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This Dark Endeavor

(The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #1)

Kenneth Oppel (Goodreads Author)

3.82 · Rating details · 11,450 ratings · 1,741 reviews

Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein and inseparable until Konrad falls gravely ill. In the forbidden Dark Library, Victor finds an ancient formula, and seeks an alchemist to recreate the Elixir of Life. With friends Elizabeth and Henry, he scales highest trees in the Strumwald, dives deepest lake caves, and each sacrifices a body part.

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Hardcover, 298 pages

Published August 23rd 2011 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers (first published August 1st 2011)

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Nov 08, 2013 Rick Riordan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I don’t often request an advance reading copy of a book. In fact, I’m usually declining ARCs because I’m offered more than I could possibly read. However, when I heard about Oppel’s latest project, a prequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, I immediately asked if I could read an advance copy, and I was lucky enough to get it.

I’m a big fan of Oppel’s previous series that began with Airborn. I’m also a fan of the Romantics, like the Shelleys. It’s no coincidence that Percy Jackson is named Percy. S I don’t often request an advance reading copy of a book. In fact, I’m usually declining ARCs because I’m offered more than I could possibly read. However, when I heard about Oppel’s latest project, a prequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, I immediately asked if I could read an advance copy, and I was lucky enough to get it.

I’m a big fan of Oppel’s previous series that began with Airborn. I’m also a fan of the Romantics, like the Shelleys. It’s no coincidence that Percy Jackson is named Percy. Short for Perseus, yes, but Percy Shelley, who was enamored with Greek myths and wrote extensively about them, also liked to fancy that his name was derived from the old Greek hero. In one letter, his wife calls him “my own Perseus.” But I digress . . .

For many years, I’ve thought the Frankenstein story was ripe for retelling as a YA novel. It’s one of those ideas that I toyed with but never had time to pursue. I’m very glad Oppel beat me to it, because he does it beautifully.

This Dark Endeavour introduces 15-year-old Victor Frankenstein. Oppel has taken the liberty of giving Victor a twin brother Konrad, and while you may be thinking, ‘oh, lord, not the old twin brother plot device,’ it works well in this book and comes across as fresh and perfectly plausible. In fact, it’s vital to the story. When Konrad falls ill, Victor is driven to find a cure, even if that means turning to the forbidden secrets of alchemy. And so, from the best of motives, a dark obsession is born – to unlock the secrets of life and death.

There is much more to the story, though. Victor’s search for ingredients sends him and his friends on many harrowing adventures. I won’t give any spoilers, especially since the book isn’t out yet, but I can tell you this is a true page-turner.

Most importantly, there is Elizabeth, the distant cousin of the Frankenstein family – a spirited, fiercely independent young woman, devoutly Catholic, beautiful, headstrong, and drawn to both Konrad and Victor for very different reasons. It’s the love triangle between these three multidimensional characters that really drives the narrative. There are no easy answers, no true villains and heroes. I found myself cheering for Victor, and yet hating him at times. Konrad comes across as noble, and yet insufferably perfect. Elizabeth is mercurial, yet perfectly true to her convictions. Oppel really brings them to life, which in a Frankenstein novel has many levels of meaning, I suppose.

The book explores faith and science, loyalty and hypocrisy, love and jealousy – all the things that young readers, and even older readers, struggle with. In his earlier work Airborn, Oppel updated the classic Jules Verne/Robert Louis Stevenson adventures and pioneered what would later be called ‘steampunk.’ In This Dark Endeavor, Oppel has reinvented the gothic thriller for modern readers. The narrative crackles with tension, emotions run high, and the atmosphere is perfectly dark and brooding. The Shelleys would be proud. I definitely recommend you check out the book when it’s published August 23. I anticipate This Dark Endeavor will get a lot of attention, and rightly so. ...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Stephen rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2011, signed-first-or-limited-edition, audiobook, retellings-reimaginings-and-mashes, mad-scientists, fantasy, ya

Light, fluffy and completely forgettable.

Don’t miscomprestand me, there’s some diversionary entertainment value here and the pace is pretty perky, but I still reached the end with "what's the point?" swirling in my head causing a nagging itch that the book never scratched. It left me with a mild case of the Mehs. Granted, not a full dose of Meh, but Meh nonetheless.

Call it Meh-lite.

Now I shan’t go a-bashing as the book committed no major literary felonies. It's just all the pre-release hypi ...more

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Jun 30, 2011 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: meowch-bad-kitty, why-yes-i-ya, my-biggest-fear, upstairs-neighbors, from-publisher-or-author, distant-lands

huh. i had never heard of this kenneth oppel fellow, but i guess he's some big deal in YA publishing. i have so much to learn.

i liked this book very much. but more important than my enjoyment, this is going to be a great book for reluctant boy readers. that's a big problem in the world of educators and librarians: "why won't the boys reeeeead??" and from where i'm standing, i get it. most of the YA stuff is all girls girls girls. and although there are some fantastic books for boys, i have read huh. i had never heard of this kenneth oppel fellow, but i guess he's some big deal in YA publishing. i have so much to learn.

i liked this book very much. but more important than my enjoyment, this is going to be a great book for reluctant boy readers. that's a big problem in the world of educators and librarians: "why won't the boys reeeeead??" and from where i'm standing, i get it. most of the YA stuff is all girls girls girls. and although there are some fantastic books for boys, i have read a bunch of them, there need to be more, all the time, to keep up with all the unicorn hunters and vampire love triangles that may as well be push-up bras and powder puffs and make boys feel outnumbered, when confronted with a YA fiction department in a bookstore or library...

this book is perfect for those poor overwhelmed boys. don't get me wrong, girls are going to love it, too, but it's just full of adventure and alchemy and monsters and it all leads up to frankenstein. eventually, i guess. not so much in this book.

this book is about victor frankenstein, aged 15. and his twin brother konrad and their cousin, elizabeth. when konrad becomes deathly ill, victor and elizabeth secretly become involved with a creepy doctor and the quest to mix up the elixir of life to save him.

there are...difficulties.

his writing is great - it takes the suspenseful bits and drags them out enough to be gripping, but not so much that it frustrates one of those reluctant boy readers. it's good stuff, truly. there are some great action scenes, and some more tender moments, and all the characters come alive in their own way. the beginning part reminded me of the peggy parish books i used to love, in which liza, bill, and jed had their adventures and followed the clues to wonderful conclusions. that is high praise - those books saw me through many years of my youth.

