Nice concept for what could be a continuation to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Very interesting and entertaining.

Love his writing!

This book is one of a series of five taking place in the 21st Century. Both Dr. Frankenstein and his creation have survived approximately 300 years on Earth. The monster has taken the name Deucalion (pronounced Do-Kay-Lee-On) the first human created by Prometheus.

Dr. Frankenstein has renamed himself Dr. Victor Helios and is continuing his experiments. This includes using Jack the Ripper style murder and mayhem while Deucalion is out to stop him. The author originally intended the series for TV but in typical Hollywood fashion, his creation was turned against him to the point that Martin Scorsese even ran away from the project.

The author also tips his hat to Bram Stoker's Dracula by using the names of a couple of Stoker's characters.

5 Stars for Prodigal Son: Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein, Book 1 (audiobook) by Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson read by Scott Brick.

This is a wonderful modern take on a classic. I’m so happy that I found this series right before Halloween. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. And Scott Brick does such a great job with the narration.

Okay, I'm intrigued. An interesting take on an old legend which breathes new life (lol) into a familiar character and sets it in the exotic land of... New Orleans.

Can't say that it's the greatest Frankenstein book, but it is definitely interesting. It's got a bit of that formulaic, grinding through a detective story to figure out whodunnit, but it leaves you wanting more. For a book introducing this new version of Frankenstein's monster, it sure doesn't feature Frankenstein's monster very much. It's as if Koontz decided that there is too much other story within this book to be told to waste time telling you about the subject of the series!
The other story sometimes gets in the way of what you really want to know, but I didn't hate it for that. I did wonder, at times, why in the world I'm supposed to care about these other characters when I'm here for Frankenstein's monster, but since this is the beginning of a series I suppose I can give Koontz some wiggle room to flesh out this character (lol, again).

The next book had better come alive right at the start though.

I found this at a used book store for a quarter, and I've liked a number of Koontz's early works like "Lightning." But the idea that Frankenstein and his monster are still alive in the present day is not new. The idea of wiping out the entire human race and replacing it with a "New Race" of monsters has potential (on many levels) but it's mostly blood and gore. And ultimately what we get is very large print and lots of half-empty pages (Patterson-style) which is irritating: someone came up with the idea of stretching this viable single work into three novels for $$$. This is Koontz at his weakest and I can't tell if Koontz assigned the writing of this book to the listed co-writer, or if the co-writer presented the idea to Koontz. Either way, Koontz is offering a new author a chance to enter the publishing game, so I must give Koontz and extra star, for my two-star rating.

`The Prodigal Son`is Dean Koontz`s modern tale of the well known classic; Frankenstein. I wasn`t sure whether I would like this, as remakes often aren`t that good, but decided to give it a try as I like Dean Koontz`s writing.

`The Prodigal Son`is a modern tale of Frankenstein set in modern day New Orleans in the USA. I really liked this book because he totally re-invented the story of Frankenstien in a way that made it work for modern readers. I was glad that the giant-monster-bolts-in-the-throat type of Frankenstein wasn`t potrayed in the book, but rather a more charismatic type of character. The story starts off in modern day New Orleans where Victor Helios (formally Victor Frankenstein) is producing a `New Race`of people, that will terminate the so-called Òld Race`& all of the chaos that comes with it, thereby creating a pefect world where there is no god & science is all that matters. Victor is 200 years old & is secretly planning this operation in New Orleans. His original creation (called Deucalion in this book; after a mythological being) comes to the city upon learning that the scientist is still alive. Prior to this he thought that he was dead.

Once again Dean Koontz writes wonderfully in this book. One thing I really liked about this book is that he doesn`t just re-write a classic, but re-invents it. After 200 years, the once man; Victor Frankenstein has become a monster, going to horrific lengths in order to create the perfect race, & with it have unimaginable power. Deucalion on the other hand, has developed over the 200 years, from a monster to a human being, who has over the long period of time started to develop a soul, & with it a greater understanding of the world & all it`s mysteries. A realy enjoyable read, & I will be looking forward to reading the next installment of the series.

This was a great book that really embraced Frankenstein Lore and created something fun, new and exciting. Change of settings and a modern city and characters. I thought this was going to be an amazing series as this book was fantastic and a great introduction to the monster and his past and present, and a great intro to the good old doctor. The next two books weren't as good or sharp but definitely entertaining. it took a drastic decline mid-way through 3rd book.

This series had so much potential.

REREAD 11/15/23- SO after reading Headhunter, I was still in the mood for a police procedural, mixed with some horror and thrills. So, I decided to reread this series by Dean Koontz.
This is the 1st book in a 5-book series. I think the author did a great job in bringing this Gothic Horror Classic into today's time. Basically, Mary Shelley wrote her book based on actual local legend and lore. Victor Frankenstein is real and he has not only created his OG Monster, but he also perfected his craft and has made multiple beings and also found a way to revitalize himself and make himself live for 200 years.

Flash Foward 200 years into present day New Orleans. Victor Helios ( Frankenstein) is a rich socialite that keeps his Mad Science-ing hidden. He has planted his new monsters (members of the new race) in key positions in the city.

