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jenpaul13's review against another edition
4.0
A secluded estate houses experiments of Doctor Moreau, as well as his daughter, but their world is upended by the arrival of a young man, throwing their delicately balanced life in to chaos in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In Yaxaktun, away from prying eyes and the strife engulfing the Yucatán peninsula, Doctor Moreau has set up his life and scientific experiments with the financial patronage of Mr. Lizalde, who aims to use these experiments, hybrids as they combine human and animal genetics, to his advantage as obedient workers in the wake of political upheaval. With Doctor Moreau is his daughter, Carlota, who has led a sheltered life and encountered few people beyond those in Yaxaktun; when a young girl of 14, Montgomery Laughton arrived to take up the role of mayordomo, mostly escaping his sad and tragic past as he tends to drown his woes in alcohol. In the six years since Montgomery’s arrival, they’ve had a quiet and peaceful existence, but one day Eduardo Lizalde, the Moreau patron’s son, arrives and shifts their protected world, charming Carlota with his seemingly gentlemanly behavior and fetching appearance. Eduardo’s arrival and obsessive pursuit of Carlota ushers a series of events that drastically change the dynamics between those in Yaxaktun, making Carlota question her father and the secrets he’s long kept, especially those about her supposed illness.
Written in lush, descriptive language that easily sets an atmosphere, this reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau gradually explored rising tensions of growing unrest within Mexico that leads to a war as part of a larger story that examined humanity while depicting scientific experimentation that raised a variety of questions regarding the ethics and morality of what’s being done in the name of scientific progress. Presented in a dual perspective narrative through Carlota and Montgomery, the story overlapped slightly at the outset, and featured a fair bit of repetition, but then shifted to a more straightforward chronological sequence passing between the two characters, offering insights in to each of their characters and their thoughts regarding one another, which provided moments of levity as they provoked one another with their banter, despite their relationship generally feeling a bit too forced for the sake of more drama. Using genetic splicing to create new beings, hoping for a human-passing creature with the added abilities of the donor animal, there’s a fascinating potential presented, but with the possibility is joined by a perspective that those created beings are seen as less than human, even so far as monsters, despite the advantages they have may over a “normal” human as a result of their genetic modifications; through this, there’s a depiction of those who are “other” and how they’re treated both by those close to them as well as society at large.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In Yaxaktun, away from prying eyes and the strife engulfing the Yucatán peninsula, Doctor Moreau has set up his life and scientific experiments with the financial patronage of Mr. Lizalde, who aims to use these experiments, hybrids as they combine human and animal genetics, to his advantage as obedient workers in the wake of political upheaval. With Doctor Moreau is his daughter, Carlota, who has led a sheltered life and encountered few people beyond those in Yaxaktun; when a young girl of 14, Montgomery Laughton arrived to take up the role of mayordomo, mostly escaping his sad and tragic past as he tends to drown his woes in alcohol. In the six years since Montgomery’s arrival, they’ve had a quiet and peaceful existence, but one day Eduardo Lizalde, the Moreau patron’s son, arrives and shifts their protected world, charming Carlota with his seemingly gentlemanly behavior and fetching appearance. Eduardo’s arrival and obsessive pursuit of Carlota ushers a series of events that drastically change the dynamics between those in Yaxaktun, making Carlota question her father and the secrets he’s long kept, especially those about her supposed illness.
Written in lush, descriptive language that easily sets an atmosphere, this reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau gradually explored rising tensions of growing unrest within Mexico that leads to a war as part of a larger story that examined humanity while depicting scientific experimentation that raised a variety of questions regarding the ethics and morality of what’s being done in the name of scientific progress. Presented in a dual perspective narrative through Carlota and Montgomery, the story overlapped slightly at the outset, and featured a fair bit of repetition, but then shifted to a more straightforward chronological sequence passing between the two characters, offering insights in to each of their characters and their thoughts regarding one another, which provided moments of levity as they provoked one another with their banter, despite their relationship generally feeling a bit too forced for the sake of more drama. Using genetic splicing to create new beings, hoping for a human-passing creature with the added abilities of the donor animal, there’s a fascinating potential presented, but with the possibility is joined by a perspective that those created beings are seen as less than human, even so far as monsters, despite the advantages they have may over a “normal” human as a result of their genetic modifications; through this, there’s a depiction of those who are “other” and how they’re treated both by those close to them as well as society at large.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
creadsfantasy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
shadow1ane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
racl's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn't enjoy it as much as I did Mexican Gothic, mostly due to the will-they-won't-they relationship between a 35 year old man and the girl (now 20) that he's known since she was 14.
Knowing the resolution of thatThey DO NOT get together, but there is a near sexual encounter removes some of the uncomfortable tension for me and I imagine with more time removed, I'll like this book more.
The twist is what you expect it to be, but is still fairly impactful and the ending is satisfying.
Knowing the resolution of that
The twist is what you expect it to be, but is still fairly impactful and the ending is satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, and Slavery
adriarenee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
darthkitty23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0