In the spirit of things, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and ride through the scary corn maze built from frightening literature in stead of corn stalks.

However, I thought I’d modern things up a bit. Read more current authors in addition to ones such as Poe and Shelley.

Perfect for the occasion then is Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein series:

The first thing I noticed is that these stories are not a reimagining or an adaptation.

Koontz has taken Mary Shelley’s major characters and come up with the premise that they both survived the ice, each thinking the other perished. Traveling through the centuries, the man and his monster seek to find, and fulfill a destiny they feel has kept them going.

In an interesting twist, time has allowed to creature to come as close to humanness as is possible. He calls himself Deucalion, son of Prometheus, a connection easily made as Shelley’s book was subtitled, The Modern Prometheus.

He has sought, and for a time, found peace. He also seeks to redeem himself and his past acts of violence.

If Deucalion was the storied creation of Victor Frankenstein, then during the past two centuries, while the human doctor had become a monster, the monster had become the human.

Upon discovering that Victor has survived, he immediately knows that humanity is facing an unimaginable danger. Victor Frankenstein, now Victor Helios, is creating “New Race”, an improved version of man whose only purpose is to eliminate the “Old Race” and then conquer the universe.

“Shame,” he told Patrick, “isn’t a virtue. It’s a weakness. No Natural Law requires it. We rule nature . . . and transcend it.”

What I like most about Koontz is his ability in creating and developing characters. In every book I’ve read, he’s never failed to have me empathizing and caring for his main characters.

The detractions for me are some that may be minor to others. In the digital editions I read, there were italicized words. They were abundant. I felt as if I was being told by the author how to “hear” the narrative, which I didn’t like. It came across as a bit condescending.

However, that aspect wasn’t too hard to get over and ignore. Eventually.

Also each book ended as a cliffhanger, yet the transition into the next book wasn’t flawless. It seemed that in anticipation of some people not reading the books in order, a recap was given in the beginning chapters.

Not that it was poorly executed, but if you’re reading one book after another like I did, it didn’t feel a smooth as it could have.

I loved, loved, loved this series. But I must admit, I haven’t come across a Koontz book I haven’t liked.

If you are looking for a good horror story with a different spin, then this is the series for you. Those that love Koontz will not be disappointed, and for those who’ve never read him, these are a great introduction. Perhaps not as good as his Odd Thomas trilogy, but pretty damn close.

Highly, highly recommended!

P.S. to the FTC — All of these were library books

Dracula Is Dead

FTC Disclosure: Book provided by publisher

This book is not what you think. In fact, it really should be pointed out what the full title is:

Dracula Is Dead: How Romanians Survived Communism, Ended It, and Emerged since 1989 as the New Italy.

Damn, that’s a mouthful. But a more accurate description as to what this book is all about.

There are many things Romania is known for, yet the most enduring is Vlad Tepes, otherwise knows as Vlad III – the man who inspired Romania’s most famous character: Dracula. (If you are wondering about other notable Romanians let’s not forget Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci, tennis player Ilie Nastase, or Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel)

But this amazing country has so much more to its history and culture. And this book describes the struggles to overcome this association while on its way to becoming the modern and culturally rich country it is today.

It’s unlikely Romania’s past issues and connection to Dracula will ever be forgotten. In many ways, it shouldn’t. As it is said, “Those that forget history are doomed to repeat it.” Considering what Romania has been through, this is a sentiment I hope is not only taken to heart, but never comes to pass.

Sheilah Kast and her husband Jim Rosapepe have a unique and knowledgeable perspective of the country. Jim was an ambassador to for three years. As they note, “We traveled all over Romania. Jim visited all forty counties, most of them more than once, and Sheilah went to some spots that Jim did not. We saw more of Romania and of Romanians – from the mines to the software labs, from the monasteries to the hospitals – than most foreigners and even many Romanians have.”

This book is more than a travel diary. It gives the reader a clearer perspective of a country that has many assumptions made of it, and how few of these are accurate.