my only grump with this is the discomfort i feel when dealing with the fictitious childhood of a fictitious character, where there are streets named wollstonekraft alley and doctors named polidori. it's cute to have these references, but it complicates things a little, no?? but, then i remember that this book is intended for ages twelve and up, and i should stop thinking too hard and just enjoy this as a well-written adventure story with some great takes on loyalty and love, and the complications therein.

this book of his looks very good - i am definitely going to check it out as well: Half Brother.

but you read this one, yeah?

come to my blog! ...more

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Dec 29, 2018 Jennie Damron rated it really liked it

I loved that this book was centered on twin brothers. Being a Twin myself I enjoyed that immensely. The closeness, feeling each other's pain as if it were our own, the lengths we would go for the other was all perfectly depicted in this book. The Gothic feel of the book was wonderful and the eeriness that Victor starts to show was cleverly done. I have never read the book Frankenstein before. Being that this book is sort of like the prequel I think I might have to read it soon. I highly recommen ...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Reynje rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

I read Scarlett as a teen and I decided it had put me off this prequel/sequel written by someone else business for life. (Really, can you blame me? That book is the worst.) Then they went and made Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story and I could have rage-cried from the whole ’have we learned nothing?!’ of it.

And yet here I am, reviewing a prequel to Frankenstein, and as far as I’m concerned, Kenneth Oppel can have at it because this was good and it really works as a YA complemen ...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Michael rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2011, gothic, ya

Most people know my obsession with Frankenstein so I wanted to give This Dark Endeavour a go; since the author Kenneth Oppel calls this a prequel. Victor’s brother Konrad, has fallen ill and no doctor has been able to cure him. Victor’s determination to save his brother has turned to alchemy to find the forbidden Elixir of Life and save his twin brother. With the help of his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and best friend Henry; Victor pushes the boundaries of nature and science in a treacherous sear Most people know my obsession with Frankenstein so I wanted to give This Dark Endeavour a go; since the author Kenneth Oppel calls this a prequel. Victor’s brother Konrad, has fallen ill and no doctor has been able to cure him. Victor’s determination to save his brother has turned to alchemy to find the forbidden Elixir of Life and save his twin brother. With the help of his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and best friend Henry; Victor pushes the boundaries of nature and science in a treacherous search for the ingredients to help Konrad.

This is book one in The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series which I believe is being made into a trilogy. My first thoughts were; a YA novel about Victor Frankenstein was that this is never going to work, but then after a bit of a look at the book I decided to give it a go anyway. I thought maybe if he’s research of Frankenstein is in-depth enough and he keeps to the dark and gothic elements of the original classic it might work. I really should have stuck to my first thoughts because from the very start I hated this book.

First of all this book follows the same old paranormal young adult formula; which means not so much dark and gothic elements but lots and lots to do with a love triangle. I really hate love triangles in books at the moment that felt like the entire plot of this book. Sure they search for the Elixir of Life but there was more to do with Victor’s feelings toward Elizabeth than the actual alchemy.

Personally I wish I never read this book, it really did nothing for the Frankenstein story and love triangles are always annoying. There is a small steampunk element in this book but that felt like the author was jumping on the bandwagon to help market this book to the readers that want Steampunk, Paranormal, Love Triangle filled Young Adult romance. If want gothic and dark YA like I do, then this book is not for you. But if you like the idea of a romance with paranormal elements in it, then maybe give this book a go. ...more

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Mar 14, 2021 rachel ☾ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-star, historical-fiction, young-adult-lit

A cousin incest love triangle, a poorly-represented disabled villain, and a protagonist who sexually assault a character twice? Yeah, nah.

➸ Trigger warnings for (view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 09, 2019 Lauren Stoolfire rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, horror, fantasy

This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #1) by Kenneth Oppel is definitely an underrated prequel to Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein. Personally, I think it was a great decision to begin reading this novel after watching The Ghost of Frankenstein on Svengoolie. If you're a fan of retellings and prequels, I highly recommend starting this duology. Now, I need to read book two, Such Wicked Intent.

...more

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Oct 28, 2015 Paige Bookdragon marked it as to-read

Shelves: dying-to-have

This was recommended to me because I love Uncle Rick's The Monstrumologist series...

description

...more

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Mar 15, 2018 Latasha rated it liked it

Shelves: supernatural-paranormal, library-books, horror

This YA book starts off slow but picks up a little before the middle. This story is about the Frankenstein's during Victor's teenage years, when he first learns of alchemy. It was ok. ...more

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Aug 29, 2017 Scarlett Readz and Runz....Through Novel Time & Distance rated it it was amazing

“You see, when medicine works, it is blessed science, and when it fails, it is witchcraft. - Polidori”
― Kenneth Oppel, This Dark Endeavor

This book I s a v o r e d.
Kenneth Oppel has such a way with words that I was drawn in right from the beginning. This is a fictional prequel to Mary Shelley’s gothic classic Frankenstein. And because this book was published a few years ago and reviewed many times, I won’t go into too many details. But here is the description of the book from Amazon, just as a “You see, when medicine works, it is blessed science, and when it fails, it is witchcraft. - Polidori”
― Kenneth Oppel, This Dark Endeavor

This book I s a v o r e d.
Kenneth Oppel has such a way with words that I was drawn in right from the beginning. This is a fictional prequel to Mary Shelley’s gothic classic Frankenstein. And because this book was published a few years ago and reviewed many times, I won’t go into too many details. But here is the description of the book from Amazon, just as a refresher:

Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures...until the day their adventures turn all too real.
They stumble upon the Dark Library and discover secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies. Father forbids them from ever entering the room again, but when Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is drawn back to the Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. Victor, along with his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and friend Henry, immediately set out to find a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help them create the formula.
Determined to save Konrad, the three friends scale the highest trees in Strumwald, dive into the deepest lakes, and even make an unthinkable sacrifice in their quest for the elixir’s ingredients. And as if their task was not complicated enough, a new realm of danger—that of illicit love—threatens to end the ordeal in tragedy.

So, the story begins just so very innocently and just so proper. It has this gothic charm and flair to it while the characters are introduced and established. That was just fine for me because all I expected was a little alchemy and mischief.

