This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, #1)

author: Kenneth Oppel

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.87

book published: 2011

rating: 4

read at: 2012/10/29

date added: 2012/10/29

shelves:

review:

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a brilliant book about things that are relevant even into our modern age. Creating a prequel series would seem a daunting task, but Oppel handles it deftly.



The book has all the thrills and atmosphere of any great Gothic novel and provides a convincing backstory for young Victor Frankenstein. Other characters from Shelley's work are also here. Notably Elizabeth Lavenza (Victor's adopted cousin) and friend Henry Clerval.



Victor and his twin brother Konrad are inseparable until Konrad becomes ill. Then Victor embarks on a quest to save him that involves his father's dark library and matters of alchemy. This is strictly forbidden by Victor's father because of the danger and because of the family's reputation. Still Victor persists. Along to aid him are Henry and Elizabeth. They go on a series of seemingly impossible quests that will change them in unalterable ways.



Victor genuinely wants to save Konrad, but there is jealousy there as well. Konrad is the more likeable twin and school subjects come easier to him. And Konrad has the heart of Elizabeth. All of this makes Victor a brooding, impetuous character with a fierce drive to succeed, and foreshadow the tragic man he will become.



An interesting start, and I'm sure I'll read book 2 before too long. I may even re-read Frankenstein soon, and I hope this book inspires younger readers to discover a classic.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/435265735?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss

The Devil in Silver

author: Victor LaValle

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.51

book published: 2012

rating: 3

read at: 2012/10/24

date added: 2012/10/29

shelves:

review:

A long, slightly uneven book classified as horror, but probably closer to 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' in it's story. The copy I read was an advanced reader's copy, so I hope some editing was still to take place before publication, both for length and for grammar and other errors.



The plot follows Pepper, a troublemaker who should be in prison, but finds himself locked in a mental hospital instead due to the whims of his arresting officers. He meets an unusual cast of characters, including a strange patient locked behind a silver door who seems to be preying on others in the unit. Is the devil in silver really there or is it the imaginings of a group of mental patients? All that sounds like the makings of a ripping horror novel, but there is also a lot of drama and interesting characters along the way, like the elderly lady who greets all the new patients on the ward and look out for them, the young girl who has been institutionalized by her mother (Lucretia from the novella 'Lucretia and The Kroons' by the same author), the Asian woman who is getting released only to be deported. These are just a few of the characters we meet.



Along the way, the plight of the institutionalized is brought up along with cash strapped institutions and workers who must serve them. None of the characters feel like stereotypes or caricatures, and you do come to care for some of them.



All of it is done in an interesting way, but weighing in at 432 pages, it just all takes so very long. It's been referred to as 'literary horror,' but with the constant asides and winks at the reader and the seeming lack of any true horror, it left me feeling like it was neither literary nor horror.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/432517670?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss

Robopocalypse

author: Daniel H. Wilson

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.62

book published: 2011

rating: 4

read at:

date added: 2012/10/11

shelves:

review:







via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/426398529?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss

THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: The Complete Screenplays with Storyboards

author: Christopher Nolan

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.19

book published: 2012

rating: 4

read at: 2012/10/11

date added: 2012/10/11

shelves:

review:







via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/424139661?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss

Lucretia and the Kroons

author: Victor LaValle

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.23

book published: 2012

rating: 3

read at: 2012/10/01

date added: 2012/10/04

shelves:

review:

An entertaining urban horror novella that features a 12-year old heroine and some truly creepy people who live in the abandoned apartment above her.



It's a quick enough read, has some chills, as well as tearful moments. There is an alternate universe, a chance to meet new, strange friends, and the characters learn to find strength and courage.



I'm pretty sure the audience is young adult. I'd have a hard time recommending it to most of my younger friends because it is on the scarier side, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have an audience. It's quite reminiscent of the book 'Coraline,' but only in tone and creepiness.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/420004265?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss