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Mar. 18th, 2013 05:28 pmThis Dark Endeavor is a book about Angsty Teenaged Victor Frankenstein . . . AND HIS TWIN BROTHER. Because what the Frankenstein story really needs is a love triangle between Victor, Elizabeth, and Victor's Good Twin Konrad.
I don't like love triangles. All the same, I knew I was going to deeply enjoy this book when I found out that the first thing we see Angsty Teenaged Victor Frankenstein do is:
- clown around on a balcony over a hundred-foot drop to show off while everyone shouts "VICTOR GET DOWN AND STOP BEING BE A LOSER!"
- immediately falls into the hundred-foot drop, because he's a loser
- get rescued at the last minute by his twin brother
- and then spend the beginning of the next chapter going on about how his ankle is in PAIN and he can't WALK and everyone should be pushing him around in his wheelchair, while everyone else is like "Victor you tool, you didn't even sprain it, STOP WHINING"
Like, whatever else you want to say about Kenneth Oppel and his decision to write the angsty adventures of juvenile Frankenstein, at least he fully understands that Victor Frankenstein is an melodramatic emo failboat! And this is all I actually require in my published Frankenstein fic that I am reading for the lols.
Anyway, then Konrad gets sick with some kind of autoimmune disease and Victor, Elizabeth, and Henry Clerval have to go on some kind of wacky alchemical quest to gather a bunch of McGuffin ingredients to make a magical elixir that will save his life. This leads them to do a bunch of thoroughly plausible things like making WEREWOLF OINTMENT to CLIMB TALL TREES and get attacked by VULTURES, and go SPELUNKING in CAVES and fight GIANT MONSTER FISH.
Henry Clerval, by the way, is clearly the best character here; every time, he's like, "yes, please do enjoy taking wolf ointment and climbing trees in the middle of the night! I will stay down here and write poetry, and, you know, not die." Four for you and your common sense, Henry Clerval.
(Elizabeth, meanwhile, climbs trees, wears trousers, goes spelunking, and bite vultures in the throat with the best of them. ELIZABETH DOES WHAT SHE WANTS.)
In case you were wondering whether anything actually Frankenstein-plot-related happens in this book: nope! It's basically just Those Wacky Frankenstein Kids Have Adventures, albeit overshadowed by inevitable tragic doom. Perhaps the sequel will be more relevant . . .?
( Spoilers. )
Either way, I WILL TOTALLY READ IT. Judge me if you must! Frankenstein the book and I reached an uneasy toleration for each other after the third or fourth time I had to read it for class, but I still find it deeply frustrating on many levels, and there is a part of my soul that is immeasurably soothed by watching Jackass Baby Frankenstein run around throwing himself into ridiculous MacGuffin quests and making a tool out of himself while his friends and family roll their eyes.
I don't like love triangles. All the same, I knew I was going to deeply enjoy this book when I found out that the first thing we see Angsty Teenaged Victor Frankenstein do is:
- clown around on a balcony over a hundred-foot drop to show off while everyone shouts "VICTOR GET DOWN AND STOP BEING BE A LOSER!"
- immediately falls into the hundred-foot drop, because he's a loser
- get rescued at the last minute by his twin brother
- and then spend the beginning of the next chapter going on about how his ankle is in PAIN and he can't WALK and everyone should be pushing him around in his wheelchair, while everyone else is like "Victor you tool, you didn't even sprain it, STOP WHINING"
Like, whatever else you want to say about Kenneth Oppel and his decision to write the angsty adventures of juvenile Frankenstein, at least he fully understands that Victor Frankenstein is an melodramatic emo failboat! And this is all I actually require in my published Frankenstein fic that I am reading for the lols.
Anyway, then Konrad gets sick with some kind of autoimmune disease and Victor, Elizabeth, and Henry Clerval have to go on some kind of wacky alchemical quest to gather a bunch of McGuffin ingredients to make a magical elixir that will save his life. This leads them to do a bunch of thoroughly plausible things like making WEREWOLF OINTMENT to CLIMB TALL TREES and get attacked by VULTURES, and go SPELUNKING in CAVES and fight GIANT MONSTER FISH.
Henry Clerval, by the way, is clearly the best character here; every time, he's like, "yes, please do enjoy taking wolf ointment and climbing trees in the middle of the night! I will stay down here and write poetry, and, you know, not die." Four for you and your common sense, Henry Clerval.
(Elizabeth, meanwhile, climbs trees, wears trousers, goes spelunking, and bite vultures in the throat with the best of them. ELIZABETH DOES WHAT SHE WANTS.)
In case you were wondering whether anything actually Frankenstein-plot-related happens in this book: nope! It's basically just Those Wacky Frankenstein Kids Have Adventures, albeit overshadowed by inevitable tragic doom. Perhaps the sequel will be more relevant . . .?
( Spoilers. )Either way, I WILL TOTALLY READ IT. Judge me if you must! Frankenstein the book and I reached an uneasy toleration for each other after the third or fourth time I had to read it for class, but I still find it deeply frustrating on many levels, and there is a part of my soul that is immeasurably soothed by watching Jackass Baby Frankenstein run around throwing himself into ridiculous MacGuffin quests and making a tool out of himself while his friends and family roll their eyes.