His OG monster, Now named Deucalion ( which is a nice nod to Shelley's original novel name Modern Prometheus) comes to New Orleans upon knowing his master is still alive.

We also get two detectives who banter with each other (because they both love each other) trying to solve a serial killer case that actually ties into Helios and his secret New race.

The cliffhanger was awesome in this. Very gory ending. I also like one of the characters being names "Jonathan Harker" which is a nice nod to Dracula.

5 stars audio
4.5 stars story

I'd actually meant three and a half stars but no option.
Let me preface this by saying I'm not a big Koontz fan. To me, his bad guys are boring and one dimensional. The Surgeon in Prodigal Son was just another in a long line of blah bad guys.
However, the other characters are fleshed out nicely with the exception of Helios/Frankenstein, another cookie cutter villain (I'm so smart, I can do as I want because I'm special). The segments from his point of view I just skimmed because I know what's coming.

SPOILER ALERT. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK

There's a bit much of the sci-fi that seems cobbled together and cliche. People created in tanks, downloaded intelligence, talking heads and crawling hands. How does a living head immersed in fluid talk through the water and without lungs?
Other reviews say Koontz both modernized and refined the Frankenstein story. We go from the original ruined castle laboratory to a complete hospital complex staffed by clones. The hospital complex is located in the middle of a major city but no one seems to notice anything funny going on? They bricked up all the windows in a hospital in my town and everyone just thought they were going to convert it to a Costco so I guess it could happen.

Still, its a good story, well-paced with good dialog. I'll continue with the series but expect at some point I will have reached the limit of suspending my disbelief in the name of entertainment.

Having never read a Dean Koontz novel and intrigued by the C.S. Lewis quote at the beginning of this book (I'm a huge Lewis fan), I picked this up, thinking that maybe this would be a good first exposure to Koontz's writing.

It wasn't. If I had to describe it in one word, the word I'd pick would be "ridiculous." The word fits every character, scenario and action in the entire book.

We have Frankenstein's monster who, apparently, found God and joined a monastery. We have Dr. Frankenstein himself, under a cool new nickname, who has discovered the secret to immortality and thus has descended into a nihilistic wonderland. We have a fabulous serial killer who has also discovered the secret to immortality (through daily vitamins, shampooing and exercise!) and serves no purpose in the story whatsoever except as a horror gimmick and a posthumous deus ex machina.

Then we have the protagonist, an anime-perfect heroine with bigger balls than any of the men in the book and no personality whatsoever. Along with Ms. Ballbuster is her namby-pamby detective partner.

Together, this wacky cast and others merge together to create a heaping, steaming ball of uselessness.

The characters have no personality at all (for a couple of them, that's even a part of their character!). There are scenes where you can't even tell who's talking. The "big twist" at the end that sets up the rest of this story can be seen a hundred miles away. The people act ridiculous and talk ridiculous. The story, though having a decent concept, goes nowhere at all. Finally, the portrayal of autism in this book is so laughably inaccurate and stereotypical that it almost comes off as insensitive.

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein is the literary equivalent to a horrible Hollywood remake of a remarkable classic film. I didn't bother to finish this series; instead I picked up his Odd Thomas series, which is far superior to this trash.

I checked this book out from the local library at the request of a friend. I suspect she hasn't read it, and I cannot in good conscience recommend that she does. I tend to stay away from horror movies and books because they seem almost universally uninspired, and Prodigal Son is no exception.

I walked into this knowing that it was a reimagining of a literary classic, but even for a take-off on an old, established story, the plot is bland and trite. Depending on the chapter, it alternately reads like a poor-quality buddy cop drama and a poor-quality slasher flick.

The characters are no better. The leads are a dedicated yet underappreciated female detective and her snarky, laid-back partner. (Naturally, there's loads of unresolved sexual tension between the two.) This is a combination that we've seen millions of times before, and it's rarely, if ever, successfully executed. Once again, it falls painfully flat here.

On the villainous side, we have a competing duo of pseudo-Nietzschean übermenschen, another cliché that's been attempted and failed countless times. Their cartoonish supervillainy wouldn't be quite so silly if they were approached with some amount of facetiousness, but this book views them with utter seriousness, and firmly insists that the reader do the same. Equally bizarre is the red-herring, a truly uninteresting pile of narcissistic, egotistical refuse. His death would come as a blessing were it not for the fact that the only available replacements as villains are the aforementioned failed supermen.

Supporting characters fare about as well. The vast majority of them are one-dimensional. Very few of them seem remotely interesting, and I feel that if this story had belonged to one of them, it would have been markedly more interesting. Alas, the development that we do see is laughably short, and once it occurs, the characters are quickly dropped.

Being a fan of Terry Pratchett, I've become accustomed to reading without specifically delineated chapters. At first I welcomed the reversion to the norm offered by Prodigal Son, as it provided me with numerous convenient stopping points. Unfortunately, I soon realized that this these small bites were little more than literary junk food: unhealthy, unfulfilling, and ultimately leaving the reader worse for the experience.