Book Five: The Dead Town, Frankenstein

This story dragged on way too long; it should have been over in New Orleans at the dump. The last 4 books never rivaled the very first and even though I was hooked, it never really deliverd the goods. Way too much detail about every time a builder took a new victim, bored with that part beyond all sense of reasoning. I guess I was hoping in some way the author would salvage the series with his finale, but it never really reached any kind of climactic peak. Hope the next sory he does is better.

"Yuck. Blech. Gaaaah. Gaaaah. Kack. Feh. Fah. Foo!" as Jocko might say. I am sad to say that this excellent series ended not with a bang but with a whimper. "Frankenstein: the dead town" was the fifth in Dean Koontz' seqela to SHelley's classic Frankenstein. The first four novels in the series were among the best things that DK has written in years. Full of good ideas, a driving plot, some very notable and immensely likable characters including Jocko the ex-tumor, Victor F.'s fifth clone wife, Erika 5, Carson and Michael, a pair of (now married with child) wise-cracking ex-partner cops turned PIs and Mr. Lyss and Nummy, a sleazoid cum hero and the mentally handicapped young man who hooks up with him to the betterment of both.

All of these elements, plus Deucalion himself and the clone of Victor are here, and the plan is still the same: total annihilation of all life on earth. But somehow the well has run dry. Victor's plot seems rather silly in the end, and the ease with which he is finally dispatched is reminiscent of the disappointing ends of Flagg and the Crimson King in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Michael and Carson have relative few lines (but in them the banter is still great), and mostly everyone plays a rather small role in the end and it is not clear that for all of their heroic behavior, their actions have much to do with the final victory over Victor and his lesion of builders and replicants.

All-in-all, Frankenstein: the dead town was a rather weak and disappointing end to a series that began with so much promise. However, anyone who has read the first four will certainly not want to miss it, and it is recommended only for them. For everyone else, I think Jocko said it best. 3 stars for the great characters.

JMT

How many of Koontz' readers of Frankenstein have caught the twist of what Deucalion turned out to be. He foreshadowed it brilliantly. In the original work by Shelley, brilliantly appropriated and twisted by Koontz, when the creature came alive on the lightening it seems that he was animated by an angelic being. The is the basis of the pulsing light in his eyes, that is the basis of his strange powers and understanding of the quantum nature of reality. This is, of course, only my opinion, but tell me, how else to you explain the reveals at the climax of the last book.And then there is the way Deucalion makes his final exit and the way he destroys Victor. This is a brilliant twist by Koontz and very satisfying.

Tell me all you reviewers of this work, how am I wrong?

I really enjoyed "Dead Town". Having read Mary Shelley's original and the continuation by Mr. Koontz, I thought that Deucalion conformed more faithfully to Shelley's narrative than most of the movies did. He managed to meld a police procedural (with Carson, Michael and the two FBI agents, Frost and Dagget) with Shelley's characterizations and threw in elements of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" just for variety.
The best moments in the book weren't all the big ones, like the final confrontation between the Builders and the Riders In The Sky. The small moments, like Jocko forming a conga line with evacuee children from RainBow Falls, and the growing bond between Nummy O'Bannon and Conway Lyss were the most enjoyable ones. Mr. Lyss struck me as a person who, having discovered a capacity for altruism in himself, was afraid that admitting it would louse up his image. I also liked seeing Erika Five find romance with a man who was truly destined to appreciate her, Addison Hawk. Addison was introduced in the previous book and seemed, at least to me, to be a very enigmatic character. He was more fully developed in this story.
My biggest quibble with the book was that Mr. Lyss and Nummy, along with the quartet made up of Sully, Bryce, Travis and Grace, seemed to be the only ones in town to know that the Builders and their cocoons could be destroyed with fire. I would have liked to see other townspeople learning about the capacity from one of them .
Like I said, I'm kind of sorry the series is over. I would love to see Mr. Koontz write an epilogue, set maybe 5 years after, to show what happened to his main surviving characters.

I wouldn't say this was a total disappointment, but I did feel let down. The new Victor in book 4 was very predictable, even through book 5. I didn't mind how long the book was, at times, while at other times I was frustrated not knowing why it was taking so long to end the story.

Nummy and Jocko made me laugh; Addison Hawk was enough to be "neat" but not enough to care about if he was chewed up by builders. I might laugh if that happened to him. Sully was awesome. Wouldn't mind reading the back story of him and his "Crazy Bastards." I kinda wanted Bryce Walker to bite the bullet so he'd stop bellyaching about his dead wife. I got it. He loved her. Can't live without her. She died from cancer...yada yada yada.

In the end, I'm glad I read it. It was nice to see Brother Knuckles and the others from St. Batholomew's Abbey again. Even though it was a bit longer and complicated than I think it should have been, it brought closure to the Frankenstein series.

Have you ever wondered what happened to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? (And, yes, I know that Frankenstein created the monster.) You probably have not given him much thought. But Frankenstein has inspired novels, movies, and television shows. In this novel by Dean Koontz he appears as Victor Immaculate, and he's up to no good.

Victor wants to destroy all of mankind because he despises all of mankind. He designs a devious plot that includes Builders which are composed of rotting human flesh. They consume anyone (and anything)around as they transform into a swarming vicious mass after first appearing to be stunningly beautiful people. Victor's evil forces also include Communitarians that are programmed to wreak havoc and mass murder. They take on the form of people that they kill.

