Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother, Konrad, and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one.
The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life.
The elixir needs only three ingredients. But impossible odds, dangerous alchemy and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.
Victor knows he must not fail. Yet his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science and love-and how much he is willing to sacrifice.
I saw this book on the chapters/indigo website and for some reason I was intrigued maybe it was the book jacket with the picture of a young man seen through a key hole that sparked my interest, it promised secrecy and intrigue so I thought I’d give it a go. I’m so glad I did, I’ll be honest other than Halloween dress up I didn’t know a lot about the adult story of Victor Frankenstein, I hadn’t read Mary Shelly’s version so I went into this book with no preconceived notions of anything. This book has a little of everything mystery, adventure, sibling rivalry, and a touch of romance but not enough romance that boys would be turned off of this read. The Frankenstein twins are a handful, always looking for adventures especially Victor who although loves his twin with all his heart wishes to out shine just a little. When Konrad falls ill, the doctors have no answers and no cure, Victor knows he must do something to save his twin and returns back to the dark library and attempts to conjure the Elixir of Life. The adventure begins as they set out to find an alchemist in hiding, and try to procure the three ingredients needed to make the very difficult potion. Victor is willing to push himself to the limits to save his brother and win the girl. I have to say I really enjoyed this book I read it in a few days, I loved Victor’s arrogance, he is straight forward and to the point, he wishes he had pretty words that are poetic and come out right, but he is just not that guy, a bit of a hot head quick to temper the opposite of Konrad who though looks like him is patient and much more considerate in his words, and kind hearted. I thought Oppel did a great job showing the characters personalities and having them develop over the course of the novel. I loved their adventurous spirit, although they are privileged they aren’t complete brats nor are they afraid to complete a task no matter how dangerous. I couldn’t help but like Victor, he has something dark and a little broken about him and let’s face it what girl doesn’t like that just a little bit. Elizabeth is fiery and passionate and not about to be left behind or shown up by a bunch of boys I love it. Henry you remind of Neville from the Harry Potter series. He is surrounded by people with the heart and courage of lions and yet he is afraid of everything, and lets his imagination and phobias run away with him, yet when his friends are in trouble he rustles in his courage and stands ready to fight. He is endearing. This book had a great pace there was no lag anywhere, and flowed nicely I was engaged and entertained the whole time I would definitely recommend this read to anyone.
I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating
You can pick up This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel at any book retailer online or in store. As well as book two, Such Wicked Intent