Book Description

About Dean Koontz's Frankenstein

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein is the collective title of a series of novels co-written by Dean Koontz. Though technically of the mystery or thriller genres, the novels also feature the trappings of horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

From the celebrated imagination of Dean Koontz comes a powerful reworking of one of the classic stories of all time. If you think you know the legend, you know only half the truth. Here is the mystery, the myth, the terror, and the magic of…

Dean Koontz's City of the Night

They are stronger, heal better, and think faster than any humans ever created—and they must be destroyed. But not even Victor Helios—once Frankenstein—can stop the engineered killers he’s set loose on a reign of terror through modern-day New Orleans. Now the only hope rests in a one-time “monster” and his all-too-human partners, Detectives Carson O’Connor and Michael Maddison. Deucalion’s centuries-old history began as Victor’s first and failed attempt to build the perfect human–and it is fated to end in the ultimate confrontation between a damned creature and his mad creator. But first Deucalion must destroy a monstrosity not even Victor’s malignant mind could have imagined—an indestructible entity that steps out of humankind’s collective nightmare with one purpose: to replace us.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Relax. Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, volume one of which, Prodigal Son (2005), was a pulse-pounder all the way, is going to be a trilogy. But don't expect to relax all that much. This book cooks, no second-volume doldrums anywhere in it. Its short, punchy chapters, 80 in all, seem to reflect the whole saga's TV miniseries origins in their jump-cutting between plot trajectories, but that seeming also owes much to the visualizability, so to speak, of everything in the book. But enough about technique. The manufactured young man who went AWOL from 200-plus-year-old Victor Helios-ne-Frankenstein's labs in Prodigal Son turns out to be not the only improved Frankenstein monster who is behaving strangely. Since he was created autistic for experimental purposes, he may be the least strange of the lot. Some of his "normal" fellows are mutating a la Alien, none more spectacularly than Victor's body guard. Deucalion, the original monster, now greatly humanized, especially ethically and morally, realizes that the mutations portend a much larger wave of breakdowns among the so-called New Race. That bodes very ill for a New Orleans heavily salted with Victor's creations, all of them programmed to kill mere humans at Victor's command, which the mutants no longer obey. Meanwhile, NOPD detectives Carson O'Connor and Michael Maddison prepare to hunt Victor down, even as a couple of hit-person New Racers track them. And then there is Erica Five, Victor's brand-new "wife," learning to be a better spouse by exploring hubby's house. Smart dialogue and cutting-edge scientific notions (Deucalion has learned how to teleport) are the oh-so-sweet icing on this delectable thriller's irresistible, devourable cake.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Ray Olson

From AudioFile

Victor Frankenstein, yes, that Victor Frankenstein, is alive and well in New Orleans, where he is creating an entire race of "new men." Koontz's latest is a respectful follow-up to the original story and is performed beautifully. John Bedford Lloyd is a commanding reader with a voice that grabs the listener by the throat, metaphorically speaking. He's perfect as the voice of the evil Victor Frankenstein, his voice and demeanor that of an amoral genius. Lloyd is equally effective as Frankenstein's original creation, "the monster" brought to life by lightning and arcane science. This time around, it's clear which of them is the true monster. M.S.

More about the Author

When he was a senior in college, Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition. He has been writing ever since. His books are published in 38 languages; worldwide sales are over 300 million copies.

Ten of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list ( The Husband, One Door Away From Heaven, From The Corner Of His Eye, Midnight, Cold Fire, Hideaway, Dragon Tears, The Bad Place, Intensity, and Sole Survivor ). Thirteen of his books have risen to the number one position in paperback.

Several of his books have been adapted into feature films and TV miniseries, including the highly rated “Intensity” on the Fox Network. The Husband is currently in development as a major motion picture by Focus Features/Random House Films.

The New York Times has called his writing "psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying." The New Orleans Times-Picayune said Koontz is "lyrical without ever being naive or romantic. [He creates] a grotesque world, much like that of Flannery O'Connor or Walker Percy ... scary, worthwhile reading." The London Times called him "a literary juggler," and Publishers Weekly recently stated in a starred review that Koontz "gives readers bright hope in a dark world. He is a true original."

Dean Koontz was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University), and his first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where he was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. His first day on the job, he discovered that the previous occupier of his position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and Koontz was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. He wrote nights and weekends, which he continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After he had been a year and a half in that position, his wife, Gerda, made him an offer he couldn't refuse: "I'll support you for five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of her husband's writing career. Dean and Gerda Koontz live in southern California with their golden retriever, Trixie, who herself has written two successful books— Life Is Good and Christmas Is Good.

Book Dimension

length: (cm)17.7 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)11.1