Doctor Who: Frankenstein and the Patchwork Man

Doctor Who Puffin Crossovers #7

by Jack Heath

When an unsettling folk tale leads the Ninth Doctor and Rose to a remote village in Wales, they get more than they bargained for.

A scientist has taken it upon himself to create new life – imitating Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a book that has sent shock waves around the country.

But, much like his fictional counterpart, this doctor is playing god, and with forces beyond his understanding. As the Doctor and Rose attempt to put the brakes on the experiment before it gets out of control, a sinister supernatural presence reveals itself . . .

Genres: Doctor Who, Novels

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 24, 2025

About the author

Jack Heath wrote his debut novel, The Lab, in secondary school and sent it to a publisher at age seventeen. He's now the award-winning author of forty novels for adults and children, including the international bestsellers Hangman, The Wife Swap and 300 Minutes of Danger. His books have been translated into ten languages, optioned for TV and adapted for film. He lives on Ngunnawal/Ngambri country in Canberra, Australia, with his wife, their children, several chickens, a few fish and a possum named Oreo.

Reviews

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ended up being a pleasant afternoon read. A slice of gothic-4th-Doctor-era goodness, transplanted to the 9th Doctor & Rose, with a neat take on Frankenstein. Typically creepy Whovian goodness, done with style and panache.

[Jon Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

A near perfect evocation of the era, spoiled only by the weird idea that Wales has lochs and everyone treating it as normal.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Puffin Classics Crossovers are a brilliant idea and concept that I'm sad to say has finished being produced, despite only just getting into them. 'Dracula!' proves this range of novels is capable of the most brilliant of things, but knowing the BBC killed it off saddens me a great deal, so much potential squandered. Regardless, I'm very excited to read this take on 'Frankenstein'.

The Doctor wants to take Rose to a transhumanist colony to find out firsthand what it's like to have a temporary extra appendage. Instead, they arrive in a gloomy dark forest shrouded in mist. Something is stalking the darkness itself, and it's possessed by something terrible. The locals are frightened of the Patchwork Man; it's already killed a couple of people, and its rampage has shown no signs of stopping. The answer lies in a nearby mansion, where Doctor Vincent Frankenstein lives. Is this the event Mary Shelley based her story on, or is it the other way around?

Jack Heath has written a very atmospheric gothic-horror novel with plenty of scares to enjoy. It's a story with plenty of action but with a lot of heart as well. The idea of a scientist taking inspiration from Mary Shelley's novel in the worst way is interesting and one that only Doctor Who could get away with. Jack wrote Nine and Rose perfectly, capturing their iconic banter that made audiences love them.

Overall: it's a solid novel, but I do admittedly prefer 'Dracula!' by Paul Magrs, but that's just me! Jack Heath should be very proud of his efforts, it's a well-written horror novel with plenty of heart. 8.5/10

[Iain Hawkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so-so on this.

I'm going to get the Gallifreyan out of the room first - IMO, this would have worked better as a Rose and Ten story rather than a Rose and Nine one. The Ninth Doctor here really doesn't feel like the Ninth Doctor as he's usually portrayed - he's bereft of the angst that this incarnation is meant to carry, and instead spends most of his time here in some kind of happy go lucky mode. Hence, if you were telling a story with Rose, Ten feels like a better fit for this Doctor characterization. Not that Ten lacked moments of darkness, but he wasn't dominated by it the same way Nine was.

That said, there's not much else I can say about this. The novel is basically a riff on Frankenstein (which, incidentally, is something Thirteen does also), albeit set in the 'real world,' said world being one where life is imitating fiction via the titular Patchwork Man. The only real object of interest to me was the voltigrades - I won't get into spoilers as to what these things are, but honestly, I found them more conceptually interesting then yet another Frankenstein's monster riff.

Anyway, the book is fine, but nothing special, and again, very questionable characterization for Nine.

[George Ivanoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Latest crossover book in which DOCTOR WHO gets mixed in with classic lit. I had the chance to read an early version of this one, so was super excited to now read the published version. Loved it all over again. Jack is spot on with his characterisation of Rose and Doc9. The way Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN is woven into the story is perfection. And hey, Bowie gets a mention! Very cool! Defs a top-notch DOCTOR WHO book.

