I had an idea of doing a guest post during the month of October so I asked a few of my friends from COYER what is their favorite Monster is (some are not so scary) and what book they read that they loved that associated with the Monster they picked. The answers are great and the recommendation are even better! Enjoy!
The Monster & The Book
I have a thing for Frankenstein, well the monster who we call Frankenstein because actually Frankenstein is really the Doctor that made the monster but at some point along the way we started to associate the Monster as Frankenstein which is fine since it’s nice to have a name, that is a lot better than being called THE MONSTER. Not sure how my love for him started but I do know that I was a bit intrigued by Dr. Frankenstein, just knowing he was crazy enough to piece a bunch of people together to form a Monster that was brought back to life with some lightning is a pretty cool guy if you think about it. Could Frankenstein be the first zombie? Might have to look that up since that is pretty much what he did however the Monster’s organs works whereas a Zombie is just dead. Think I might have answered my own question. 🙂
I have read a few takes on Frankenstein and watched a few movies. Something about the story has always made me stop to look. Before I started blogging I came across a series that was not really a retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein but more of a story about Victor Frankenstein before the monster. This series was dark and creepy, I loved every minute of it, using a lot of the 1800’s type alchemy which also gave these books a vintage dark world. The series is called The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel The First book in the series is This Dark Endeavor in this book you meet Victor and his twin brother Konrad, Konrad’s betrothed Elizabeth whom Victor just so happens to be in love with. Konrad falls ill and eventually passes away, Victor with the help of Elizabeth try to find the Elixir of Life to save him. I read this book a long time again so all the details are a little fuzzy but I remember the love story being a little more front and center than I would have wanted it to be but I actually liked it, Konrad and Elizabeth had a connection, but Victor loved her causing Victor to be very jealous of his brother. I loved the connection between all the characters and as much as I wanted the alchemy to be front and center it was a little pushed in the background. I also thought Kenneth Oppel keep the same personality and feel of the characters as Mary Shelley’s version of Victor. I thought this book was very well done and it really held true to the original even if a few things were added to make the story it’s own. Victor in the original never had a twin brother.
The next book in the series Such Wicked Intent continues on with the story with Victor and Elizabeth and there friend, who you meet in the first book but is more so in this one, Henry. This one is about the Dark Library and you go on a wild dark twisted adventure into the the realm of Life and Death. This book was my favorite in the series and was a lot more detailed than the first one. Since I don’t really remember 100% of the book I also don’t want to give a lot away since what happens in this book is directly involved with how the first book ends.
I thought the entire series (however I wish he would write more) sets up a nice prequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein classic novel. Even with a few of the detailed addition I really enjoyed this series and now that I have sat here and written this entire post I am wishing I could have read the book one more time. I think for Christmas I might ask for physical books because I would love to display these on my shelf. (I couldn’t wait that long and bought them after I finished writing this, lol)
I can’t recommend this series enough if you are looking for a dark twisted adventure with a look inside the mind of a future mad man, this is a great series to try!
PS I love the covers, it’s actually what drew me to stop and read the synopsis, I love the dark 1800’s look. I have a thing about the 1800’s that creeps me out and completely fascinates me.
About the Guest
You already know me, see the box below 😉
Thanks for stopping by to check out A Monster and A Book!
Have a fantastic day!
I have the first book of this series and now I need to read this soon. I haven’t read any Frankenstein books but this does sound really good. The Monster and a Book post were a lot of fun and now I really need to read some monster books. I’ve been reading too many all human books so now I’ve got a craving for some monsters. Thanks for having me on your blog and I can’t wait to do this again!
I don’t think I ever have read a book with frankenstein in it, it never really appealed to me and I haven’t heard of many books with frankensteing in them. I always thought frankenstein was a bit creepy, for a doctor to create a human. It reminds me a bit of halloween town in Kingdom hearts were the doctor tries to create live as well. This series does sound good though, so who knows I might give it a try.
I’ve actually not read anything but the original Frankenstein, and that was years ago. I’ll have to check these out.
They are very good, Melanie. They are YA but I thought so well done.
This is great because I just read the graphic novel of Frankenstein. lol In it he’s called The Creature. 🙂 I read a book last year(?) about a guy who had a terrible car accident in the 20s (I think) and he ended up looking like Frankenstein. He lost his job and eventually joined a traveling circus as a monster. *runs off to find title, comes back puffing* Jeez! That was more difficult than I expected! lol It is The Man Who Became Frankenstein’s Monster by Robert Daicy. Excellent book!
Lol oh no I always thought it was the monster…either way it’s not a good name!!! I will check out that book for sure!!!
Great pick, Michelle! Did you know that Mary Shelley lived in Geneva, and we have a Frankenstein sculpture very close to Uni? A few years ago, I went to see a contemporary ballet performance of Frankenstein, and it was amazing 🙂
That is so cool! I just love everything Frankenstein! I could love to see the sculpture that would be neat.
I still need to try that series, it’s on my list. 🙂 I love Frankenstein cause the monster is just so cool!
I do love the Monster and Dr Frankenstein is just a madman, he’s fantastic.
If you ever get the chance it’s a great series but it’s more about why Frankenstein was the way he was.