Surprisingly the story turned into this adventure filled quest with charlatan doctors, dark cellars, potions, fantastical creatures, danger, love, betrayal and…..(more I cannot give away!) And I just ate it up! There was this “surgery” part that made me cringe to the depths of my tummy and I was not sure if I could read through it. Admittedly, I am not one who enjoys horror!

I came across this book by accident, and did not think I would enjoy it this much. This YA novel is a page turner and I would hope that it would pique the interest of young readers to try the actual Frankenstein novel. For that I loved it. If it doesn’t, then I don’t know what can. Looking forward to reading book II, Wicket Intent.
...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Jean-marcel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book is sort of crap, but it does a reasonably good job of hiding the fact most of the time. I'm not really sold on the notion of visiting parts of the life of an old fictional character to fill in the gaps the original author chose to leave to the imagination, to begin with. Frankly I don't see why this book had to be about Victor Frankenstein at all; it could have been the story of any young, remarkable and enterprising boy raised in a well-to-do, enlightened late eighteenth-century Europ This book is sort of crap, but it does a reasonably good job of hiding the fact most of the time. I'm not really sold on the notion of visiting parts of the life of an old fictional character to fill in the gaps the original author chose to leave to the imagination, to begin with. Frankly I don't see why this book had to be about Victor Frankenstein at all; it could have been the story of any young, remarkable and enterprising boy raised in a well-to-do, enlightened late eighteenth-century European family, and the book might have even been better for it. I suppose the chief success here is that after finishing this, I want to read Shelley's original novel again and look for allusions Oppel might have made to the older text that I missed. I certainly don't remember Mary mentioning a twin brother.

Oppel's book had a problem maintaining my focus and attention. The first several dozen pages are chiefly written to establish the situation, and I'm afraid it's rather dull: two brothers who love each other deeply but have a sort of rivalry, although Konrad seems rather oblivious to the feelings of jealousy of his twin, Victor. They also have a tag-along friend who fancies himself a playwright, and a fiery female cousin who has lived with them since childhood and who wants to marry Konrad. Of course, Victor loves her too, and this feeds the predictable brotherly rivalry. Konrad then falls ill and none of the medical science of the time seems able to help him. When Victor and his friends make contact with an impoverished, crippled alchemist, things finally get a little more interesting. However, the whole book basically rides on peaks and troughs like this; nearly the entire second third consists of the trio wandering around looking for ingredients for this Elixir of Life, and it just isn't all that exciting.

The main problem, I think, is that there really isn't much conflict in the book at all. Sure, Victor has flashes of rage directed against his brother, and he wants Elizabeth for himself, but there's never any real doubt in his mind that he wants Konrad cured and his fraternal love doesn't really turn to the kind of hate foreshadowed by the play depicted at the novel's outset. Toward the final pages, it's as if Oppel suddenly woke up and realised there just wasn't enough tension in his narrative, so (view spoiler)

Congruent with the central issue of a lack of substantial conflict is the feeling that it was all for nothing. I recognise that this is sort of the point, and yes, this book has a surprisingly downbeat ending for a so-called young adult novel, but it feels rather like an empty prequel film made after the big blockbuster to cash in, if you know what I mean. The sequel being, of course, The Modern Prometheus, justifiably considered a classic by a great many. I think Oppel bit off altogether too much here; the book had to proceed this way, and yet feels so empty as a result. Again, I get the sense that if he had not been bound to the extant Frankenstein mythos, things might have turned out better.

A more minor gripe I have with this book is that the writing occasionally seems sloppy. Usually Oppel seems to be putting in an effort at verisimilitude, and while I'm not entirely convinced that I'm reading a true narrative from the early 1800s , neither am I put off. However, every so often he seems to slip, and a turn of phrase pops out that I would consider to be too modern to have come from any of these characters' mouths or pens. There are also a few grammatical errors that someone really should have caught. Finally, it occurs to me that these people are just a bit too progressive, and "enlightened" in the current sense, to be entirely realistic.

I do see that Oppel tried to create a flawed protagonist in Victor, and he somewhat succeeded. Victor does not believe in God and scoffs at Elizabeth's churchgoing and stolid faith. I'd be on Victor's side in this matter, myself, though perhaps a little nicer about it if I was trying to woo my cousin; but Victor places an intense, unreasonable faith in this Elixir of Life. He believes that it works without even having seen the slightest bit of evidence. Not only this, but he basically finds Paracellsus's elixir completely at random; it's stated several times in the text that there are many such formulae, and no doubt had he first happened upon some other recipe by John Dee or someone or other, his faith would have been equally blind. Thus, Victor is just as much a hypocrite as his father, and of course has too much hubris to realise this himself. I suppose this was the most interesting facet of the book, all told.

While this book generally failed to get much of a reaction from me one way or another, there was one scene that had me squirming and made me say, "ah, well done, you've hit upon one of my greatest fearful obsessions". That was (view spoiler)

I wish I could recommend this, but it pains me to say that it all feels a bit like a hollow shell. ...more

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Feb 16, 2016 Tracy (Cornerfolds) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, horror, retellings, read-2016

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Confession: I have never read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I've also never been a huge fan of Frankenstein apart from maybe Young Frankenstein, which I watched way too many times growing up, thanks to my parents. Recently I watched Victor Frankenstein (there's probably a review of that coming soon) and really, really wanted to read more about Frankenstein's story. When I saw the gorgeous cover of This Dark Endeavor and saw that it was a prequel story, I Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Confession: I have never read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I've also never been a huge fan of Frankenstein apart from maybe Young Frankenstein, which I watched way too many times growing up, thanks to my parents. Recently I watched Victor Frankenstein (there's probably a review of that coming soon) and really, really wanted to read more about Frankenstein's story. When I saw the gorgeous cover of This Dark Endeavor and saw that it was a prequel story, I knew I had to read it!

This is the story of Victor and Konrad Frankenstein, along with their cousin, Elizabeth, and good friend, Henry. Although each of these characters is important in their own way, Victor is undoubtedly the star of the show and he is incredible in the strangest way. I knew going in that Victor would be a... unique character. I wasn't disappointed.

Victor is passionate and odd and has just a little bit of darkness in him. He wants what he wants and does not let anything stand in his way. At times I wondered whether he was entirely stable or whether he lacked the ability to truly care about anyone other than himself and sometimes he even made me a little uncomfortable. But despite all of his shortcomings, he was a wonderful character to get to know. His love for his brother could not be doubted, even if he had a strange way of showing it at times.

