Confessions of the Creature

The Struggle Within

Date of Review:  February 5, 2008
Dark Fantasy:   Multi-format E-book, Softcover
(coming soon)


Imagine being alone in the world with no family or friends, a strong inner drive to survive and the constant threat of being killed just because you are different.  Imagine having to hide your past as if you are a murderer on the run, of being repulsive to other human beings, of having the same needs and desires of any living being and yet, have no way of fulfilling those needs and desires.  If you can imagine these things, you can identify with Viktor, the creature that Dr. Frankenstein brought to life as no more than a lab experiment.

Synopsis: 

Viktor, in seeking revenge for his loneliness and isolation, kills Frankenstein's bride on their wedding night.  He flees and Dr. Frankenstein follows him.  Eventually, Viktor witnesses Frankenstein's death and ends up in a world of strangers where he has to learn how to adapt and survive or face extinction.

Like most humans, Viktor meets people who treat him with less respect than a dog would expect.  He fears those who would take pleasure in bringing him down so far he would never be able to get up. Luckily, he comes across Agrafina, an old Russian woman he begins to know as "Grandmother."  She sees the good inside of him and in the end, helps him to be seen that way by most people born to life instead of being created into it.

Viktor finds love and protects it with his very life.  He kills, but only to protect those he cares about and endear himself to those who place trust in him.  He learns from his own mistakes and the mistakes made by others.  His passions run hot and his strength is beyond belief.

Impression: 

By the time you get to the final chapter of this well-written book, Viktor will have earned a place in your thoughts and probably even a spot in your heart.  He faces the burden of being a man who never knows when his last breath will come, who wants to love and be loved, who wants the best for those he cares about.  He faces trials and tribulations that lesser men run away from and he does it willingly.  He may have the body of a constructed beast but his heart is pure and dedicated.  Few mortal men have the touch of humanity that Viktor develops as he lives his life.

Mr. Inbinder adds just enough historical detail to the book to keep it interesting and believable while weaving just enough fantasy to make the reader, in this case me, look into his own heart and redefine his priorities.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure, romantic interludes presented with taste, and a desire to know that heroes can be found in the most unlikely sources.

I give this book seven campfires.


RATING:  7 Campfires

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Citations:

Link to Powells, Cover art from Soft Cover

Author / editors / anthologists:

Gary Inbinder

Title & length: 

Confessions of the Creature
329 Pages
 

Publishing House & date:

Drollerie Press
South Euclid, OH
( www.DrolleriePress.com )

ISBN & LCCC :

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

Comparable publications:

N/A

Targeted readership:

Mature audiences who enjoy historic details mixed with romance and fantasy.

5 Flames for sexual content.

Author's credentials:

Photo author Gary Inbinder

( courtesy of Drollier Press)

Gary Inbinder is an attorney who recently left the practice of law to write full-time. Gary holds a J.D. from the University of La Verne (California) where he received an American Jurisprudence Award for Legal Writing, and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Illinois, Chicago. His fiction, articles and essays have appeared in Bewildering Stories, The Copperfield Review, Humanitas, Praesidium, Quodlibet and Touchstone Magazine. He is a member of the Bewildering Stories Editorial Review Board.  An interview with Gary is available here.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and European art, music, literature, politics and philosophy of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries provided background for his first novel, Confessions of the Creature. Gary also finds inspiration in myths, legends and a furtive Muse who shares his taste for good scotch and fine old cognac.

Reviewer & reviewer credentials:

Chris Petry is a Senior in high school who has performed in two stage productions, "The Tempest" and "Pippin."   He completed a course of study with the International Model and Talent Agency based in Akron, Ohio, and placed in two competitions at the Los Angeles IMTA convention in early 2006.  He plans to attend the LA Film  School in the fall of 2008 and pursue a career in film production.

 
Chris Petry
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