Fiction

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein - Book Three: Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz
Chapters 1 - 7

The concluding part of Koontz's trilogy finally arrived a few months back, delayed several years in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- it's set in New Orleans and Koontz felt (not wrongly) that the devastation caused by Katrina made it inappropriate to so quickly publish a novel novel about the destruction of the city by supernatural forces.

The story hits the ground running, very much Part Three of one story rather than the third book in a series. As such, at just 38 pages in it already feels like it's nearing the climax. It'll be interesting to see what Koontz has in store for the next 300+ pages. It also makes few concessions to the gap between publication of instalments -- no "Previously in Frankenstein..." to be found here. That said, the text is littered with little nuggets of information to help jog the reader's memory.

Despite the series' title bearing his name, this is the first book penned solely by Koontz -- though new editions sneakily rob his co-writers (Kevin J. Anderson on Prodigal Son, Ed Gorman on City of Night) of a credit, so one could suspect that originally-announced co-writer Gorman may still have had a hand. Alone or not, Koontz certainly has a way with words and structure that feels superior to most pulp paperback fiction authors, making Dead and Alive pleasant to read for more than just the plot.

(The series also also has an official website, which can be found here.)