Elizabeth is the love interest here, if there must be one. Yes, there is something of a love triangle, but I really didn't find that it detracted that much from the story. In fact, I thought it really added to my understanding of Victor as a character. Elizabeth was also a really interesting character to get to know. It seemed as if a bit of Victor's curiosity and passion had also rubbed off on her and she did not always know what to make of her own actions. I honestly cannot wait to get to know more about her in the second book in this duology.

I found the plot to be extremely intriguing. Perhaps some of Victor Frankenstein's backstory is given in the original book, but having never read that, I only have secondhand sources to go by. I knew that something had happened to Victor's brother, but to see Konrad's illness and Victor's determination to save him shed a lot of light on his later life. Admittedly, I don't know much about alchemy, but following along with Victor and Co. as they worked towards creating the Elixir of Life was both informative and exciting!

The setting that was painted by Kenneth Oppel was also really well done! I don't read much gothic fiction, but I definitely felt like he did a wonderful job of placing me into the Frankenstein house in Geneva. As a book worm, my favorite part was obviously the Dark Library!

The one bit I didn't really enjoy (which, unfortunately, was kind of a big part of the story) was the old alchemist who helped Victor create the elixir. I felt that he (along with his cat) was predictable and just a little too eccentric for the story. I feel like if his character could have been toned down just a bit, this would have been a much better read.

Overall I really enjoyed This Dark Endeavor! Although it wasn't a perfect read, I thought it was a fantastic prequel story to the Frankenstein I've grown up with through the movies. I can't wait to read the next one and, perhaps, even read the classic all of this was based on!

Actual rating: 4.5 stars ...more

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Oct 23, 2020 Eva B. rated it liked it

Shelves: retellings-reimaginings-etc, friendships-are-magic, young-adult, disappointing, meh

This is the best Frankenstein retelling I've read.
This is not a compliment.
I mean, this is a solid two stars higher than The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Lavenza and gags Cadaver and Queen, but this was still pretty thoroughly "meh."
Elizabeth definitely gave me "r/menwritingwomen" vibes, although less in the sexualized way and more in the "*constantly being told/seen her 'inner wildcat'" way.
Clerval was...there, I suppose. He pulled his weight at the end but was otherwise sort of boring. Whatev ...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Allie rated it really liked it

I was interested in reading this book partially because of the hype. This first I’d ever heard of this title came in the form of an announcement that Summit Films had acquired the screen rights. You can read that here.

I also liked the cover (sorry, it’s a weakness). But you have to admit, it’s just kind of a cover just made to appeal to a bookstalker like me, with a keyhole to peep through and everything. And the plot also appealed to my bookstalking nature…a forbidden library! Yeah! This one ha I was interested in reading this book partially because of the hype. This first I’d ever heard of this title came in the form of an announcement that Summit Films had acquired the screen rights. You can read that here.

I also liked the cover (sorry, it’s a weakness). But you have to admit, it’s just kind of a cover just made to appeal to a bookstalker like me, with a keyhole to peep through and everything. And the plot also appealed to my bookstalking nature…a forbidden library! Yeah! This one had my name written all over it.

I’ve never been that into the Frankenstein story—it’s not one of my personal favorites. However, I finished This Dark Endeavor wanting to revisit Mary Shelley’s classic. I have a feeling many teens will finish this book and go on to read Frankenstein for the first time. Any book that encourages kids to read a classic is a good thing, but This Dark Endeavor is also good in its own right.

One of the things I really loved about This Dark Endeavor was the pacing. There is no lag in the middle. Action scene follows action scene, and the suspense in some of them is painful. Oppel hooks you from the opening scene and does not let go until the conclusion. Dark, claustrophobic caves! Giant, should-be-extinct aquatic creatures! Nightmarish scavengers! Preternaturally clever mammals! Secrets, plots, betrayals! Whew…

Victor and Konrad are both sympathetic characters. Victor’s motivations, given his personality and complex feelings for his brother, are believeable. Konrad is almost angelic in his goodness, generosity, and fair-mindedness, but Victor has plenty of flaws to balance Konrad out. Elizabeth, the distant cousin the boys’ age who was adopted into the family, is as fiery and strong-willed as you could want a heroine to be—and it’s believable that both Konrad and Victor would fall for her. Their parents are the kind of progressive thinkers that cook dinner for their servants once a week and stress the importance of an equal education for Elizabeth, despite the fact she is female. The reader gets enough of a glimpse into this loving, seemingly perfect family that we can appreciate how devastating it is for all of them when their beloved Konrad falls ill.

I can’t say much more about the plot without spoiling it. I will say I really did not like one scene due to what happened in it—but the scene was not gratuitous and part of the reason I was upset is because Oppel wrote it so skillfully. So I can’t fault him for it even if it did make me mad. It served the story.

Conclusion? I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves gothic stories, enjoys books like The Monstrumologist and its sequel, and for fans of Shelley’s Frankenstein. Die-hard fans may not approve of what Oppel has done with the story—as with any fans approaching a new take on something they feel strongly about—but I think they will find it compelling nonetheless.

...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Celise rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, movies-tv, mystery-horror-thriller, canadian-authors, favourites, fantasy-ya

Yay for talented Canadian authors.
I will certainly be watching this film.

I have an intense fear of giant birds, water and fish of any size, specifically sharks and prehistoric looking things like this one, and loss of limbs or permanent body mutilation. Thank you Kenneth, for bringing all of my fears together in one place that was so fascinating I will never be able to forget them, unfortunately.

I have read the Airborn series and Darkwing, and Oppel never lets his readers down. All of his advent ...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Amelia, free market Puritan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, ya-kids-teen, point-of-view-guy, memorable-characters

This Dark Endeavor is an incredible book! I don't know where Kenneth Oppel got the idea to write a prequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein starring a teenage version of the eponymous character, but what an ingenious idea!

Truth be told, I never read Frankenstein in high school or college (different track, I guess). Basically, my knowledge of the source material has come from Kenneth Branagh's film version, and Mel Brooks.

Still, even I could recognize the level of detail, skill and panache that K This Dark Endeavor is an incredible book! I don't know where Kenneth Oppel got the idea to write a prequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein starring a teenage version of the eponymous character, but what an ingenious idea!

Truth be told, I never read Frankenstein in high school or college (different track, I guess). Basically, my knowledge of the source material has come from Kenneth Branagh's film version, and Mel Brooks.

