this is as they say, it. a blending of the frankenstein universe with that of jack the ripper in a manner to do kim newman justice, and the morale of the frankenstein story kept intact: how does "normal " society respond to those seen as different? the karloff version was often studied as a misinterpretation of mary shelly, with it's cinematic adherence to theories of "normal vs.abnormal brains" but mr/petrucha gives succeeds in teaching us the ethical error of this thought, in tracing the origin of the creature's brain-but i won't spoil it for you!
fans of colin clive as baron frankenstein should treasure this book, which continues his portraial as a complex scientist both intriguing and controversial. the book ends in an open note, that calls for more installments, and possibly such that combine with the bride of frankenstein by elisabeth hand, also an excellent book .

Much like Nicholas Meyer's SEVEN-PERCENT SOLUTION which tried to bring Sherlock Holmes into our reality, Stefan Petrucha's THE SHADOW OF FRANKENSTEIN follows the same path and comes up with almost the same results.

It's not real, but it's as close to our world as it gets without losing what makes FRANKENSTEIN such a classic. That same obsession (and madness) found in Holmes to riddle out the clues to a mystery are also found in Frankenstein as he makes his escape from the end of THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN to London with the monster, unknowingly at first, in tow. What follows is a mix of styles and ideas that again and again will surprise fans of the Frankenstein story, but will come as no surprise to anyone who reads Holmes. It must be said that Petrucha has emulated the Doyle style to make Frankenstein the center of a mystery that finds Jack the Ripper returned from a lengthy and timely hiatus to the streets of London and back to his old tricks.

The book separates Frankenstein from his monster leading them both on paths that, for the monster, tempers his rage and tires to humanize the unearthly creature, while taking Frankenstein deeper down into madness, confronting him again and again with the darker forces of both creation and death and his power over each. There are some surprising moments in the book that show Petrucha isn't just meeting the contracted mandatory page count, but is interested in the ideas and drives behind someone like Frankenstein.

And time and again you will get caught up in those ideas and want to pursue them, but, alas, that contracted page count gets in the way and because of that book ends in a rush (and, sadly, with the final scenes being a lift from both FRANKENSTEIN and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN beat for beat), without logic and with too many unanswered questions and plot holes. Also, Jack the Ripper, while ambitious, is poorly handled, two dimensional and despite the graphic amount of blood and violence, really comes across as nothing more than comic book foil for both Frankenstein and the monster.

But, there are too many good ideas here to simply write it all off as fan fiction, or even as another calculated product roll out for the FRANKENSTEIN bottom line, but nowhere near enough thread to tie all of the parts together or enough spark to make it truly come alive.

For fans only.

I was utterly seduced by the concept of Frankenstein's monster meeting Jack the Ripper in foggy old London town, and the author seems to have been working under the same kind of enchantments. He draws a vanished London with precision and poetry, and he raises the monster and creator from the slag heap of popular culture and stereoptype to create a moving and genuinely humane portrait of these haunting archetypes imagined long ago by Mary Shelley: the man who would be god and the creature who would be man. I get a sense from Petrucha that he's working a stealth operation, in which he delivers the commercial goods--science fiction, mayhem, tightly plotted thrills--but manages to smuggle in unexpected valuables in the form of literary excellence and philosphical complications. I'm keeping an eye on this writer--he's got that long-distance runner vibe to him, and I suspect one day we will all know his name.

This excellent novel picks up where The Bride of Frankenstein left off and does so with flare. Petrucha shows such complete respect for (and knowledge of) the source material that Shadow of Frankenstein succeeds where the Universal sequels fell short. Despite its commitment to the authenticity of those classic films, the book will prove compelling and fresh to a modern audience. A highly recommended read!

There's no denying it, with the release of Dick Briefer's THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN, Universal's 75th ANIVERSERY EDDITION OF FRANKENSTEIN, and now Dark Horse's SHADOW OF FRANKSTEIN, this is a great year for monster lovers!

In this incarnation, Stefan Petrucha teams the patchwork living corpse with Jack the Ripper for some bloody escapades. Written with fast moving pros that packs a powerful punch that will keep the reader highly entertained!