Saturday, January 2, 2010
Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son
11:46 PM | 
Posted by
JonG
Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz by Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson
Bantam Books: Feb 2005, paperback: 496 pages, $7.99
Introduction & Overview:
Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son is the first book in the Frankenstein trilogy by Dean Koontz. Dean Koontz's Frankenstein was originally written as a script for a television series on USA network. Martin Scorsese liked Koontz's script and signed on as executive producer. However, after a disagreement with a "hot young director" over major rewrites to the script, Koontz backed out and Scorsese shortly followed him. The other two books in the series are Frankenstein: City of Night and Frankenstein: Dead and Alive.
Deucalion is 6 foot tall, strongly built, with one side of his face ravaged by fire. He was living in a monastery in Tibet, preferring to avoid people. He harbored the capacity for homicidal murder and through the teachings of the Tibetan monks; he hoped to find inner peace. A messenger, who mutters "Yeti" when he sees Deucalion, delivers a mysterious letter addressed with several names. Upon seeing the reaction when Deucalion reads the letter, an old monk asks him if someone has died. Deucalion replies with "Worse. Someone is still alive." There have been a series of serial killings in New Orleans. Most of the corpses had varying body parts missing. A few of the corpses had organs missing. It was the latter that had caused Deucalion such concern. Not because of what the bodies were missing but because of what they had - extra organs. Deucalion immediately leaves for New Orleans, but not before the old monk tattoos Deucalion's face with a pattern of protection in dark blues, blacks, and greens.
New Orleans homicide detectives Carson O'Connor (the novels protagonist) and Michael Maddison are assigned to investigate the serial killings. O'Connor and Maddison are stymied when they discover that one of the bodies had two hearts. O'Connor's world is shattered when she meets Deucalion and discovers the unnatural mysteries wrapped around Deucalion and a prominent member of the community named Victor Helios. Deucalion tells her that he is two centuries old, made from the body parts of dead men, and brought to life with lightning. That he is, in fact, the Frankenstein monster. He then reveals that the true identity of Victor Helios is Victor Frankenstein. Following Deucalion's shocking revelations, O'Connor and Maddison embark upon a harrowing trail, eventually leading to a confrontation with one of Helios' "New Race".
In a sub-plot, Randal Six is an eighteen-year-old member of the "New Race" who Helios purposely designed with autism. Randal Six saw a picture of a twelve-year-old boy who had autism. The boy was Arnie O'Connor, son of Carson O'Connor. In the picture Arnie was averting his gaze, but he was smiling. Randal Six is determined to conquer his fear of the outside world in order to find Arnie. He is convinced that within Arnie is the secret to happiness.
Comments:
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was used as a springboard for this modern tale. I was, therefore, interested in reading this novel to see what Dean Koontz did with the Frankenstein mythos. I was glad to find that some of the things I liked about Shelley's Frankenstein are also present in this novel - basically the monster vs. human theme. I liked the way that the authors took Shelley's Monster and, over the passage of time, allowed him to grow into a human. Deucalion shows true remorse for his murderous past and an equally true caring for humanity, which he is attempting to do by thwarting Helios' ominous plan. I also liked the transformation of Shelly's Victor Frankenstein from a man, to a figurative monster who is only concerned with building a "New Race" with deliberate animosity for the human race. This human vs. monster dichotomy extends throughout the sub-plots. Randal Six as well as others of the "New Race" struggle against Helios' programming to find the meaning of happiness. Because of the previously mentioned reasons, I feel Koontz made the Frankenstein mythos work to create an enjoyable read.
I also liked Koontz's strong characters. I sympathized with Deucalion over the agonies of his past and grew to care about him for what he has become. I grew to dislike Helios for his total disregard for humanity. The interplay between detectives O'Connor and Maddison, often comical and laced with unspoken romantic tension, made both characters seem very real.
Koontz also portrayed Arnie and Randal Six's struggle to find their way among the autism that holds them captive to be very accurate. As someone who works in the field of human services, I found Koontz willingness to address the issues of autism very refreshing.
Koontz's chapters are short and move between different characters perspectives, thus keeping the pace fast and the story line moving. The novel ends with a cliffhanger involving Randal Six and Arnie that is definitely designed to hook you into the second book. I give this book a B+.