Still, even I could recognize the level of detail, skill and panache that Kenneth Oppel put into this fascinating novel. And for those of you who did read Frankenstein, have you ever wondered what might have happened to make Victor Frankenstein the man who actually dared to create life? Here, it's simple: Victor has a brilliant, charismatic and practically perfect twin brother, Konrad. Light to his shadow, and all that. When Konrad falls ill with a rare condition, Victor takes it upon himself to find a cure, believing that practical science has failed. His course of study is the dark arts of alchemy - the first of many such introductions into dark and creepy arts. Joining him in his "studies" are his cousin, Elizabeth Lavenza (yes, *the* Elizabeth Lavenza...(view spoiler)) and best friend Henry Clerval (yes, *the* Henry Clerval...not like we don't know what eventually...oh, you know).

I loved the way Oppel chose to portray Victor. It must have been hard to try and make one of literature's most megalomaniac characters into a sympathetic boy, eager-to-please and desperate for attention. I actually liked the guy! It was easy to root for him in his endeavors (dark and twisty as they may be) and I found myself even making excuses for him on several occasions. Even though you know, ultimately, that Victor Frankenstein is a completely doomed character, you still want him to succeed. That's powerful writing, and hats off to Kenneth Oppel for making me care about a character I never thought I could admire. And I loved seeing Victor gradually become more and more twisted, more aggressive, more desperate, and *still* remain sympathetic. I guess I'm drawn to characters with delusions of grandeur who want to prove their worth. Those must be the characters that leave an impression on me. :)

This Dark Endeavor was simply unputdownable, and I rarely say that. My little ADD-self can put down the most thoroughly interesting of books, too, so that should say something to this novel's overwhelming power of intrigue. If you haven't yet, I highly recommend picking up this novel. It clocks in at slightly under 300 pages, so it would be a quick read. And like I said, it's practically unputdownable (view spoiler) ...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Brent Hartinger rated it it was amazing

I’m rarely disappointed in a book by Ken Oppel, but his latest, This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, may be my favorite yet.

Yes, it’s the story of a teenage Victor Frankenstein, and normally I’m not a fan of these “before they were famous” retellings of classic figures from myth or literature (for that matter, I’m not a big fan of reboots and reimaginings in general). But I’m making an exception in this case, if only because the book is so masterfully plotted and writte I’m rarely disappointed in a book by Ken Oppel, but his latest, This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, may be my favorite yet.

Yes, it’s the story of a teenage Victor Frankenstein, and normally I’m not a fan of these “before they were famous” retellings of classic figures from myth or literature (for that matter, I’m not a big fan of reboots and reimaginings in general). But I’m making an exception in this case, if only because the book is so masterfully plotted and written.

Victor Frankenstein has always lived in the shadow of his twin, Konrad Frankenstein. To make matters even more infuriating, Konrad is a genuinely great guy. It just makes sense that their mutual friend Elizabeth would be more attracted to Konrad. One point, not quite intending to be cruel, she says outright that although Victor and Konrad are identical, they’re nothing alike.

So it also stands to reason that when Konrad falls victim to a mysterious illness, Victor would be particularly driven to explore the secret library in the bowels of his father’s castle searching for a cure. Finally, he has an opportunity to both win Konrad’s respect and Elizabeth’s love.

This being the foreshadow-y retelling one of the most tragic figures in all of literature, things don’t go quite as planned, of course.

And this is perhaps what I liked most about the book: it gives us a plausible, yet mostly unexpected explanation as to how Victor ended up where we all know he does. He wasn’t born to play God — he had to be driven there. The book does a smashing job of showing us, in big and small ways, how Victor, a very flawed character to begin with, does things that, well, make a lot of sense at the time.

Like the best flawed characters, he’s sympathetic. There but for the grace of God (and hopefully a little less ego) go I.

There are two big twists in the book, the first of which caught me completely by surprise — even though it had been telegraphed strongly and cleanly. I love it when that happens.

Oppel is perhaps most well-known for the steampunk Airborn books (the first of which won the Printz Award). This Dark Endeavor isn’t quite steampunk, although it takes place in a sort of an alternative 19th century Switzerland, at the cusp of the age of science (directly after an age of alchemy). This was a wise (but subtle) artistic choice: writing in 1818, Mary Shelley, of course, set the original Frankenstein in the “real” world, but science soon eclipsed the novel. The only way the story can be taken seriously now is in exactly the alternative dimension described here, which is perfectly executed.

One quibble: as much as I think the title is evocative and wonderfully representative of the genre, I can never remember the damn thing!

The story continues in Such Wicked Intent, coming in August, and a major movie version (from the producers of the Twilight films, alas) is reportedly in the works. ...more

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Jun 05, 2018 Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2018-books, reviewed, frankenstein-retelling, fantasy, retelling, young-adult, historical-fantasy, own-physical

4 Stars

Review:
Having already completed both books in this duology, it’s hard for me to separate the two, but I can safely say I enjoyed this ominous Frankenstein-inspired story.

Both books had this great undercurrent of darkness and ominousness throughout, but the first was the more adventurous of the two. The plot was a bit formulaic with how the characters needed to go on a sort of mini-quest to obtain each of the ingredients they needed to make the Elixir of Life, but each quest was filled wit ...more

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Aug 06, 2014 Dan rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-books

Well, this book was certainly interesting....and disturbingly entertaining.

This Dark Endeavor is a sort-off "retelling/prequel" to the famous Frankenstein. We follow Victor Frankenstein, who's trying to find the elixir of life, a cure for his brother's illness.

I really liked the book. It was gripping, had an adventure feel to it, dark and some cringe-worthing scenes. I really liked the story, but the thing that stuck out most to me was the eerie feeling I got from both the setting of the book, ...more

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Mar 01, 2016 nat. rated it it was ok · review of another edition

2.5

this is was ok. I thought it was gonna be a much darker story with Victor spiraling out control. I wanted to see more alchemy, and Victor going batshit crazy but alas that didn't happen. I also didn't like the "love triangle" if you can call it that. I though it was unnecessary and so out of the blue that Victor suddenly found himself in love with Elizabeth ok whatever, dude. I did enjoy the writing. ...more

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Jan 04, 2016 Devann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sg-retellings, cr-morally-gray, c-pd, g-horror, z-19-the-floor-is-lava, g-historical-fiction, a-young-adult, 5-0-star, cr-codependent-siblings

I just love this book so much! Normally a YA book with a love triangle is entirely not my thing but I feel like Victor Frankenstein throwing an absolute fit because the girl he likes wants his twin brother instead of him is just so wildly in-character that I can't actually be mad about it. Plus I love all the stuff about alchemy and the writing style is very good as well. I can't say I really like Luke Daniels' narration here, but that's mostly because I find it baffling that they chose someone ...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Ariel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

WELL THAT STORY TOOK A DISGUSTING, REPULSIVE, DEPRESSING TURN.
My video review! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n_APV...

