This Dark Endeavor

Title: This Dark Endeavor

Author: Kenneth Oppel

Publisher: Simon and Schuster (2011)

Genre(s): Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Length: 298 pages

Synopsis:  The wealthy Frankenstein family lives in a grand chateau in Geneva, and in the eighteenth century, the latest heirs of the family name, sixteen year old twin brothers Konrad and Victor Frankenstein, the sixteen-year old twin sons of the Frankenstein dynasty, live an almost idyllic lifestyle.  They share their home, a vast chateau in Geneva, with doting parents and a distantly related cousin, Elizabeth, who was adopted into the family after being abandoned by her own.  The tranquility of their lives is shattered, however, when Konrad falls dangerously ill.  No medicine seems able to help him, and, in desperation, Victor turns to the secret library of alchemical texts he discovered in a secret basement of the chateau.  His research unearths an Elixir of Life that could hold the answer to saving his brother...provided, of course, it works.  But alchemy is dangerous, illegal in Geneva and taboo in the Frankenstein household.  How far is Victor willing to go with his endeavors, and to what end?

My Rating: 4 Stars

My Opinion: 

Dark endeavors indeed!  A prequel of sorts to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this novel is a quick but disturbing read.  The film rights have already been purchased, and with Oppel's knack for cinematic action sequences, abrupt plot twists, and vivid description, it has the potential for a rollicking big-screen debut.  The downside to this fast-paced, plot driven adventure is a somewhat unlikeable protagonist.  Victor is entirely believable as a sixteen-year-old boy, but by the same token, his occasionally erratic, often dangerous behavior is disturbing.  For readers, being shepherded through the story by an increasingly unreliable narrator is somewhat akin to the situations Victor's family members find themselves in as his single-minded quest begins to unfold.  The real question is what motivates this disturbed young man, which Oppel unfurls beautifully.  He is an identical twin with, he feels, everything to prove; the conflicting desires to maintain the status quo and to set himself apart from his brother.  The result?  A young man who is, rather frequently, quite scary.  This Dark Endeavor sets Victor on a twisting path down which he will continue in the book's sequel, Such Wicked Intent.  I must admit, I think it will get worse for Victor before it gets better, if, indeed, it ever does.