SJR90
12-30-2014, 09:38 AM
Dean Koontz’s reworking of the classic tale of Frankenstein is one that I had high hopes for, but was ultimately let down. The plot is too far outside the realms of reality. I understand “fiction” is a chimerical term implied to stories of the imaginary sort, but this was too much. Dean Koontz just added too many unbelievable elements into this story.
The plot consists of several different storylines. Deucalian, who is presumed to be “Frankenstein’s Monster,” receives a letter claiming that his creator, Victor Helios (whom changed his name for some reason), is still alive after two hundred years. He sets off to New Orleans to find him. Detectives Carson and Michael are on the case of a serial killer who is murdering women and taking specific body parts from each victim. Meanwhile, another serial killer murders numerous victims and takes some of their internal organs. Victor Helios works diligently in his lab trying to perfect his “New Race” of lab-grown humans to make them more superior. He has successfully created an army of these beings that go about their lives as normal humans. Erika, Victors created wife, struggles with her internal conflicts, trying to find some humanity and independence within herself. Meanwhile, following another plotline with Randal Six, one of Victors experiments, is planning to escape Victors lab, Hand of Mercy in search of Detective Carson’s brother. He sees a photograph of Detective Carson’s autistic brother and sees how happy he is, despite his disorder. None of the characters were interesting or well-developed, instead they were sodden and generic. I felt no connection or care for any of the characters Koontz has created.
I could go on for a few pages about all the ridiculous elements in this plot, but I will keep it succinct. First, Deucalian is supposed to be the main character of the story, but he is hardly involved. If there had been more focus on his character and more development, I probably would have enjoyed this much more. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the emphasis was on Frankenstein’s monster and his struggles within himself, his creator, and society. Koontz completely disregarded all those elements that made me love Mary Shelley’s classic work. Secondly, the story is more about two detectives on the hunt to find this serial killer, known as the Surgeon. Yawn…how many times has this story been written? Sure there are twists and turns, but nothing that’s going to blow your mind. Victor Helios was just too smart and he had a machine that he created for nearly everything. He has made a machine to impede his aging, he created an entire race, he designed a machine to accelerate the birth process, and his army is implanted with devices that link to a “direct-to-brain” download system so they can procure information. He programs their jobs, mannerisms, etc., directly to their memory. Victors New Race beings are programmed to obey his orders and denied the ability to raise a hand against him in defiance. You see what I mean now? I wouldn’t have been bothered by the story so much if Koontz hadn’t made Victor into some sort of omniscient genius and placed Mary Shelley’s characters into the future. Why not just come up with an original idea? I don’t mind modern re-imaginings, but use new characters, tweak the storyline, but keep the theme of the story.
Other than the story being complete garbage, Dean Koontz is a master wordsmith. He knows how to craft great sentences and keep our eyes flowing from paragraph to paragraph. Unfortunately, it hasn’t helped him craft a great storyline. In case anybody is curious, this is my second book by Dean Koontz I have read, the first was The Taking. I’m not ready to completely eschew all of his work, so any suggestions I would appreciate, but I won’t be reading the others in this series.
The plot consists of several different storylines. Deucalian, who is presumed to be “Frankenstein’s Monster,” receives a letter claiming that his creator, Victor Helios (whom changed his name for some reason), is still alive after two hundred years. He sets off to New Orleans to find him. Detectives Carson and Michael are on the case of a serial killer who is murdering women and taking specific body parts from each victim. Meanwhile, another serial killer murders numerous victims and takes some of their internal organs. Victor Helios works diligently in his lab trying to perfect his “New Race” of lab-grown humans to make them more superior. He has successfully created an army of these beings that go about their lives as normal humans. Erika, Victors created wife, struggles with her internal conflicts, trying to find some humanity and independence within herself. Meanwhile, following another plotline with Randal Six, one of Victors experiments, is planning to escape Victors lab, Hand of Mercy in search of Detective Carson’s brother. He sees a photograph of Detective Carson’s autistic brother and sees how happy he is, despite his disorder. None of the characters were interesting or well-developed, instead they were sodden and generic. I felt no connection or care for any of the characters Koontz has created.
I could go on for a few pages about all the ridiculous elements in this plot, but I will keep it succinct. First, Deucalian is supposed to be the main character of the story, but he is hardly involved. If there had been more focus on his character and more development, I probably would have enjoyed this much more. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the emphasis was on Frankenstein’s monster and his struggles within himself, his creator, and society. Koontz completely disregarded all those elements that made me love Mary Shelley’s classic work. Secondly, the story is more about two detectives on the hunt to find this serial killer, known as the Surgeon. Yawn…how many times has this story been written? Sure there are twists and turns, but nothing that’s going to blow your mind. Victor Helios was just too smart and he had a machine that he created for nearly everything. He has made a machine to impede his aging, he created an entire race, he designed a machine to accelerate the birth process, and his army is implanted with devices that link to a “direct-to-brain” download system so they can procure information. He programs their jobs, mannerisms, etc., directly to their memory. Victors New Race beings are programmed to obey his orders and denied the ability to raise a hand against him in defiance. You see what I mean now? I wouldn’t have been bothered by the story so much if Koontz hadn’t made Victor into some sort of omniscient genius and placed Mary Shelley’s characters into the future. Why not just come up with an original idea? I don’t mind modern re-imaginings, but use new characters, tweak the storyline, but keep the theme of the story.
Other than the story being complete garbage, Dean Koontz is a master wordsmith. He knows how to craft great sentences and keep our eyes flowing from paragraph to paragraph. Unfortunately, it hasn’t helped him craft a great storyline. In case anybody is curious, this is my second book by Dean Koontz I have read, the first was The Taking. I’m not ready to completely eschew all of his work, so any suggestions I would appreciate, but I won’t be reading the others in this series.