I read the first half of this before exams, and I was really enjoying it. It was exciting, interesting, and had a really cool and slightly creepy ambiance that kept me on edge.

Then all hell broke loose. In the most disgusting sense.

I felt like I was reading a scene out of SAW or something! And the good ending, which I was ever so thankful for, TURNED TRAGIC without any sense of ...more

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Sep 19, 2015 Melanie (TBR and Beyond) rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fantasy, ya-paranormal, books-i-own, read-in-2017, ya-romance, siblings

This was actually my third time reading this book. I read it for the third time because it had been years since I had last read it and I really wanted to read the sequel finally so gave this another go and still really enjoyed this one.

Review to come

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Aug 10, 2011 TheBookSmugglers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011-favorites

Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/08/b...

“You must abandon this dark endeavor.”

So says Victor’s father, when he learns the truth of his son’s desperate explorations into the heart of darkness. Victor and his identical twin brother, Konrad, have lived a charmed life at Chateau Frankenstein. Doted on by loving parents, treated to a rigorous liberal education, and given the companionship of their adopted distant cousin Elizabeth and neighbor Henry, at fifte Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/08/b...

“You must abandon this dark endeavor.”

So says Victor’s father, when he learns the truth of his son’s desperate explorations into the heart of darkness. Victor and his identical twin brother, Konrad, have lived a charmed life at Chateau Frankenstein. Doted on by loving parents, treated to a rigorous liberal education, and given the companionship of their adopted distant cousin Elizabeth and neighbor Henry, at fifteen years of age the twins want for nothing. Though both Victor and Konrad are identical in appearance, however, the twins are very different. While Konrad is beloved by all thanks to his easy charm and has both a sharp mind and is quick to pick up any sort of athletic feat, Victor is more aloof and must work hard to even come close to his brother’s intellectual or physical prowess. And, unlike his twin, Victor burns with an unmatched passion and curiosity that is frightening in its intensity. When Konrad falls mortally ill due to a strange disease of the blood, Victor watches as doctors try all manners of treatments to no avail. Frustrated with the failings of science, Victor turns to the Frankenstein Chateau’s forbidden Dark Library, hidden in the mansion’s secret passages, and searches for an alchemical remedy that can save his brother. With the help of Elizabeth and Henry to gather the necessary ingredients, and the expertise of fallen alchemist Polidori, Victor takes on the impossible and sets out to create the Elixir of Life. At what cost does the elixir come, though? And what urges might this dark endeavor stir in young Victor?

If you are familiar with Mary Shelley’s masterpiece, you will know how certain events must play out – which means This Dark Endeavor is a tragic novel from the beginning, with an air of inevitability. You know of Victor Frankenstein and his hubris, of his Monster and the tragedy that follows him. You know of his studies at Ingolstadt, and the fate of his family and future wife. As Frankenstein is one of my favorite classics, I was both thrilled and a bit frightened to read this prequel (though my fears were insignificant, given the trust I have in the talented Mr. Oppel). And wouldn’t you know it? This Dark Endeavor surpasses all expectations, brushes aside any residual fears, and is an ode to Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein in all the right ways. Once again, I find myself lost for words and can only describe my feelings for This Dark Endeavor in the simplest way: I love this book.

Loyal to its source material in spirit and tone, This Dark Endeavor manages to take the gothic tale of Shelley’s ambitious, tragic narrator and extrapolate Victor’s character to his detailed childhood. The fifteen year-old Victor of This Dark Endeavor is passionate to a fault, deeply curious, and insatiably hungry for answers. The invention of a mortally ill twin brother as the catalyst for Victor’s unrestrained descent into alchemy and galvanism is ingenious, giving us a way to sympathize with this tragic protagonist – we see the seedlings of obsession planted in this novel and cultivated of the best intentions, just as we see how Victor’s intensity has the power to inspire and to frighten. I love this extra layer of color Mr. Oppel gives young master Frankenstein, rendering Victor a much more complex young man than just an arrogant, intelligent boy that will one day create a monster. THe other characters are also expertly drawn, with the tension between brothers a palpable thing throughout the book. As much as Victor may have passion and conviction, he sees himself as the imperfect brother to Konrad’s perfection, the dark to Konrad’s light. And while it is undeniable that Victor loves his brother, there are moments in the book where jealousy rears its ugly head, and Victor himself is afraid of his motivations.

Elizabeth, a distant cousin to the Frankensteins, is a perfect foil for both Konrad and Victor – she’s angelic and religious to Konrad’s nature, but at the same time has an animal wildness to her that answers Victor’s own.1 Henry Clerval, another familiar face from the original novel, is another interesting character – less adventurous but unfalteringly loyal to his friends and brave at heart when it counts, Henry balances the intensity that Victor brings. And, of course, there’s also the mysterious alchemist Polidori (a name you might recall in the creation of Shelley’s novel), who helps the teens create their elusive Elixir.

And I haven’t even said anything about the story, yet! While the characters are superb, the novel itself is a tantalizing adventure, fraught with danger and cloaked in a lusciously dark, evocative atmosphere. Chateau Frankenstein, an imposing castle enfolded by the Geneva woods, has never felt more real. There are midnight excursions for rare plants, underground caverns, alchemical brews, dungeons, and secret laboratories. There is so much to This Dark Endeavor, and I loved every second of this novel. For the fan of Mary Shelley, for the student that might struggle to find a way to connect with the older iteration of Victor Frankenstein, for the bright-eyed reader that wants to try something new, dark and delectable, This Dark Endeavor awaits. One of my top 10 favorite reads of 2011. ...more

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May 24, 2013 Katherine rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, literary-retellings, mystery-thriller, coverly-love, historical-fiction, love-triangle, supernatural, fantasy

We are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves — such a friend ought to be — do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures.

description

Setting:Geneva, Switzerland; the early 1800s

Coverly Love?:Yes! I love the eeriness of it, with just the man and the big, glooming estate in the background. It gives the reader a sense of the atmosphere in which the novel will be about.

