The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

De: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Narrado por: Gisela Chípe

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a lavish historical drama reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.

“This is historical science fiction at its best: a dreamy reimagining of a classic story with vivid descriptions of lush jungles and feminist themes. Some light romance threads through the heavier ethical questions concerning humanity.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“The imagination of Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a thing of wonder, restless and romantic, fearless in the face of genre, embracing the polarities of storytelling—the sleek and the bizarre, wild passions and deep hatreds—with cool equanimity.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)

FINALIST FOR THE HUGO AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Time, NPR, Polygon, Tordotcom, Paste, CrimeReads, Booklist

Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is both a dazzling historical novel and a daring science fiction journey.

©2022 Silvia Moreno-Garcia (P)2022 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“The imagination of Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a thing of wonder, restless and romantic, fearless in the face of genre, embracing the polarities of storytelling— the sleek and the bizarre, wild passions and deep hatreds—with cool equanimity.”—The New York Times

“Moreno-Garcia’s previous work has spanned genres—horror in Mexican Gothic (2020), noir in Velvet Was the Night (2021)—and in this volume, she deftly combines fantasy, adventure, and even romance. A fun literary remix.”—Kirkus Reviews

"This wholly new novel paints a vivid picture that is as alluring as it is unsettling, filled with action, romance, and monsters. Readers will fall into this tale immediately, enchanted.”—Booklist (starred review)

Entertaining Story

Enjoyed listening while at work. Concept of hybrid human/animal was interesting.
Performance was good.

Falls flat

This story has a lot of potential as the idea was very interesting, it just took a long time to get to the climax and the ending felt a bit corny.

Good start, ending fell flat

I wanted this to be a more than it was. I appreciate the historical elements, but none of the characters were relatable or likable. They all felt very shallow and vapid which made it difficult to connect or care about what happened to them. The story had a fine build up and twist but otherwise, the ending fell flat (just pieced together violence, not as intriguing). I would have loved to see more elements of science fiction or science in general, like in Mexican Gothic.

Enjoyable Tale

This book took it’s time to grab my interest. When it did, it was good though it lacked the element of surprise. Her book Gos of Jade and Shadow remains my favorite of the three I have read.

Wonderful recreation of a classic

Having read many of the authors books, I was very pleased with the audible reader. She was able to create a voice that represented many different characters. We listened to this during a road trip and it was a wonderful experience. We are hoping there might be a sequel to this book.

3.5 or 4/5

I loved the narrator. She was excellent and helped the story stay interesting. I loved how she changed her voice for the different characters and her pacing was steady.
The story was ok. It was interesting, if predictable, with loveable background characters and an exciting ending. I love the author's effortless writing style and expansive creativity.
I couldn't connect to the main female character, Carlota. Her personality seemed to change sporadically and I didn't like her at some points. She was very inconsistent. She swung from bratty and spoiled to weepy and gentle to passionate and fiery. She felt like a different person off and on. The main male character, Montgomery, was more my speed, however, I don't like how he fell in love with the much younger Carlota.
This IS a good book, but I feel like Carlota could have been so much more.

Don’t judge a book by its cover

The cover is gorgeous but the story was lacking. Somewhat interesting but predictable. I liked the premise but then it meandered along.

Worth wading through first half.

Came dangerously close to throwing this book away: indeed moved the speed to 1.1X, a sure sign of listening enjoyment life support. I think author could have cut a quarter out of first half.

The language is not particularly pretty nor the story compelling. The second half picked up a good deal and descriptions of scenes popped. Narrator worked hard. I like the theme of who is a monster despite appearances, and some non black and white characters. Life is often grey. Spend your credit elsewhere.

Love the action

Amazing writing and reading for this exciting story! Loved the pace and action and the personal growth story.

Loved this Reimagining of Doctor Moreau

I recently discovered Silvia Moreno-Garcia and have loved every single one of her novels. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau has skyrocketed to be my favorite of all the novels I’ve read thus far. The setting, the story, the characters *chefs kiss*. While I’ve never read H.G. Wells’ Island of Doctor Moreau, I am familiar with the story and films. This was a wonderful and fantastical reimagining of the story.

I am also very impressed with Gisela Chile’s performance. Very rarely do I listen to a book and can tell one character from another, and this is not just from lack of focus. I have always wished that audio books could have more of a Cast to help distinguish characters and their unique personalities. This was not one of those instances. I always knew each distinct character from the other and not just based off their distinct dialects but their tones and personalities. Her pacing was spot on and I felt as though she knew this story like the back of her hand. I would happily listen to this book again or any she narrates.

If you’re a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia definitely read this book.