Such Wicked Intent (2012)

Kenneth Oppel returned with a sequel to This Dark Endeavor with Such Wicked Intent. This book follows the same basic formula as the first: following Konrad’s death, Victor swears off of alchemy and burns the Dark Library, vowing to himself that he will abstain from all that he believes resulted in his twin’s demise. This includes leaving Elizabeth, Konrad’s betrothed, alone. Of course, we can’t have these things stay like this for forever, and all too soon Victor is presented with a doorway into the spirit world, where he finds his brother still trapped in an alternate version of their home.

Once again, Victor, Elizabeth, and Henry are working against the clock to save Konrad. This time though, it’s from a far larger threat which stems from their past – their ancestor’s past, that is. There’s no fan service with a pop in from another historical face like there was with Dr. Polidori in the first book, but instead the story this time focuses more on the idea of bringing someone back to life. Much like the first book, it riffs off of the original Frankenstein mythos, but takes it in a new direction. Rather than being obsessed with dead flesh and the re-ignition of life, Victor and company are introduced to a more Promethean kind of creation: clay.

The group finds a strange underground passage beneath the family dwelling, one that’s full of catacombs and primitive drawings on the walls. Further exploration reveals a kind of burial ground, where one large and obviously revered grave is set. In the mortal plane, everything looks normal and somewhat dull, but in the otherworldly setting, the grave pulses and gives off a sort of life. It also sprouts out black butterflies, the reasoning for which I won’t explain here since it will give away part of the ending. However, the description of all of this is basically the best part of the book – once again the subject matter is brought to life with tight and elegant prose, something I absolutely love Oppel for.

Still, things are not as simple as they seem and the process of creation, which seemed straight-forward, turns out to be working against them for there’s another presence in the otherworldly house. Deep within the house itself lies another dormant soul, one that’s looking to get out, and plans to use what Victor and his friends are using to save his brother. All in all, it quite veers away from what we all know as Frankenstein; while it still deals within the realm of alchemy and the occult, I was surprised to see this kind of…I don’t know, spiritualism come into play? But I had to keep reminding myself that this was not the Frankenstein mythos but a retelling or reconjuring of it.

Many other reviewers have called this sequel much darker than its predecessor, and that’s not without truth. Victor, Elizabeth and Henry are really dabbling with life and death in this book, and it even goes so far as to change one of their personalities. Other, darker topics are touched upon. The way the book flows had me believing that it would end in one fashion, but then I was surprised to see that it was not. Rather, it was left open for another sequel, which left me feeling a little miffed. I thought it would be a natural course of events for the book to take a closer leaning toward the mythos by introducing the Creature, but it does not (or rather it seems to for a moment, but then dashes those hopes).

The ending of the book hints more at the Victor we all know, which left me asking why this book was made at all – it seems like a detour on the way to a larger story. Hopefully Oppel can clear up the reasoning behind this bit, but all in all it’s still an enjoyable read.