Sunday, May 19, 2013

Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 310pgs

The Story

When does obsession become madness? Tragedy has forced sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein to swear off alchemy forever. He burns the Dark Library. He vows he will never dabble in the dark sciences again—just as he vows he will no longer covet Elizabeth, his brother’s betrothed.

If only these things were not so tempting.

When he and Elizabeth discover a portal into the spirit world, they cannot resist. Together with Victor’s twin, Konrad, and their friend Henry, the four venture into a place of infinite possibilities where power and passion reign. But as they search for the knowledge to raise the dead, they unknowingly unlock a darkness from which they may never return.

The Review

In the next installment of Kenneth Oppel's Victor Frankenstein series, SUCH WICKED INTENT, is just as well-written as the first book of This Dark Endeavor which I loved immensely. Mostly because of Victor himself  (cause I really love him and his inner demons!). But for some reason I didn't quite find this second installment to be as satisfying as the first book nor was it a book that stayed necessarily on course of its original source of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but regardless of that, I still found it was was a very well-written book with a lot of unexpected twists and dark adventures in it that I think any Gothic fan will love and eat right up!

From the previous book, I absolutely loved Victor's character and everything he represents (even if he does frustrate you in everything he does and the dangerous actions he takes). And even in this book I loved the fact that the author still fueled his burning passion of science, schemes, manipulations and such because it's just . . . so Victor, you know? But in this sequel I felt really sorry for Victor because, one, he's dealing with the death of his twin brother, Conrad, will he blames himself for, and, two, he's still struggling with his romantic feelings for Elizabeth, his distant cousin and the girl who was set to be betrothed to his brother which has many complications of its own considering Elizabeth did love Conrad. Victor just has all these torments in him in this sequel and I wanted - so badly - for him to be happy for once in his life but it's hard to be considering his ultimate fate in Frankenstein but I still love him.

The only kicker for me in this book was Elizabeth. Now I haven't always loved Elizabeth because she a bit of an over-the-place kind of girl and she's always hard to read as a character (I just don't know whether to like, love, or loathe her really), but she is the main link to Victor's obsession and desire, which I cannot help but love. So while it is apart of the storyline - Elizabeth and Victor's relationship - and part of the reason why many conflicts come Victor's way, but Elizabeth is this very selfish young woman and I think she treated Victor horribly in this book by playing with his mind. I mean, Victor, of course, is not entirely innocent and Elizabeth has always refused him with his feelings for her as well, but still . . . I don't like girls playing with guys minds . . . it's unfair and it's no wonder why Victor was a madman at times - all because of her. Still, I loved Victor and his obsessive nature. It's part of the reason why I loved the classic of Frankenstein.


Overall, SUCH WICKED INTENT may not have entirely won my heart like the first book did but it definitely sets up a nice sequel and I'm really, really hoping there's another book in the works because I'm really, really missing my dear Victor and his scientific obsessions of creation.

The Rating
4/5 stars

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