[Mesh'la Cyar'ika · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Doctor Who: Frankenstein and The Patchwork Man" is one of the better Doctor Who penguin classic books. It's paced fairly well, the writing captures the characters personality and morals really well and I liked the way they adapted the classic story. Overall, an easy read for any fans of the show and of the ninth Doctor and Rose.

[Stephen Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is bit of an odd ball,it's not Victor Frankenstein and the 'monster ' is different too.Set in middle of 9th Doctor 's season this full of deaths and fighting, dark gothic castles and good twist, it's electric

[DrAshleyWho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice that in recent years, BBC Books has tried to bring in a load of new talent into writing Who novels even though for most of them it’s a one-time deal (what I’d give to see some of them be as regular as mainstays like Una McCormack and James Goss). Here it’s Australian scribe Jack Heath who has a stab at the Puffin Crossover series and whilst The Brain of Morbius remains the best Who story to riff on Frankenstein, the way Heath goes about adapting it into the universe via a mad scientist inspired by Mary Shelley’s novel results in a pacy and atmospheric runaround that tonally harkens to episodes like The Unquiet Dead or Tooth and Claw.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this crossover series. In this one, the 9th Doctor and Rose end up getting tangled with Vincent Frankenstein and his creation, the Patchwork Man. It was an awesomely fun sci-fi adventure story. I liked how well Rose and the Doctor worked together. The author wrote their dynamic really well. The worldbuilding and side characters were also very well done. Can't wait to read more in this series.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest offering from the Puffin classics crossover range is a great read. 2025 is proving to be a great year for Nine and Rose fans!

I enjoyed this one a lot. Admittedly, I was worried towards the middle that it was going to start to drag and become an average read, but once the Voltigrades were revealed, my worries were quashed and my digestive reading juices were flowing again (that sounded better in my head).

Also, the cover art is great and I think of all the books in this range, this one and the next, "Dracula!", are the two which I found myself most excited for.

On the downside, the portrayal of Rose and Nine is... Average. I dare say that the 9/Rose dynamic is probably one of the hardest to capture in prose since a lot of their ambition comes from the actors' chemistry, so to that extent they didn't feel entirely envisionable in book form and it really could've worked for any Doctor/companion duo, but I will admit Heath clearly gave it his best effort and I'm grateful he still gave us more content for this underused TARDIS team.

[Rhys Causon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read with decent pacing and actually felt like I was reading a gothic story in tone, while not matching the language which could be barrier for enjoyment for some readers.

A nice focus on Rose, acting as the audience’s perspective, as they consistently run through this adventure with the Ninth Doctor. And I genuinely couldn’t think of a better Doctor to do this particular adventure with. Something about Nine’s energy just fits this story.

A nice little read for the Halloween season with just enough inspiration from the Frankenstein sources that help the book but enough for it to stand on its own as a Doctor Who story as well.

Would happily read this again in a few months time, the first time I’ve felt this about this particular series of books.

[Ian Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific read in the Doctor Who Puffin Classics series. This one takes very little from the Mary Shelley story and instead repositions it as a 4th Doctor-style adventure, with NuWho pacing. There's plenty of twists and turns and mild scares to keep you on your toes. I don't think the Doctor and Rose sound quite right, but they act like they did on TV so that's just a minor niggle. Jack Heath isn't an author I know but I'd love to have him write Doctor Who again.

[F.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun gothic spoof/pastiche, which is cheerfully irreverent to Shelley’s source.
3.5 stars.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

actual rating is closer to 3.5/5

The Doctor has some really funny lines and Rose has some great action scenes, but I can't help but feel it's not as character specific as other stories I've read from this era of Who. That said, really grateful to have a new Nine/Rose story in 2025, and there was some fantastic (no pun intended) gothic imagery in this novel.

[Piper Huxley · Rating 3 out of 5]

love nine and rose. super witty, for sure. but it took me AGES to get though - little bit of a slog.

3/5

[Oliver Masley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic novel which expertly weaves the classic story of Frankenstein's Monster and Doctor Who, which explores themes of identity, science fiction and history all in one!
My first read of one of Heath's books, and it definitely won't be the last, an excellent addition to the puffins classics range, one of the best yet!