Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

This book is the first book in Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. It is co-authored by Kevin J. Anderson. For a book about Frankenstein and his monster, this book offers a very different perspective from earlier renditions of the story. In all, it is an interesting read.

Deucalion has been living in a Tibetan Monastery for several years as he finds some peace there (although he misses Cheez-Its). When he discovers that his creator still lives, he has to leave in search of him, so that he can find some way to destroy the evil man. His search brings him to Louisiana where a rash of murders involving body parts being stolen has been happening. He also discovers that Victor has been busy. Under the guise of Victor Helios, he has been creating yet more people in an effort to create the perfect race and eventually eliminate mankind from the world. Among these creations are Randall 6, who is obsessed with puzzles, is autistic, and is very interesting in an autistic boy named Arnie.

Investigating these murders is a woman named Carson O'Connor and her partner Michael. Aside from caring for her brother Arnie, Carson is dedicated to her job and finding the murderer behind all these brutal killings. Meeting Deucalion definitely changes some of her perspectives though. There is more in the crime world going on than she imagines, and it will be very tough to stop.

The characters in this book are done pretty well. I think maybe that Victor is a little too evil though as he does not seem to have any redeeming qualities, which is a bit unbelievable. Another flaw in characterization was that Michael, one of the cops, was supposed to be pretty sarcastic and funny, but a lot of his jokes just fell flat for me. Deucalion, although not appearing as much as you would expect, is done exceptionally well and is a riveting character.

The writing, having been done by two authors, is done well. Each chapter focuses around several different characters, yet despite this, the story reads pretty cohesively. There is a bit of gore, and some nasty descriptions of food, so this book may not be the best for those with weak stomachs or younger children. One fault I do find with the writing is the numerous mentions of pop-culture items (like the aforementioned Cheez-Its) which personally, I cannot stand in a book.

Overall though this is an interesting series and I look forward to the next book. Since this one ended in a cliffhanger, I'll be sure to get to the next as quickly as I can.

Prodigal Son
Copyright 2005
469 pages