Book Review: Frankenstein: City of Night by Dean Koontz

Frankenstein: City of Night, is the second book in a trilogy. It is basically the continuation of a reworking of the Mad Doctor Gone Wrong story but it has been twisted to fit in our day in age. Dean Koontz does a fine job in creating a world where we find this old story continuing and reemerging in the twenty first century. In it we still find the old characters Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the original monster that he built, all while still including Mary Shelley... who originally wrote this horrific tale.

In the first book, “Frankenstein: Prodigal Son Book One” Frankenstein’s monster is alive and well. In our modern day we find him as he is now called Deucalion (which is the name of Prometheus’ mythical son). At the start of the story we find him living in Tibet, where he gets word that his maker (Dr. Frankenstein) is not dead as he believed but up and running.. very much alive. So the journey begins as he heads to New Orleans were his maker is. To realize, what he believes to be his destiny, which is to bring an end to the evil which is this Mad Doc.. his maker.

In the second book, “Frankenstein: City of Night” we are taken even deeper in the world of Victor Frankenstein and the new breed of humans that he was created. These new being are more like monsters for they lack the traits of regular human being. They are cold in heart and lacking compassion and the ability to have pity. In body as well as mind they are different made, created to serve a monster greater than them. Void of free will, they are prisoners in a world of endless worship of their Maker.

As the saga continues, Dean Koontz gives us another major doze of all the great things we received in the first book. It is filled with sharp narration, imaginative situations, and a thrilling suspense filled adventure. Filled with greater urgency.. the book digs deeper into Victor Helios’ (Frankenstein) determination of gaining world domination. With that, we still find Deucalion and the two homicide detectives striving to stop this horrendous and catastrophic event.

This book is not only an insightful and an intellectual delight, but it is also a fun and exciting read. Holding much more suspense than the fist book, it makes for an interesting fast pace read. In “Frankenstein: City of Night”, Dean Koontz does a great job in keeping old characters fresh. Also, he gives us new characters that are splendid. One great example is the delirious duo of Benny and Cindy. These are two great personas that make crazy people seem sane. Not only does Koontz give us new delights but also turns the story into something worth reading. He digs further into the Frankenstein myth and delivers a book that is worth more than a one time read.

It is great the way that Koontz has given a fresh new feel to an old story. He not only gives new breath to the story, but he grows his own tale where it becomes easy for us to relate to. Living in an age of rapidly increasing technological advances, we find his story closer to reality. Biology in our day is so advance, that we don’t doubt that someplace out there, their are people who are using science in a negative way. That truly is a scary feeling. In “Frankenstein: City of Night”, Dean Koontz takes that feeling and implants it in a book that not only entertains us… but just slightly scares us.. if we give it enough thought.

In the end Dean Koontz, leaves us satisfied. With a great cliff hanger, he leaves us well hanging.. not wanting to wait so long for the next book. After you read this second book, you will be waiting impatiently for the last book of the trilogy.