Book Review: Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Lost Souls

Image from Amazon.com
(Can't you tell? Hah!)

This won't be a full review, because Frankenstein: Lost Souls isn't a complete book. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining exactly.  I loved the book. But I started to worry as I saw the page count getting close to the end, and it felt like the story was just getting going.

Frankenstein is a modern imagining of the classic story, positing that the monster (Deucalion, a name I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to pronounce), Victor Frankenstein, and the whole original setup was real. What's more, both are still alive in modern-day America.  Lost Souls is actually chapter four in a series of novels.  Parts one and two were written by Dean Koontz with co-writers, and part three was written by Koontz solo. The story was originally written for television, and the first book apparently was made into a TV movie (which I still have not seen).  Part one was good enough, certainly engaging enough to make me want to read more.  Part two was better, and part three even better than the first two. After that, I thought the story was over.

So, I was surprised to see Lost Souls on the shelf at Sam's Club, but intrigued enough to buy it.  Diving in, I was quickly reacquainted with the characters of the series, now two years later.  The man and woman police team were now married to each other, and living in a different state as private detectives.  Victor Frankenstein--killed in the third book--is found to be somehow still alive, and bent on world domination. He is hunted by the detectives at the behest of Deucalion (Deuce-a-Lion? Doo-kaleon? Dough-salee-on?).  Koontz is much more descriptive and vivid in his word craft, and the characters (even the comic/horror-relief character, Jocko) are wonderfully drawn.  Koontz's stock plot devices (golden retriever, plausible explanation for otherworldly events) aren't relied upon as much, which is good.  I love Koontz, but some themes can repeat too much.

That said, there is still the "funny banter while under attack" trope, the "mentally challenged kid with a heart of gold" thing, and a few other standard Koontz themes.  In Lost Souls, it all works, but just as in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, just as the characters are basically suiting up for battle, the book ends.  I'm not saying this to spoil it, only to warn you.  This is chapter 4 of a series, or possibly part 1 of a second series.  If you go in knowing that, you'll enjoy the book much more.  I'll definitely pick up book 5, no question.  It really is a fun read. But knowing that this is a further part of the series, I'd suggest getting books 1-3 before reading Lost Souls. By the time you're done with all four parts, part 5 should be on the way!

Recommended

Hurricane Gustav and Other Natural Disasters

Image from source, Washington Post

Every part of the country seems to have some vulnerability to natural disasters. That's why I get frustrated when I hear people say, "well, why does anybody live there?" One reason is, what's home is home. And whether you have to deal with earthquakes or tornadoes or forest fires or hurricanes or floods, we've all got something.

Even here in Las Vegas, we have drought, though we've managed to survive so far. Outside of that, the occasional localized fire or dust devil are about it. So the scale of a natural disaster lives only in my memories of the strong tornado seasons of the 1970s in Ohio. Xenia was flattened, and we seemed to have dozens of tornado warnings every year for years. But we stayed there.

Hurricanes in particular are quite peculiar in the way they affect us. Unlike earthquakes--where we can only react, or tornadoes, where we have only hours or minutes to prepare--hurricanes give us days of warnings. We can only sit and wait for it to come. Ride it out or flee, you can't stop it from coming, and it seems to plod along on its destructive path.

The most unusual aspect might be the way technology has brought it into our living rooms. In the last few years, there has been a communication convergence of sorts. Multiple channels of 24-hour cable news have become a ubiquitous reality, and so has instant information on the internet. We can know more about what's going on, faster than we ever could before. And yet, the hurricane takes its sweet time. It's a strange combination of anticipation and dread, and you just want it over with, while simultaneously having a morbid curiosity of what is going to happen.

While I am an avowed cynic, have Mark Twain's view of humanity, and am rampantly morbidly curious, I'm still hopeful that Hurricane Gustav wreaks as little damage in property and life as is possible. I also hope that no political party over-hypes or exploits the aftermath to their advantage. But that's a lot of wishing.

