A review by nerfherder86
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

5.0

A spooky, sad, suspenseful, exciting story with a clever premise! 15 year old Victor Frankenstein is moody, impulsive, brave, inquisitive, quick to anger, and devoted to, yet also jealous of, his twin brother Konrad. The brothers are inseparable, whether they're exuberantly acting in homegrown plays for their family or exploring the hidden Dark Library they discover in the spooky castle where they've grown up alongside their beautiful "distant cousin" Elizabeth. When Konrad mysteriously falls deathly ill, their bonds become strained, as Victor wishes to seek out the help of an old alchemist to create The Elixir of Life and cure his brother. But this will involve much danger, hardship and sacrifice on his part--does he love his brother enough to go through with it? And when they realize that they are both in love with Elizabeth, but she has chosen one brother over the other--it will cause even more of a rift between them. I just loved this book for the spooky Gothic atmosphere and the fascinating look at the psyche of a classic character from literature, seeing how the seeds were there in his personality that, with the wrong circumstances and choices, led him down the evil path we know he's bound to tread. (shiver!) Warning: not for the faint of heart, at least one scene anyway. Not as horrific as I'm sure other true horror books are, just shiver-inducing. And a terrific audio narrator, one of the best I've ever heard. Also, although it has a definite ending, you can tell there will be more adventures to come.