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yodamom's review against another edition
5.0
Frankenstein’s monster is a changed man, he is trying to save us from his evil maker, Victor, in New Orleans, raising up new fledglings. Victor made himself a women to please himself, Erika. There is a creepy hand wondering around leading to a horrifying spectacular find. There is unrest in the Doctors lab. The doctor is a monster and the monster is a ?
Beautiful drawings and coloring. The detail the artist put into the work is amazing. New Orleans character comes alive.
There are many humorous lines/quotes to lighten the story-Quoting Spock, I’m in love, LOL
Beautiful drawings and coloring. The detail the artist put into the work is amazing. New Orleans character comes alive.
There are many humorous lines/quotes to lighten the story-Quoting Spock, I’m in love, LOL
jrquinlisk's review
1.0
I checked this book out from the local library at the request of a friend. I suspect she hasn't read it, and I cannot in good conscience recommend that she does. I tend to stay away from horror movies and books because they seem almost universally uninspired, and Prodigal Son is no exception.
I walked into this knowing that it was a reimagining of a literary classic, but even for a take-off on an old, established story, the plot is bland and trite. Depending on the chapter, it alternately reads like a poor-quality buddy cop drama and a poor-quality slasher flick.
The characters are no better. The leads are a dedicated yet underappreciated female detective and her snarky, laid-back partner. (Naturally, there's loads of unresolved sexual tension between the two.) This is a combination that we've seen millions of times before, and it's rarely, if ever, successfully executed. Once again, it falls painfully flat here.
On the villainous side, we have a competing duo of pseudo-Nietzschean übermenschen, another cliché that's been attempted and failed countless times. Their cartoonish supervillainy wouldn't be quite so silly if they were approached with some amount of facetiousness, but this book views them with utter seriousness, and firmly insists that the reader do the same. Equally bizarre is the red-herring, a truly uninteresting pile of narcissistic, egotistical refuse. His death would come as a blessing were it not for the fact that the only available replacements as villains are the aforementioned failed supermen.
Supporting characters fare about as well. The vast majority of them are one-dimensional. Very few of them seem remotely interesting, and I feel that if this story had belonged to one of them, it would have been markedly more interesting. Alas, the development that we do see is laughably short, and once it occurs, the characters are quickly dropped.
Being a fan of [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg], I've become accustomed to reading without specifically delineated chapters. At first I welcomed the reversion to the norm offered by Prodigal Son, as it provided me with numerous convenient stopping points. Unfortunately, I soon realized that this these small bites were little more than literary junk food: unhealthy, unfulfilling, and ultimately leaving the reader worse for the experience.
I walked into this knowing that it was a reimagining of a literary classic, but even for a take-off on an old, established story, the plot is bland and trite. Depending on the chapter, it alternately reads like a poor-quality buddy cop drama and a poor-quality slasher flick.
The characters are no better. The leads are a dedicated yet underappreciated female detective and her snarky, laid-back partner. (Naturally, there's loads of unresolved sexual tension between the two.) This is a combination that we've seen millions of times before, and it's rarely, if ever, successfully executed. Once again, it falls painfully flat here.
On the villainous side, we have a competing duo of pseudo-Nietzschean übermenschen, another cliché that's been attempted and failed countless times. Their cartoonish supervillainy wouldn't be quite so silly if they were approached with some amount of facetiousness, but this book views them with utter seriousness, and firmly insists that the reader do the same. Equally bizarre is the red-herring, a truly uninteresting pile of narcissistic, egotistical refuse. His death would come as a blessing were it not for the fact that the only available replacements as villains are the aforementioned failed supermen.
Supporting characters fare about as well. The vast majority of them are one-dimensional. Very few of them seem remotely interesting, and I feel that if this story had belonged to one of them, it would have been markedly more interesting. Alas, the development that we do see is laughably short, and once it occurs, the characters are quickly dropped.
Being a fan of [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg], I've become accustomed to reading without specifically delineated chapters. At first I welcomed the reversion to the norm offered by Prodigal Son, as it provided me with numerous convenient stopping points. Unfortunately, I soon realized that this these small bites were little more than literary junk food: unhealthy, unfulfilling, and ultimately leaving the reader worse for the experience.
dkwaye's review
5.0
Oh my god. Genius. Awesome. Amazing!
This book has gone beyond my expectations. The plot and hooks and the multiple characters' point of view and narration are so well crafted that I just could not get off from my chair. Now, I'm grabbing Book 2 and I can't wait to see what's coming next.
