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Author: Kiersten White
Published: 2018
Sub-genre: Horror/Historical
I am a HUGE Kiersten White fan. Her Now I Rise series is fantastic (I just got the final one and I am super stoked to dive in) and I loved her Slayer spin-off novel as well. I was interested to read this one because horror is really not my thing, and so, I have never actually read Frankenstein. The story is, of course, so well known in pop culture I feel like I have a good handle on the characters and the plot, but I was interested to see how this book might put a new spin on things.
The heroine in Dark Descent is Elizabeth, who is taken in by the Frankenstein family (here’s your one reminder that Frankenstein is the doctor, not the monster) when she’s a child to be a sort of playmate for their son Victor, who even at an early age displays some pretty troubling behavior (what we today would recognize as sociopathic). Elizabeth is able to calm Victor like no one else can, but even she can’t fully stem the evil that lurks within Victor. As the pair grow up together, Elizabeth becomes more and more dependent on Victor, and so she covers for him and hides his terrible behavior as much as she can. When Victor goes off to school, she is left at the Frankenstein manor with the two younger Frankenstein brothers and their governess, Elizabeth’s friend Justine. After Victor stops writing to her, Elizabeth takes Justine on a mission to find him and make sure he’s okay. Elizabeth discovers his laboratory and is horrified by the experiments he has been doing. So she covers for him once again. Elizabeth thinks she has put an end to his madness, and the two marry, only for Elizabeth to realize she has no idea the true depths of evil Victor is willing to go to. In the end, she is the only one who can put a stop to his terrifying plots.
So just a warning first and foremost, this book is very dark. That should go without saying given the title and subject matter, but I do want to make that clear. Many people die, including some children. So know that going in, it’s not for the squeamish. What I love most about Kiersten is her ability to make me empathize with characters who do crappy things. She has a gift for that that not a lot of writers have, and I’m always impressed by her character development. This novel is no different. Elizabeth has some truly questionable moments, but it’s easy to root for her and want the best for her.
I thought the plot of this book, again as someone who has not read Frankenstein, was really interesting. I love the idea that (of course) behind the scenes of this super well-known story, there is a woman who is really the one in charge of getting shit done and taking care of things. Even though I knew some of the things that were going to happen, there were still some unexpected plot twists and I felt the whole thing kept me on my toes.
If you are a fan of the original Frankenstein, or the horror genre in general, I’m sure this book would be appealing. It’s not where my tastes usually lean and I was still very impressed with this book as a whole.
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars
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