Daughter of Doctor Moreau

Silvia Moreno-Garcia re-imagines the story of H.G. Wells' Island of Doctor Moreau in the Yucatán peninsula and told from the perspective of his daughter. I honestly think Wells' original book is a clunky piece of fiction, so it was nice to see Moreno-Garcia craft a more appropriately complicated and well-written tale around the bold idea of a doctor who creates human-animal hybrids. I ended up like this book quite a bit, and I especially liked how Moreno-Garcia weaved in events like Mayan uprisings and political rivalries between Mexico and Great Britain as a backdrop and story points for this retelling of the classic tale.

I loved the Yucatan setting and the core mystery of this novel. The main concept is adapted from an old SF book featuring the same Doctor, but I appreciate how it was transplanted into this setting with the political undercurrent of the late 1800's. Most of the supporting cast are quite spunky and really stood out. Unfortunately I do feel like the two main characters don't have much of a relationship; they also tend to be a little one-note and frustrating.

The audiobook narration was also quite high quality particularly in the use of Mexican, French, and English accents. The narrator (Gisela Chípe) really brought the characters to life with craft and energy.