To see a particularly interesting interactive map of Gustav and other storms, click here: Washington Post

GOP Convention Cancels First Night for Gustav

Photo from source, Huffington Post

Heavens to mergatroids. The GOP must be in a full-on panic that the voters are going to have a Katrina flashback this week. Were it not for the colossal blunder at all levels of government in 2005 during that storm, you can almost guarantee that no change would have occurred at the Republican National Convention.

But change it they have, and--for people like Karl Rove, and those who have learned at his chubby knee--it will be almost 100% impossible to resist the urge to exploit the coming storm. There has already been talk about turning the convention into a "relief effort" or something akin to a telethon. John and Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin are down on the Gulf Coast today. As most Americans are dreading the landfall of Hurricane Gustav, I can assure you the Rove camp sees it as both an opportunity, and as the change-up they needed after a spectacular Democratic National Convention.

Be prepared in the next couple of days to hear any criticism of Republicans by Democrats to be demonized more than usual as "playing politics," even as they themselves exploit the situation for all it is worth.

[Excerpt]

GOP Cancels Convention Opening Night

John McCain tore up the script for his Republican National Convention on Sunday, ordering the cancellation of all but essential opening-day activities as Hurricane Gustav churned toward New Orleans. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Hurricane Gustav and Its Effect on GOP Convention

Photo from source, Raw Story

One of the cries you'll hear shouted when anything bad happens, is "let's not play politics." I would agree with that on principle, except for the fact that the request is never heeded. Everything is fodder for politics, and if one side sits it out, the other side will clobber them, right?

Well, this time the "bad thing" is another hurricane headed toward New Orleans. If Katrina had never happened--or if it had been handled differently--there would probably be no thought given to altering the style or substance of the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis next week.

But Katrina was bungled badly. Whether you're like my Mom ("Yeah, right, George Bush made Katrina happen?") and think that President Bush was not to blame for anything, or if you're like me, and think Katrina underlined and bold-faced the incompetency of the Bush Administration, I think everybody can admit that it didn't go at all well. And so, having your big party pep rally while a potential Katrina-type disaster is happening again--well, Karl Rove can't let that happen, without some creative response.

There have been rumors that the convention would be postponed, or that George Bush would cancel his speech. The story excerpted below paints a much more likely picture. The Republican National Convention had the potential to pale mightily against last weeks Democratic one. But what if you turned it into a big Hurricane telethon?

[Excerpt]

Will McCain turn RNC into telethon for hurricane victims?

A top aide in the McCain campaign said officials may turn the Republican National Convention into a service event to aid possible victims of a hurricane headed towards the Gulf Coast, CNN reported Saturday. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

John McCain: Let 'Em Eat Cake?

Hey, this just occurred to me, though I am sure I'm late to the party. Remember the bit of a stink that was raised over George W. Bush's behaviour during the lead-up to and ultimate failing of the levees in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina? There was a famous photo of Bush strumming a guitar with country singer, Mark Wills, and then there was one of Bush cutting a birthday cake, celebrating a Senator's birthday.

I'd forgotten the details, but in a blinding flash of the obvious, I realized the Senator in question was none other than John McCain. Yeah, like I said, I'm late to the party (pun intended). But it's quite an image.

[Excerpt]


Flashback: As Katrina hit, McCain celebrated 69th birthday with Bush.

It was Aug. 29, McCain’s 69th birthday, and on the tarmac, Bush presented his old political rival with a cake. The two posed, holding the cake up for cameras, and within seconds, went their separate ways. The cake, melting in the 110-degree Arizona heat, was left behind, uneaten. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Riot in New Orleans over Projects Plans

This story is just messy. There are points to be made on both sides, though mostly I come down on the side of the former residents of New Orleans. And what is it with the over-use of pepper spray and tasers these days? I was under the impression that these tools were a last resort before lethal force, not standard operating procedure for crowd control.

[Excerpt]

New Orleans to Demolish 1940s-Era Projects

The New Orleans city council today defied protestors and voted unanimously to tear down the first of four remaining major housing projects in the city to make way for mixed-income housing that will accommodate some, but not all, of the pre-Katrina public housing population. Needless to say, the self-appointed community activists were displeased. . .

Read more at: Outside the Beltway