In terms of detractions, there aren’t many.

The most irksome was the point-of-view technique used by the authors – as in plural, there are two. This is most evident when seeing “us” and “we” in the text. But whenever one party is relating something about the other or about something the other did, they use their names, as if talking about themselves in the third person.

If it’d been me, I would’ve changed the “we” and “us” into the third person plural to smooth out the transitions. Since they didn’t, I was initially confused about who was recounting their experiences. Afterward, I simply had to make a mental adjustment and not let it bother me.

However, one reader’s nitpicking may mean nothing to another. So take this observation accordingly. For me, it was something that wasn’t so detrimental that I couldn’t finish the book. It was  just an annoyance that popped up from time to time.

In terms of recommending Dracula Is Dead? 

If you are not much of a non-fiction reader, or a history buff, this may not be the book for you. But to those who are intrigued by modern history, political turmoil and change, the birth of a new democracy, and in increasing one’s knowledge of the world around them, I do recommend it.

I didn’t know much about Romania and am glad I was introduced to it through these two authors. I am intrigued and would consider traveling there if I ever had the means. I would love to see first hand this remarkable country.

  First published 1963

One of the better quotes from this book is actually its dedication:

To Vik Lovell who told me dragons did not exist, then led me to their lairs

We have been told throughout childhood and beyond there are no such things as monsters and demons. But ask anyone who has found themselves on the outside of society’s definition of “normal”, and you will find a fearful world where they really do exist, but not always in the guise of evil wishing to do us harm.

To maintain a healthy community of individuals, society demands that we rarely act like one, and only in a manner that still must conform to some type of moral and ethical standard.

Those finding themselves outside those boundaries are often “judged”, or in this case diagnosed, as needing psychiatric help.

Truly, who gets to define sanity? Where does rationality and irrationality begin and end?

Not to long into this read, you will be asking yourself just that.

Are the patients in this story the truly irrational ones?

Kesey wrote of what he knew. He once worked as a night attendant in a psychiatric ward. This experience led to the writing of this book.

Demons do exist. Those we imagine, and those that we struggle against when trying to maintain that sense of normalcy which is expected of us. Some demons come in the form of those who try to help us, telling us that electric shock treatments, drugs, and even lobotomies are the only way to help us be free of what ails us.

But what if it is all a form of control, a way to keep us all in line - - to keep the status quo?

As Nurse Ratched notes:

A good many of you are in here because you could not adjust to the rules of society . . . because you refused to face up to them, because you tried to circumvent them and avoid them.

The men in this novel face such a challenge. Emasculated emotionally and psychologically by their experiences with society, they commit themselves to the one place they thought they would be safe, and hopefully cured. This haven eventually becomes their prison. They become so controlled, so institutionalized, they willingly give up their freedom for this sense of safety.

Emasculation is a strong term, and I am not saying this book is misogynist in nature, but men adversely affected by domineering women is a strong theme throughout and helps in understanding what the characters have experienced and their difficulty in standing up for themselves against Nurse Ratched.

Along comes a man to show them that there is a potential for them to do so. Randle Patrick McMurphy:

. . . boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, [he] rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Nurse Ratched.

But this defiance does not go unanswered. It is frightening knowing about the truth which lies behind the story Kesey tells. To anyone who has seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about. Having never seen the film, this book and its ending was more powerful than I can relate.

The strongest impression I am left with is one I have made note of on my white board. Even when he knows he will fail, McMurphy still tries in order to show the others that one’s will can never be broken — only given away.

This book has been challenged many times due to strong language and discussions of sexuality. However, I cannot find that any of what I read was obscene in any form or fashion.

In fact, I would make this a must read on many, of not all High School curricula.

If like me, you have never seen the movie, I urge you to read the book first. If you have seen it, and never read the novel – please do.

This will be one of those books that will have a permanent place in my personal library. I don’t know if I can give it a higher recommendation than that.