Very Original, Funny Dialogue

Dean Koontz's "Frankenstein" is based on a 60 minute TV pilot that Koontz wrote that was picked up by USA network. When USA asked him to write a two hour pilot and possibly follow it with a series he obliged. However, USA then took the script rewrote it, changing all most all of it, Koontz withdrew from the project. Now he has decided to put it in book form and while it entertaining and funny there are a few problems with it. Firstly, unlike Koontz's other books the characters aren't developed as fully as they could be. Secondly, it ends a bit abruptly, but there's a second book coming so... But the book is pretty good and is one of the better Frankenstein remakes to come out in recent years.
The chapters introduce us to a number of characters; first we have Carson O'Connor.
Carson is a girl, in case the name confused you. She's a homicide detective, with an autistic brother who is currently looking for a serial killer who calls himself The Surgeon.
The Surgeon has been tracking down women and taking the body parts that appeal to him in the hopes of compiling the perfect woman. He doesn't consider what he's going to do when he has all the parts though. Carson's partner Michael Maddison has crush on her, although due to their partnership is reluctant to admit it. Michael has the best dialogue in the book, every time he speaks it's a wisecrack and some of it is laugh-out-loud funny.
Then we're introduced to Victor Helios, a biotech tycoon who is actually Victor Frankenstein, over two hundred years old. We also have Decaulion, the original Frankenstein. A deformed, tattooed man hunting Victor to finally kill his master. And Randal Six, an autistic creation of Victor who longs for happiness and sees the chance to find it in Carson's brother Arnie. Now that I've established that, Victor is creating a race of "Frankensteins" he calls the New Race which he will eventually use to destroy us; the Old Race. Koontz has came up with a brilliant idea and the only problem with the book is the character development. Not that the characters aren't well developed, they're just not well developed for a Koontz novel. B+.

Koontz is getting even better over time.

This is a wonderful twist on the classic. The characters are very well rounded and I was grabbed from the beginning. I now and then ponder how the biologically impossible events in the book could actually be brewing in someones own lab at this very moment. Mr. Koontz takes today's traditional underdog and makes him not someone to pity but someone to perhaps admire. My only negative on the book is that I am hooked and will make sure I quickly purchase the next in the series.
If you like seeing the dark side of life let in a little light, you will undoubtedly become a Koontz addict as have I. Don't plan on doing anything else until you finish this one.

I also highly recommend THE FACE. Another dark side trying to usurp the light. Excellent, excellent, excellent books.

The mad scientist returns

This novel brings a classic legend up to date by replacing Victor Frankenstein's previously crude monster creation techniques with biotech engineering, cloning, and computer programming. Victor has learned the secret of long life and is still alive and well in 21st century New Orleans. Now a respected scientist and wealthy member of high society by day, Victor practices his high-tech life creation projects by night in order to create perfect beings, totally obedient to his will. He seeds his creations throughout the city so that they can undermine, and eventually replace, humanity and lead to a perfect New Age society. In the meanwhile, Frankenstein's original monster, now called Deucalion, is also gifted with immortality. He learns of his creator's existence and sets off for New Orleans to seek revenge. When a series of gruesome murders occur where body parts are removed from the victims, two police detectives try to track down the killer. Is one of Frankenstein's creations to blame?

The portrayal of Frankenstein's creatures is especially interesting. Created with a carefully controlled blend of human emotion and programmed behavior, they are at times confused about their feelings. Sometimes their human component fights against their artificial one, with interesting results. In a clever turnabout, Victor Frankenstein is portrayed as a monster and Deucalion has evolved to show more human traits than his creator. At first I was amused by the fact that immortality has become a popular pursuit, and that others in the story besides Frankenstein and his creations are capable of prolonged lives and physical perfection. Yet the real-world popularity of plastic surgery, nutritional supplements, and health clubs does prove that art imitates life.

Koontz originally wrote this story as a two-hour script for a television series pilot for the USA Network. When the producer requested major changes, Koontz pulled out of the project and decided to rewrite the story in book form in order to preserve the original concept. This book is only the first in a series of novels about Frankenstein and his progeny. Although I was expecting the story to have a few loose ends to pave the way for the next in the series, the ending could have been a bit less abrupt. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story and am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Eileen Rieback