Reviews: The Daemon at the Casement; Frankenstein, Part II
“Daemon” is delightful, a real achievement in tone and imagination, worthy of the source material (Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”), a rollicking, well-researched sequel with an ingenious denouement. Loved it. I am a big fan of M. Reese Kennedy’s books, all so very different from each other, but this is my favorite. Would make a great movie.
— Patrick Coyle, December 12, 2018
Kennedy picks up where Shelley’s book ended and fleshes out the story brilliantly. Originally the creature wanted a female companion. Victor Frankenstein’s breach of his promise to create one is what drove the monster on his murdering rampage and to Victor’s ultimate death. This novel is a classic love story between two societal misfits — an eight-foot sensitive murderer and an abused woman with her own physical challenges. Kennedy’s pace and plot are more suited to today’s modern novel, but in a remarkable accomplishment, the language evokes Shelley’s. In both novels, letters play an important role. I won’t give away more of the plot, but suffice it to say that there are many dramatic and even cinematic chapters in the book. This book has my highest recommendation. It is an instant modern classic!
— David D. Begley, December 13, 2018
Written in the same style as Mary Shelley, this is a masterpiece of a sequel. A must read, especially for those who love the Frankenstein story.
— Dr. Ken Letterman, February 6, 2022
A witty, subtle homage to an enduring genre. The creature becomes the most sympathetic character in the tale.
— John O’Brien, January 24, 2019
The book starts off where Shelley’s left off 200 years ago, with Frankenstein’s creature stranded in the arctic. He is agile, athletic, and wicked smart. He stows away aboard Robert Walton’s ship, takes a name (Franz P.), and returns to London. Walton’s plan to exploit Franz and become famous bears no fruit, but he willingly transitions into teaching Franz, the ablest of students. Franz is befriended by Walton’s sister, a person disabled by genetics, accident, and a lifetime of abuse. Franz is a wonderful mix of joyful explorer and sociopath.
— Michael Higgins, September 21, 2019
Reviews: The Little Life of Richie Millipede
Unlike other species, humans are too long at becoming self-sufficient. Specifically, we are interminably powerless over our own pooping. Plus the head is too big for the birthing process, it should not be so bloody and painful. We can’t even sit up on our own for six months. Not practical or profitable. The world’s best and brightest scientific minds are rounded up (and paid handsomely) to solve this problem for the BioSpore Corporation by charismatic leader Chuck Hansen. Create smaller humans–then speed up their development until they catch up. (Not a spoiler, all this is revealed early.) What follows is a wildly imaginative, drily hysterical, sad and satisfying delineation of the experiment as told though the lens of one of the scientists, Jill, and one of the resulting tiny humans, Richie Millipede. Along the way there is line dancing, games of Monopoly, track and field, birdsong, and a sublime production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in miniature. M. Reese Kennedy is a skilled satirist, blithely juxtaposing innocence and evil and allowing his reader to decide which is which. (Chuck Hansen? Charles Manson? Lots of fun guessing games in this novel.) But what makes “The Little Life of Richie Millipede” great is the human element, the acknowledgment that love is as elemental to our survival as oxygen and the lengths the main characters go to find it. I read the book in one sitting and am still walking around with it a couple days later. It made me laugh, think, and it put a lump in my throat that is still there.
— Patrick Coyle, September 4, 2017
Dear Alexander Payne:
Buy the movie rights to this book before Steven Spielberg does. Yeah, it’s that good. Mary Shelley meets Kurt Vonnnegut meets Tom Wolfe. Best picture, baby!
— David D. Begley, September 4, 2017
Reviews: The Artist in the Pines
Reader Comments from San Carlos, California, Book Club Meeting, October 14, 2014:
- I found this to be one of my favorite books — story telling at its best.
- The book and the discussion was the BEST. GREAT READ!!! I particularly enjoyed the Q&A, which provided substantial insight into how the author developed this story.
- Thanks much for sharing this delightful book. I enjoyed reading it.
- Thanks for sharing this sweet book. It is a tribute to Van Gogh and yet, at the same time, a book that affirms man’s humanity to man. M. Reese Kennedy is a sweet man for writing this uplifting story.
- It was a wonderful read and I loved it. A treasure of a book!
- I found this book to be very clever. Impressive writing style.
- When reading this book, I thought it could have been a true story.
- I particularly enjoyed that the story was written in the 1st person.
This is a beautifully written book about a widower and his son whose safe and isolated lives are interrupted when a wandering artist walks into their world. I read this book in less than a day but it has stayed with me ever since. I have recommended it to everyone I know who enjoys a great story.
— Sherrie L., December 4, 2017
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great story. The book is rich in descriptions that are a delight for the senses and a vast exploration of emotions from the gentlest of love to rage and revenge. There are laugh out loud moments, some very poignant statements, and important lessons.
–- Linda Gates, May 21, 2014
Reviews: The Plague of Dreamlessness
The Plague of Dreamlessness review — The Common Room, Winter 2013
There is a madcap sense to the novel, but as we have seen in modern times, stranger things have happened. Simply brilliant!
— David D. Begley, February 12, 2016
Three strands braid to an agreeable counterpoint. “Plague” is a tech thriller with interesting musings on dreams, music and love. “Palm Tunnels” is a delightfully weird and irreverent look at body piercings and religion. “Remembrances” vividly portrays growing up Catholic in 1960s Omaha. Kennedy captures how engaging and inspiring some family relations are and how we fail to find this with others.
— Michael Higgins, April 20, 2016