Koontz populates the book with a fascinating set of characters, including Jocko, an ex-tumor (?) who favors caps with bells; a resourceful man and wife detective team; a profane old man who's a lot better than he seems; and Deucalion, a "good monster." (At least that's how I described him in a Kindle note.)

I found it all captivating, once I suspended scores of disbeliefs. As always, Koontz's prose is flawless.

Why did the first two Frankenstein books have guest authors and those books were awesome? Then why did the next three get written soley by Koontz and totally suck?
I'd given up on Koontz years ago. My dad continues to buy them although he says only one out of six books are any good. I prefer not to waste time on those odds.

Frankenstein book #1 was just something I picked up by accident and got hooked. The New Orleans setting and back story kept a sinister cloud over the books. The second book wasn't bad either. The third book should have been when I once again abandoned Koontz and not worried about the next two books.
Book 4 & 5 are disasters. Dr. Frankenstein isn't the same as the first three books and isn't very important and not mentioned very often. The two cops from the first two books somehow get involved from San Fran to some small town in Montana and the town is full of characters I didn't bother trying to get to know their names or back stories. Even the new 'monsters' weren't the same, in fact, there were different kinds of monsters that he somehow was able to mass produce in about a year or two since New Orleans that admittedly weren't very strong or obedient.

Supposedly this was the ending of this series, but even if not, I don't care to read anymore of his worthless novels.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK (THE ENTIRE SERIES) TO ANYONE WHO LIKES KOONTZ. IT HAS THE HUMOR AND PERSONALITY YOU HAVE COME TO EXPECT AND IF YOU GET IT IN AUDIO YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT BECAUSE THE NARRATOR IS TERRIFIC!

I love Dean Koontz's depiction of the classic Frankenstein tale. So, since reading Lost Souls I have anxiously been waiting for the next installment.

The Dead Town was an enjoyable book. Koontz has a way of bringing characters to life that keeps me coming back. Carson and Michael are as quick-witted as ever. Erika and Jocko are still amusing in their oddities. Deucalion shines in this novel. And Victor Immaculate, who was barely glimpsed before, shows the mindset of absolute domination and total arrogance that defines him. A lot of side characters had plenty of action, which has good and bad points.

It did get repetitive, however. The Builders are interesting, but it seemed to go over the same scenes with them over and over. The ending was not as dramatic as I hoped, but it was a long way from disappointing.

Overall, I liked the book. If you liked Lost Souls, you will probably enjoy The Dead Town.

This is my favorite series from my favorite author, even better than Odd Thomas (for me, that is). The main characters are highly entertaining and likable and each book of the series snaps, keeps you on the edge of your seat. Best of all, Koontz's stories always have a deep moral center, are full of hope and express that love, courage and faith are essential to a fulfilled life.

I started this series years ago and loved the first 2 books. I thought it was a great take on the Frankenstein story. To say the 3rd book was a disappointment would be an understatement. I had hopes the final 2 books would improve things. They didn't.

I thought this Victor and his creations were much less interesting than the ones in the New Orleans setting. I kept thinking that it was going to come together and it never did. There were a lot of little sub plots that really didn't have anything to add to the story and seemed to be used as filler. The big showdown between Deucalion and Victor was more of a big letdown.

It could have been so much more.

Books 1 thru 3 of the Frankenstein series were very good but he certainly should have quit while he was ahead. Book 4 was slow and repetitive and unknown to the book buyers you had to buy book 5 in order to get the ending - book 4 just kinda leaves you hanging out there. Neither 4 - Lost Souls or Book 5 Dead Town are very good - they seem to be copied from some of his older stuff.Cheap shot Koontz

The last book in a Frankenstein series we follow Deucalion in his pursuit of his maker Victor Frankenstien. Victor is an evil man whose main goal is to eradicate the human race. Deucalion gets assistance from his human friends who assist him in an effort to save humanity, but not without much sacrifice, death and danger. I would recommend you start with the first book of The Frankenstein series; The Prodigal Son, as well as the others, before reading The Dead Town. You won't be disappointed.

I agree with the previous reviews about "this is it?" I found this book VERY hard to get through (the first 4 I flew through!)... I felt like the majority of the book was just a recap (basically) of what was already covered in the first 4 books. I think if you didn't read the series and read this you would still be able to follow what is going on. I have to say I was definitely disappointed in this one. I loved the series from the start... but I think this was just a rush to get something out there. I wasn't impressed with all with the ending and I felt... empty and unsatisfied after finishing it. If you are looking at this book as the last book to read in the series, I would recommend going to a spoiler site and find out what happens. I felt like I wasted my time with this one. If you are a first time for this series, I'm sure you'll like it. Just too much repetitiveness for me to really like that much.....

The first two books in this series were nothing short of fantastic, three and four left a little to be desired and the last book was a come back of sorts only lacking a compelling ending to finish it off. The "war of the worlds" type of ending where you had "builders" that were impossible to stop and everything looked bad for mankind turns out all you had to do was kill, the all to easily killed, Victor and everyone else would just die an easy death. Cope out of an ending that smacks of a deadline that had to be met. Koontz has written many great books and i think every author has only so many great books in them, are you listening Stephen King? Has the end come for Koontz? Who knows, but with all the money he now has and 60 or so books out it may very well be a lack of desire to write anymore. Notice how many authors use a "co-writer" that is a total joke and just a way to make money for the publisher and the author by using his famous name. Should not be allowed.