination with death and bringing things back to life.
The book was very addicting. Even though I had no love for the characters, I always wanted to find what stupid decision they would make next.
I don't recommend this book actually unless you're starving for more Frankenstein literature. Overall, kind of meh.