The Daughter of Doctor Moreau — Silvia Moren-Garcia
Paperback | Del Rey Books | April 11, 2023
The Gist
The daughter of a morally grey scientist seizes comes of age and despite the efforts of the patriarchy beats to her own drum.
Read If You Like
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Science fiction
Retellings
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
The Verdict: Borrow It
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a retelling of H.G. Wells’s classic. The story is set on the Yucatán peninsula and is told from two points of view. The first is Carlotta, the doctor’s kind-hearted, but fiercely independent daughter and Montgomery, the doctor’s head groundskeeper (for lack of a better title) who has an affinity for alcohol and gambling. Though war and rebellion is raging across the Yucatán, Carlotta, Montgomery, the doctor, and the hybrids (genetically mutated creatures) live a quiet and simple life away from the conflict. But this changes when Eduardo Livale—the son of Dr. Moreau’s benefactor—shows up and becomes smitten with Carlotta. Seeing an opportunity to buy himself more time, the doctor pushes Carlotta to secure a match with Eduardo and this puts her at odds with the life she wants in the Yucatán and the unspoken feelings between her and Montgomery. The plot is often slow building toward critical twists. But once the “ultimate truth” comes to light the time between the revelation and climatic fight is rushed. Giving Montgomery a plot line of his own would’ve helped with this pacing, make it feel like his decisions are carrying the plot as much as Carlotta’s actions are, and make the book’s ending hold more weight. With all that said, Moreno-Garcia’s writing is as sharp as ever and in The Daughter of Doctor Moreau she had given us another heroine you’re rooting for.