Plot:In this imaginative prequel to Mary Shelley's Gothic classic novel, F ...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Catherine Keaton rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, read-in-2011, i-own, faves

Favorite YA read from 2011.

I love this book SO much, I can't write a deserving review. I can't quite convey all of my emotions. It is so much more than I was expecting it to be, and leads me down two distinct paths. On the one hand, it's magical, adventurous, dramatic, and romantic. And, on the other, terrifying, heart-breaking, and absolutely tragic. I feel almost gutted. It got under my skin and in my head in a way that doesn't normally happen when I read.

I haven't been moved to tears like th Favorite YA read from 2011.

I love this book SO much, I can't write a deserving review. I can't quite convey all of my emotions. It is so much more than I was expecting it to be, and leads me down two distinct paths. On the one hand, it's magical, adventurous, dramatic, and romantic. And, on the other, terrifying, heart-breaking, and absolutely tragic. I feel almost gutted. It got under my skin and in my head in a way that doesn't normally happen when I read.

I haven't been moved to tears like this by a novel since I read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It's not quite a powerful story like that classic, but it really got to me. In many ways, I also felt the way I did when I read The Hunger Games trilogy because the characters go through such incredible trials and conflicts that I got completely sucked into the story. In This Dark Endeavor, I couldn't help but be uneasy through the most dangerous parts, as if I were right there experiencing every frightening, squeamish moment along with the characters. I cried myself to sleep the night I finished it (cat-lovers, beware).

In this prequel to the original classic tale, of which I'm already a huge fan, Victor Frankenstein is a sixteen-year-old living with his father, mother, twin brother, Konrad, and his distant cousin, Elizabeth. Just so you know, in the original, Victor had no twin brother, only younger brothers, and he had always loved Elizabeth from the time she came to live with his family.

Konrad comes down with a grave illness, and Victor decides to study forbidden magical alchemy in order to save him. In his family's Swiss chateau, he discovers a hidden Dark Library (very cool!) filled with several tomes on alchemy, which Victor develops a healthy obsession with. He secretly enlists the help of an old alchemist in town, who requires that he and his friends fetch the three ingredients to make the Elixir of Life, a potion that gives a person immortality.

He, Elizabeth, and the hilariously charming, although scardy-cat, Henry Clerval set out on some death-defying adventures in order to procure the unusual items. The adventures are exciting, like those of a Middle Grade adventure novel. Although, I wouldn't suggest this novel for younger children, as we get a lot of insight into Victor's thoughts about his growing attraction to Elizabeth—if you know what I mean.

The romantic drama is spectacular! Here is a love triangle that shouldn't annoy anyone, even those who typically hate them. Unless you hate already knowing who will likely end up with whom, and since this is a prequel, we do already know. But, this doesn't ruin a thing. Each character involved is firm about whom they love—no one waivers, and no one gives anyone the wrong idea (at least not consciously). Elizabeth is worthy of being stuck in the middle. Best of all, Victor likes to put his passion where his mouth is (pun intended), and nothing but excitement ensues.

Victor is surprisingly heroic, and he's hardly that in the original novel. He also has an inner darkness which drives him to do scandalous things. In other words, he's a 'bad boy.' This darkness is only beginning to develop inside him, and it will lead to incredible tragedy, which you can read about in Mary Shelley's novel. In his own way, he is perfectly flawed, and I love that kind of complexity. But, I'm sad, as well as ecstatic because I know what lies in Victor's future, and now that I actually sympathize with him so much, it's depressing…

This book is amazing, and even if you haven't read Frankenstein, you'll still be able to follow it. It may help to enrich your experience by reading the first few chapters of the original, but Oppel takes many liberties in changing the canon. The novel stands very well on it's own, and all the characters are wonderful. By the end, there's a hint of more to come, since Victor's hardly finished studying alchemy, and like a proper mad scientist, he remains totally obsessed. I hope I get to read more, so, so much more…. ...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Christie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Kenneth Oppel’s novel This Dark Endeavour was a finalist for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Awards and it’s no wonder. It’s a terrific book. We’ve been talking about it at school recently as several of my colleagues have read it and think it would make a great addition to the classroom. I agree. The language of the novel is almost old-fashioned, but the action will appeal to boys and the elements of romance will appeal to girls (or vice-versa) making This Dark Endeavour the perfect gateway Kenneth Oppel’s novel This Dark Endeavour was a finalist for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Awards and it’s no wonder. It’s a terrific book. We’ve been talking about it at school recently as several of my colleagues have read it and think it would make a great addition to the classroom. I agree. The language of the novel is almost old-fashioned, but the action will appeal to boys and the elements of romance will appeal to girls (or vice-versa) making This Dark Endeavour the perfect gateway drug to introduce students to classic novels like, well, Frankenstein.

Sixteen – year – old Victor Frankstein lives with his twin brother, Konrad, younger siblings and parents in a chateau in Bellerive on Lake Geneva. They also share their home with their cousin, Elizabeth. Their friend Henry also spends a great deal of time at the chateau. They four teenagers spend their time riding, boating, studying and exploring the centuries old chateau.

One day, the foursome discover a narrow passage behind a bookshelf and upon further investigation, a door with the greeting “enter only with a friend’s welcome.” Upon gaining entry, they find “tables scattered with oddly shaped glassware and metal instruments – and row upon row of shelves groaning with thick tomes.”

When the young people are discovered by Konrad and Victor’s father he says, “You’ve discovered the Biblioteka Obscura I see.” Mr. Frankenstein is a local magistrate, a powerful and intelligent man who encourages his children’s intellectual pursuits but is none too happy about their discovery of this Dark Library.

You must understand that these books were written centuries ago. They are primitive attempts to explain the world. There are some shards of learning in them, but compared to our modern knowledge they are like childish dreams….This is not knowledge….It is a corruption of knowledge and these books are not to be read.

But when Konrad falls seriously ill, Victor returns to the Dark Library looking for a cure and This Dark Endeavour ramps up the fun. Victor, Elizabeth and Henry try to gather the ingredients for the Elixir of Life in the hopes that its mystical properties will restore Konrad’s good health and their quest is what propels the plot forward. It’s exciting and dangerous work, but Victor is a character readers will easily root for – even though he is hot-tempered and sometimes struggles to do the right thing – especially where it concerns Elizabeth.

