Sage Fire Reviews

        
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According to this story, Frankenstein's creature seeks revenge for the loneliness and fear he endures after his creation.  He pleas with Dr. Frankenstein to provide him with a female companion but each time his request is denied.  Feeling frustrated and angry, he kills Frankenstein's bride on their wedding night.  He later witnesses the death of Dr. Frankenstein himself.  Instead of feeling a sense of victory, he feels even more emptiness.

The deaths force the creature, Viktor, to survive on his own and he is lucky enough to find an old Russian grandmother who sees past his grotesque appearance and into his heart.  Agrafina shows him kindness and improves his language skills.  She instills a fresh spirit in Viktor and when her time to die nears, she offers him a gift.  After asking him what he would truly want from life,  he requests only to be a normal person and find a female companion to share his life.  She casts a spell on him just as she expires.

Viktor evolves with each chapter of this story.  He finds himself searching for happiness, trying to please those who help him, seeking some understanding of man's concept of religion and always struggling to keep the monster inside of him from being unleashed, especially when his family is in danger.  He senses the good or the evil in people that others don't see.  During this journey of evolution, he often has dreams that seem to foretell the future and leave him in fear of what could happen if the secret of his origin became known.  Each decision he makes helps him to grow stronger and prosper but his real strength comes from the love he has for his wife and family. 

The imagery this writer uses is vivid and his use of precise historical detail makes the fantasy weaving more believable. For me, however, the war journal entries made it difficult for me to follow the main story plot.  Does Viktor survive? You'll need to read the book to find out.

It was difficult for me to think of this person, obviously able to reason, make good decisions, fall in love and move up in the ranks of a military, as being a creation formed from the organs of cadavers.  For those unfamiliar with the older Frankenstein tales, it would be much easier to follow since there would be no mental comparisons going on as the story progresses.  

If you enjoy stories filled with historical detail, would like a new spin on an old creature or never tire of the ongoing struggle between good and evil within all of us, this book is for you!  It is well written and the introduction of Mary Shelley added a touch of validation to the rest of the story as well as held my interest. 

I give this book five campfires.

ISBN:         13:  978-0-9798081-3-5
ISBN:         10:  0-9798081-3-8

Dianna Doles Petry is a freelance writer residing in West Virginia, USA.  Her work has been included in Kudzu Monthly Magazine, Woman's World Weekly, Gambit, Blue Mountain Thunder and Storytime Tapestry as well as various web sites.  She is the author of "Memories, Stories of real life in the mountains."  Her writing affiliations include the West Virginia Writers and the West Virginia Poetry Society.

www.myspace.com/diannawv