This book combined a lot of my favorite elements: early science, alchemy, forbidden knowledge, a hopeless quest, and a Gothic setting. While he's given some motivations that weren't present in the original novel, this version of Victor Frankenstein is at least as arrogant, impulsive, and disturbingly obsessive as Shelley's character, to the point where he's more of a villain protagonist than an antihero. (There's probably also something to be said about the way in which Dr. Polidori, the character in a wheelchair, is portrayed as creepy and untrustworthy.) I'd really like to see the same Gothic tropes I listed above used in a story with a more sympathetic protagonist. ( )

Los jóvenes hermanos Víctor y Konrad llevan una apacible vida en el castillo familiar. Junto con su prima Elizabeth se han convertido en inseparables, en cómplices de juegos y aventuras. Reciben clases privadas, practican esgrima, montan a caballo y recorren incansables los pasadizos del castillo de los Frankenstein. Pero, cuando Konrad cae gravemente enfermo, sus vidas darán un giro inesperado y sus inocentes aventuras de juventud se volverán demasiado reales. En la inquieta mente de Víctor aparecen dos certezas: que para curar a su hermano deberá encontrar la receta del legendario Elixir de la Vida y la convicción de que siente una profunda e irrevocablemente atracción por Elizabeth, a pesar de saber que la joven y Konrad están enamorados. Una oscura obsesión invade su mente: ¿será capaz de traspasar las fronteras de la vida, la ciencia y el amor? Y, más aún, ¿cuánto está dispuesto a sacrificar por salvar la vida de su hermano?

2.5 Stars ( )

I'm usually a fan of Kenneth Oppel, but I am still unsure of how much I liked this book. It definitely slumped a bit in the middle, when I felt like the story was in a rut and the characters seemed too thinly sketched. Then the action picked up, and that is what propelled the rest of the book, although the characters still lacked enough depth for me to get too interested. As a retelling of an old story, I admire this book because it seems to be such an original take on the Frankenstein story. ( )

teen/adult fiction (Frankenstein origin)
This is written in the gothic style, so some kids may take a while to get used to the comparatively dryer action. However, it is full of adventure, so once they settle in, maybe they'll be hooked. ( )