Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

At such times, Carlota, despite loving her father beyond all words, felt her heart twist with bitterness because the way he gazed at the portrait and that other way his eyes seemed to skim over her told her clearly in his heart his dead wife and child reigned supreme. She was a poor substitute. 

I was excited to pick this up because as a youngin' in 1996 I saw the movie The Island of Dr. Moreau (I saw another review mention this movie and called it a “cringe fest”, lol) and the impression it made on me! I haven't seen that movie in decades and I can still remember scenes from it. So, good or bad, I had a foot in this world already and was ready to see the story told from the Dr.'s daughter. I did feel a twinge of disappointment when I saw the daughter Carlota was going to be sharing top billing with Montgomery, this is told in dueling pov chapters. 

Not going to lie, the first 20% of this was rough for me, very tough to get into as we're just dropped into the world that is already in motion and with all the characters thrown at you, it's tough to gain a foothold. The good part, I was already familiar with the world, so I had an idea of what was happening. Montgomery is an alcoholic Englishman who drinks because he feels like he failed his sister when she married an abuser and is separated from his wife (he composes letters to her in his mind). He double dips in the vices and is also in debt from gambling to a Lizadle. Lizadle sets him up to work with Dr. Moreau. This is set in Yaxaktun (Yucatan) and when Montgomery arrives he's introduced to what Dr. Moreau is doing, experimenting with human and animal DNA to create, what he calls, hybrids. 

Montgomery is drunk and desperate enough to stay and he's also a little drawn to Dr. Moreau's daughter, Carlota. There was a slight underlining ick factor as Carlota is only 14 at this time and Montgomery is 29. But then Part 2 jumps us six years. Set in this location and time period, late 1800s, the author adds in the secondary storyline of the Maya trying to fight for independence from the Mexican people. Lizadle is funding Dr. Moreau so that the hybrids he creates can be used for forced labor. Readers know that Dr. Moreau is trying to create the “perfect” human because of his grief over losing his wife and baby daughter to illness. 

When Lizadle's son makes a surprise visit to the their little “sanctuary” and falls for Carlota, things start to unravel. Montgomery seems to have some jealousy he is trying to cloak as protecting Carlota, Carlota seems to genuinely like the son but also is trying to be a dutiful daughter and listen to her father over how important it is to marry the son so that she can secure the sanctuary's funding for the foreseeable future. 

While I had a firm footing in the world because of previous knowledge and I think that helped with this story's more chaotic beginning, it also hurt how I'm not sure anything new was done here. The change of location and adding in Juan Cumux and the Maya's fight for freedom inspiring and nudging two of Dr. Moreau's most prominent hybrids, Lupe and Cachito, was too much to the side. The theme of colonization was strong here but I think the wildness of what Dr. Moreau was doing took the spotlight and so I felt left with secondary characters that felt like they didn't reach their full potential. 

At 70% and Part 3 is when a secret about Carlota is revealed and again, since I knew the story, I already knew the secret. I think already knowing the story tampered some horror feelings, shock, and awe that this story can deliver. The end moves at a clip that after the slower middle felt a little uneven but delivers a satisfactory ending. 

I would call this science fiction with romance notes but don't read this for those romance notes because it has a, very slight, Lolita twinge. I came for the daughter's story and I'm not sure I got as much Carlota as I wanted, she was still, mostly, Dr. Moreau's creation, and half the story was told from Montgomery's perspective. I didn't get anything new in this inspiration but newcomers to the story would have a different reaction.

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