Frankenstein A Life Beyond [Formato Kindle]

I'm never certain what I'm going to get when I begin reading a book that is tied to a classic piece of literature. In this case, I thought this was an intelligently written and compelling book that explored some new avenues I hadn't thought of before and in many ways improved upon the ideas the original work left off with.

If you have ever wondered what happened to the remaining family of Viktor Frankenstein after his (theoretical) demise in the Arctic, this book explores that nicely. The dialogue was well written and appropriate for the time period featured in the novel. I was both surprised and a delighted to find that the author didn't stray too far from the original work when building the past history for these characters. I don't like it much when an author tries to rewrite a classic, and Pete Planisek didn't do that. He stuck by the basic premise of what of "Frankenstein" and joined it to the writing in this book, still truly managing to make this very original and his own.

The story has a good pace and there is a lot that happens, so you don't fall asleep while reading it. There was no lag time when the author reached the middle and I appreciated that the end was open for the next book, but didn't leave the reader hanging with more questions than answers. He never lost focus on his plot.

The encounters with "the creature" actually live up to the terrifying being that was crafted in the original Frankenstein, which must have been a challenge to accomplish. I found this was a hard book for me to put down and walk away from, and it kept me up late into the night finishing it. It really is very good.

The only thing I would have changed about this novel, was the amount of reminiscing the characters did. While I understood the need to give them all a history and looking into the past was better for the reader's knowledge base of them, there were times I felt the author got carried away with the past and forgot to include much information about the character's present life.

Overall this was an exciting read and I would recommend it to anyone who loves the classic, or anyone looking for a good book with some unforeseen twists.

This review is based on a digital copy from the publisher.

I will most definitely look for the rest of this series.

"Frankenstein-A Life Beyond" by Pete Planisek's is a follow-up to the memorable classic "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelly. If you are a lover of this enduring classic then you will absolutely enjoy Mr. Planisek's novel. He uses many characters from this classic, adds a few new characters to create one great, interesting continuing story.

This is Ernest Frankenstein's story and it picks up not far from where "Frankenstein" left off. Ernest is a young man devastated by everything that has happened to him and his family and ends up in Ireland where he meets his wife Ailis. One stormy night they receive a knock on their door. Captain Robert Walton has sought him out to relate a story about his brother. While he was in the Arctic he met Victor who pursued some creature of his own making. Victor died but this `creature' bordered his ship and took his body. Even though his story is unbelievable, he hopes Ernest will believe him.

After Walton leaves it is decided that he needs to find out one way or another about Victor so he sets off to Geneva to see his friend and solicitor Christiansen as years before they had worked out a secret code that would verify each other for future use. Ernest is hoping that if anyone would know if Victor was alive it would be him. Unfortunately all he has is a supposed note saying to meet him in Geneva signed "by" Victor. Ernest decides that he'll go back home to the family estate, check the place out and possible pick up a few things he may want to take home to Ireland with him. One night, while sleeping in his old room, he awoke to mysterious eyes looking at him through the window. After checking the estate out he decides to leave the following morning while he still could.

On his way home he is kidnapped by a band of gypsies. They too are after Victor and his `creation'. It has been prophesized that the fate of man depends of the capture and destruction of this `creature'. Unbeknownst to this group they have Ernest not Victor. Nasi, the group's fading seer and Baseria, the group's true seer, has seen Mr. Frankenstein and have foreseen along with what the ancient prophecy stated, what needs to be done yet they mistakenly took the wrong Frankenstein. While this is going on the group of gypsies are warring with a splinter group and during the melee the `creature' who calls Ernest `uncle' makes his presence known to him trying to make a deal to obtain Victor's journals. And if all this isn't enough happening in poor Ernest's life, his wife Ailis, who is pregnant with their first child, is sick and home alone, in need of help. She has a half-sister that Ernest has made contact with asking that she travel to Ireland, meet Ailis and help while he is on his mission...this is where I will stop as I do not want to give anything away, but know that this is a fascinating follow-up and I was disappointed when I turned the final page because I wasn't ready for this story to end although it does have a sequel, "Frankenstein Book II", that I am positive you will want to pick-up after reading this one.

Mr. Planisek has done an excellent job writing a follow-up to this classic. I am not sure how many other people could have done this and done such a good job of it. My hats off to him and I for one will look forward to picking up my own copy of book 2. So if you love the book or various movies about Frankenstein then you will enjoy "Frankenstein-A Life Beyond". I recommend this story to those that love the classic tale and to those who have never read Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" but enjoy a well written, entertaining, interesting story.
4.2 stars

Anita (The Kindle Book Review)

The KBR received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. We are not connected with the author, publisher, or Amazon in any way.

This is an impressive debut novel that builds a whole new story from the background characters in Mary Shelley's literary classic. The characters are well written with fresh motivations that seamlessly weave into the history of the original text. The story is tragic and romantic, but also adds a contemporary flair of action and adventure. With this book, Planisek is setting the tone for a trilogy that reverently echoes the source material and yet takes the Frankenstein mythos far beyond its classic origins. I'm looking forward to the next books!