If you've loved Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein, macabre contexts, morbidity and crime investigations, I definitely recommend this book! Every page was worth it.
This book has gone beyond my expectations. The plot and hooks and the multiple characters' point of view and narration are so well crafted that I just could not get off from my chair. Now, I'm grabbing Book 2 and I can't wait to see what's coming next.
If you've loved Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein, macabre contexts, morbidity and crime investigations, I definitely recommend this book! Every page was worth it.
chriswolak's review
4.0
This is one of those books that was on my radar since it came out six years ago. Glad I finally read it. I was pleasantly surprised by the book's depth of emotion and I had no idea that its structure is like a contemporary mystery/thriller.
I enjoyed the characters, but what most appealed to me was the yearning to be human that some of Frankenstein/Helios's creations feel. These man-made, meticulously programmed, and supposedly soul-less creatures longing to have meaning in their life and a purpose other than the intention for which their creator made them, inspired me to continue trying to be a better person. Anyone else have that reaction?
And I love that one of the characters is named Jonathan Harker. Prodigal Son is an action packed, fun read for those of us who grew up on the old Frankenstein and Dracula flicks as well as the lovers of the literature that spawned the movies. I hope it inspires people who haven't read Mary Shelley to pick up her book.
I enjoyed the characters, but what most appealed to me was the yearning to be human that some of Frankenstein/Helios's creations feel. These man-made, meticulously programmed, and supposedly soul-less creatures longing to have meaning in their life and a purpose other than the intention for which their creator made them, inspired me to continue trying to be a better person. Anyone else have that reaction?
And I love that one of the characters is named Jonathan Harker. Prodigal Son is an action packed, fun read for those of us who grew up on the old Frankenstein and Dracula flicks as well as the lovers of the literature that spawned the movies. I hope it inspires people who haven't read Mary Shelley to pick up her book.
agirlushouldknow's review
4.0
It has been a couple of decades since I read Dean Koontz's books, I don't even remember what the last book was (so that is closer to 30 years when I was in high school). I am glad I picked up this book.
I originally picked it up as a lark, it was on sale on Amazon and it seemed like an easy listen while I do some computer work. It was a fairly easy listen (read) but it was interesting too. It wasn't just some weird cop out of the Frankenstein story, it was basically a reimagined sequel.
I don't want to go into the plot to much (no spoilers) but I will say I liked that it more focused on a variety of characters including a female detective that I liked (honestly she is pretty similar to Anita Blake territory but better written).
The story is tight, lots of moving parts that come together and some interesting plot turns. I knew I had liked Koontz's writing as a teen but now I realize why.
I highly recommend the book, and I just found out its part of a series so guess what I am going to look for, book 2.
I originally picked it up as a lark, it was on sale on Amazon and it seemed like an easy listen while I do some computer work. It was a fairly easy listen (read) but it was interesting too. It wasn't just some weird cop out of the Frankenstein story, it was basically a reimagined sequel.
I don't want to go into the plot to much (no spoilers) but I will say I liked that it more focused on a variety of characters including a female detective that I liked (honestly she is pretty similar to Anita Blake territory but better written).
The story is tight, lots of moving parts that come together and some interesting plot turns. I knew I had liked Koontz's writing as a teen but now I realize why.
I highly recommend the book, and I just found out its part of a series so guess what I am going to look for, book 2.
audreylee's review
4.0
The writing is fantastic, as always. I'm not a scifi/horror fan. I just had to read one for a class, but I love his writing even when I could care less about the subject matter. If he wrote advertisements for cereal, I would read that.
creepysnowman's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this take on the classic. The update makes sense, and has a fantastic pace.
However- I didn't like the main protagonists at all. Koontz saved all his good depth for the monsters, and made the two cops a mixture of cliche and bad movies. Michael, in particular, has less than a handful of lines that aren't a one-dimensional wisecrack. It was slightly amusing at the beginning, but just painful by the end.
I am going to keep going with City of Night, and hopefully as the series progresses, he'll have got the schlock out of his system.
However- I didn't like the main protagonists at all. Koontz saved all his good depth for the monsters, and made the two cops a mixture of cliche and bad movies. Michael, in particular, has less than a handful of lines that aren't a one-dimensional wisecrack. It was slightly amusing at the beginning, but just painful by the end.
I am going to keep going with City of Night, and hopefully as the series progresses, he'll have got the schlock out of his system.
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