Bantam Books: Feb 2005, paperback: 496 pages, $7.99
Introduction & Overview:
Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son is the first book in the Frankenstein trilogy by Dean Koontz. Dean Koontz's Frankenstein was originally written as a script for a television series on USA network. Martin Scorsese liked Koontz's script and signed on as executive producer. However, after a disagreement with a "hot young director" over major rewrites to the script, Koontz backed out and Scorsese shortly followed him. The other two books in the series are Frankenstein: City of Night and Frankenstein: Dead and Alive.
Deucalion is 6 foot tall, strongly built, with one side of his face ravaged by fire. He was living in a monastery in Tibet, preferring to avoid people. He harbored the capacity for homicidal murder and through the teachings of the Tibetan monks; he hoped to find inner peace. A messenger, who mutters "Yeti" when he sees Deucalion, delivers a mysterious letter addressed with several names. Upon seeing the reaction when Deucalion reads the letter, an old monk asks him if someone has died. Deucalion replies with "Worse. Someone is still alive." There have been a series of serial killings in New Orleans. Most of the corpses had varying body parts missing. A few of the corpses had organs missing. It was the latter that had caused Deucalion such concern. Not because of what the bodies were missing but because of what they had - extra organs. Deucalion immediately leaves for New Orleans, but not before the old monk tattoos Deucalion's face with a pattern of protection in dark blues, blacks, and greens.
New Orleans homicide detectives Carson O'Connor (the novels protagonist) and Michael Maddison are assigned to investigate the serial killings. O'Connor and Maddison are stymied when they discover that one of the bodies had two hearts. O'Connor's world is shattered when she meets Deucalion and discovers the unnatural mysteries wrapped around Deucalion and a prominent member of the community named Victor Helios. Deucalion tells her that he is two centuries old, made from the body parts of dead men, and brought to life with lightning. That he is, in fact, the Frankenstein monster. He then reveals that the true identity of Victor Helios is Victor Frankenstein. Following Deucalion's shocking revelations, O'Connor and Maddison embark upon a harrowing trail, eventually leading to a confrontation with one of Helios' "New Race".
In a sub-plot, Randal Six is an eighteen-year-old member of the "New Race" who Helios purposely designed with autism. Randal Six saw a picture of a twelve-year-old boy who had autism. The boy was Arnie O'Connor, son of Carson O'Connor. In the picture Arnie was averting his gaze, but he was smiling. Randal Six is determined to conquer his fear of the outside world in order to find Arnie. He is convinced that within Arnie is the secret to happiness.
Comments:
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was used as a springboard for this modern tale. I was, therefore, interested in reading this novel to see what Dean Koontz did with the Frankenstein mythos. I was glad to find that some of the things I liked about Shelley's Frankenstein are also present in this novel - basically the monster vs. human theme. I liked the way that the authors took Shelley's Monster and, over the passage of time, allowed him to grow into a human. Deucalion shows true remorse for his murderous past and an equally true caring for humanity, which he is attempting to do by thwarting Helios' ominous plan. I also liked the transformation of Shelly's Victor Frankenstein from a man, to a figurative monster who is only concerned with building a "New Race" with deliberate animosity for the human race. This human vs. monster dichotomy extends throughout the sub-plots. Randal Six as well as others of the "New Race" struggle against Helios' programming to find the meaning of happiness. Because of the previously mentioned reasons, I feel Koontz made the Frankenstein mythos work to create an enjoyable read.
I also liked Koontz's strong characters. I sympathized with Deucalion over the agonies of his past and grew to care about him for what he has become. I grew to dislike Helios for his total disregard for humanity. The interplay between detectives O'Connor and Maddison, often comical and laced with unspoken romantic tension, made both characters seem very real.
Koontz also portrayed Arnie and Randal Six's struggle to find their way among the autism that holds them captive to be very accurate. As someone who works in the field of human services, I found Koontz willingness to address the issues of autism very refreshing.
Koontz's chapters are short and move between different characters perspectives, thus keeping the pace fast and the story line moving. The novel ends with a cliffhanger involving Randal Six and Arnie that is definitely designed to hook you into the second book. I give this book a B+.
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