Careful readers will spot some of the literary shout-outs embedded in the novel. For example, Victor seeks the help of Dr. Polidori who was, in fact, a real physician and writer ( 1795 – 1821), consort of Lord Byron and credited with writing the first vampire story, “The Vampyre.” Dr. Polidori lives on Wollstonekraft Alley. Fans of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein might recognize Wollstonekraft as Shelley’s mother’s name. Wollstonekraft (1759 – 1797) was a writer and feminist, well-known for her work A Vindication of the Rights of Women. It’s references like these which would make This Dark Endeavour such a great book for the classroom.
...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Ceitidh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone!!!!

Shelves: young-adult, favorites, 2011, best-ya, arc

http://dazzlingreads.blogspot.com/

This Dark Endeavor moved me to tears. I think I was living under a rock because this is the first book by Kenneth Oppel I ever read. Such an unforgivable sin! I will definitely read more of his book! But, once again, I am very short of words to express how much I love this book because this was absolute perfection!

As a fan of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein myself, I have to say that Oppel blew my mind with this book. He created Victor Frankenstein's early years and http://dazzlingreads.blogspot.com/

This Dark Endeavor moved me to tears. I think I was living under a rock because this is the first book by Kenneth Oppel I ever read. Such an unforgivable sin! I will definitely read more of his book! But, once again, I am very short of words to express how much I love this book because this was absolute perfection!

As a fan of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein myself, I have to say that Oppel blew my mind with this book. He created Victor Frankenstein's early years and illustrated the reasons and facts, that lead young Victor to become the famous Dr. Frankenstein. Oppel is a genius expressing characters' emotions. We can easily see the complex psychology of Victor and what makes him the way he is. His reasons for the search of the Elixir of Life are a complex collision of devoted brotherly love and jealousy. The Victor Frankenstein we meet at the beginning of the book is just a kid with complexes and insecurities that put him on the road of obsession for triumph. To find the cure, for Victor's severely sick identical twin, is the original seed that motivates him to create the Elixir of Life. To prove himself and others better than his perfect twin, jealousy and a love for a girl who does not reciprocate his feelings, are the fuel to Victor's veins that nourishes his obsession. But regardless all this mix of feelings, it is Victor's infinite love for his brothel is that moved me to tears. Science and Faith are both equally strong points of This Dark Endeavor. How people deal with what they want and how people deal with pain. I really love this aspect of the book because it doesn't separate both of them into 100% different categories, as we usually tempt to do. In this case, it is not always a matter of Science or Faith but Science and Faith working altogether. Devotion, love and sacrifice are only the tip of the iceberg. Kenneth Oppel teach us a life lesson through Victor's experience. Love combined with despair leads to recklessness. And recklessness combines with selfish motives leads to guilt. So much I would like to say, but I cannot do that without giving anything away.
Oppel's writing style is beautiful and poetic. It warmed my heart read some of those verses and it gave me chills read others(yes, there are so scary creepy parts). The setting is beautifully shaped! A centuries old Castle with an ancient dark library in the 18th century Geneva right beside a lake. and I need to mention that the Gothic atmosphere is always there! Kenneth Oppel just gave me the place of my dreams!

I would like to say so much more about what this book gave me but I think I already said too much. I want you to get This Dark Endeavor and read it because this is the kind of book you could recommend to everyone! doesn't matter the age or taste. And I know that This Dark Endeavor will absolutely be a bright spot in your life.

...more

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May 21, 2015 Laurence R. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5/5

Very interesting read, I must admit.

I have to say I haven't read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein yet. I know, I know, I've been meaning to do so, but how many books are there on my TBR so far? A lot, and it's constantly growing, so who knows when I'll be able to read it. However, this book made me even more excited for the novel which inspired it, because from what I know of the original story and what I've read, This Dark Endeavour gives a lot of explanations that are simply not there in Frank 3.5/5

Very interesting read, I must admit.

I have to say I haven't read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein yet. I know, I know, I've been meaning to do so, but how many books are there on my TBR so far? A lot, and it's constantly growing, so who knows when I'll be able to read it. However, this book made me even more excited for the novel which inspired it, because from what I know of the original story and what I've read, This Dark Endeavour gives a lot of explanations that are simply not there in Frankenstein, although I'm sure it's still an amazing story.

I was drawn to This Dark Endeavour for an unknown reason. It's not my favourite genre, and if someone had been looking for a book to recommend to me, this one would probably never have made it. However, I'm glad I picked it up, because it was definitely a short and fun read.

I found Victor's character how to get, because I never knew whether he was doing something for himself or out of kindness, which was very unsettling. I would've liked to be able to seize him a bit more, because I still feel like I don't know him well, but there's always the original novel to give me answers. I did understand how inferior he felt, because it must be awful to live in your twin's shadow, always being less successful in everything. Because of this fact, I found Konrad to be quite boring, always so selfless, nice and talented. I thought he lacked personality, but the contrasts between the twins were even more evident. I really liked the side characters, such as Henry and Elizabeth. I thought they were both realistic, because they have faults as well as qualities. I loved how Henry evolved throughout the story, because he was quite the coward at the beginning. Elizabeth's character seemed very interesting to me and I loved how feminist she is, without even knowing what it is. She stood up for herself more than once and it made me proud to see her defend women in this era where women were treated much worse than they are today.

As for the plot, although it interested me a lot, it didn't really have much to it. I understand how the book can be so short, because there isn't really any big event, just a series of small ones. I enjoyed my time reading, but I wasn't really invested in the story and I felt like it was just told in surface, not enough to make me feel anything. The ideas of it are great though, and they made up for the lack of events.

Overall, the best word to describe this novel is "interesting". It has a lot of potential, but it unfortunately didn't do it that much for me. It made me want to read Frankenstein, so I guess I would recommend it to its fans, because I think it's a nice addition to the original story and it's well done and well written. ...more

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About Kenneth Oppel

Kenneth Oppel

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I was born in 1967 in Port Alberni, a mill town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia but spent the bulk of my childhood in Victoria, B.C. and on the opposite coast, in Halifax, Nova Scotia...At around twelve I decided I wanted to be a writer (this came after deciding I wanted to be a scientist, and then an architect). I started out writing sci-fi epics (my Star Wars phase) then went on to swords ...more