When it comes to movie sequels, often times a totally different cast and crew work on the sequels than who did the original movie. It's really obvious in movies where the original got a theatrical release and the sequels went straight to video. While watching them, you can tell the difference in how things look and feel, the way the story is told, and so on because the quality just isn't there. That is how I felt after reading Frankenstein: Dead and Alive, which is book three of Dean Koontz's reboot of the Frankenstein legend. It is incredibly short and reads almost nothing like the first two books.

Dean Koontz went solo with this novel, whereas the first two books in this series had co-authors. Book one, Prodigal Son, was co-written by noted sci-fi author Kevin J. Anderson. Book two, City of Night, was co-written by crime writer Ed Gorman. The lack of help from another author is painfully obvious in this book, and it seems like Koontz wasn't trying too hard. I swear it doesn't even seem like part three of a series at all because it so much unlike the first two books. This one is like a comic book without the pictures.

It could be that Hurricane Katrina screwed up Koontz's plans for this series because it is set in New Orleans. The first two books came out before Katrina, and this book came out four years after Katrina. This book begins talking about an approaching storm, then makes no mention of it again after that. I was expecting Katrina to play a role in this, and that could have made for a very interesting setting with all the chaos of the hurricane. Instead, the book just jumps from chapter to chapter and focuses on a handful of characters. It has some interesting parts, but there really isn't much in the way of plot or character development.

Perhaps the strongest part of the book is the way it ended, but that's not something I will discuss here because I despise spoilers in reviews. The ending itself is rather lackluster, as is the rest of the book, but there are some ideas that sort of redeem the principle story of the Frankenstein monster and what it symbolizes. This book also has a troll character named Jocko, and at one point a character mentions a book on the role of trolls in literature. It was as if Koontz wanted to add a note out to the side telling people to look into the metaphor that is Frankenstein. Well, duh!

This is a rather violent book, and early on there are some chapters devoted to a couple of the monsters going on a killing spree in their neighborhood. What happened was the city's D.A. and his wife had been replaced with the doctor's clones and their programming basically went haywire. A lot of comic relief is involved in how they justify their actions like children debating mischief, but that doesn't really go anywhere.

In the end, I thought Frankenstein: Dead and Alive really suffered from a lack of focus, and it's only about half as long as it needed to be. I wouldn't be surprised if there is another book in this series, and I hope it is better developed than this one. Maybe Koontz will let someone else write it with him.

Recommended: No