Ari Reviews: Pride and Prometheus – John Kessel

If you are a fan of Jane Austen and Mary Shelley I highly recommend reading the book Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel. Kessel combines the novels Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein that sparked my interest in coming across this book. I was curious to see how the two books combined would play out. Kessel uses Mary Bennett as one of the main characters. The setting of the book takes place 12 years after the story of Pride and Prejudice. Mary is the bookworm in the family who takes interest in books, fossils, and natural philosophy. When she attends a ball with her sister Kitty she will meet Victor Frankenstein who is interested in her single minded drive and intellectualism. Mary feels thrilled that Victor Frankenstein is giving her attention unlike others in her world that seem to ignore her. However, Victor Frankenstein has a hidden secret that will change Mary’s life as the two begin to fall for each other. What is Victor hiding from Mary? Will Mary seek the answers and curiosities behind Frankenstein? You will have to find out by reading the book. The mystery of the plot between the characters had me hooked and could not put this book down. Kessel did an amazing job adding different and similar themes to the two literary classics crossover. I loved how the author told the story in different perspectives with the main characters to see their points-of-views. The story had so many twists and turns, adventure, suspense, sci-fi/paranormal themes, and romance. I also enjoyed Mary being one of the main characters where as in the classic Pride and Prejudice her character is overlooked. Kessel gave her character some new qualities that made her fierce and a leading role in the plot of the story. If you like these two literary classics and science fiction books this is a must go to book to check out!