Book Review: This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures…until the day their adventures turn all too real. They stumble upon The Dark Library, and secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies are discovered. Father forbids that they ever enter the room again, but this only peaks Victor’s curiosity more.

When Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is not be satisfied with the various doctors his parents have called in to help. He is drawn back to The Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. Elizabeth, Henry, and Victor immediately set out to find assistance in a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help create the formula. Determination and the unthinkable outcome of losing his brother spur Victor on in the quest for the three ingredients that will save Konrads life. After scaling the highest trees in the Strumwald, diving into the deepest lake caves, and sacrificing one’s own body part, the three fearless friends risk their lives to save another.


First things first:

Yep, it’s true.  Not a literary character that one expects to develop a crush on, that is for sure.  Granted, in Shelley’s original novel, Frankenstein is a very troubled man.  Oppel’s novel, This Dark Endeavor, strives to examine and possibly explain the development of Frankenstein’s interest in alchemy and the desire to re-animate dead tissue.  

The inclusion of Elizabeth in the novel (who was Victor’s cousin and wife in the original story) as a close friend of Victor and his fictional twin, Konrad, was brilliant.  Not only does it provide a better back story for Elizabeth, but it begins to explain how she grows up to become somewhat despondent as an adult.  

While the original story is told through a series of letters from Henry (who ALSO appears in this novel as a close family friend) to a MWS (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley), Oppel’s take is told from Victor’s point of view.  This provides the reader with a special view into his mind and how the obsession with the intricacies of  dark science began.  Oppel does use those established characters in This Dark Endeavor, but the family Frankenstein really provides a backbone to the story, especially the juxtaposition between Konrad and Victor.  Despite the fact that they are twins, they are somewhat compared (in my mind) as sort of a good twin and a bad twin.  Konrad has all the charm and intelligence…while Victor has the sarcastic fire and ambition.  

Even Oppel’s prose was indicative of an intense study of Frankenstein. 

I could go on for pages about how much I adored this book, and how true to Shelley’s original characters were their younger counterparts in This Dark Endeavor…but I won’t bore you with all the intricate details that I loved.

The novel does end on a sort-of cliffhanger, and I am excited to read Such Wicked Intent that will be released in August!

4.5 Bards.