Frankenstein

by Stefan Petrucha

Following his lab's explosion, Henry and Elizabeth Frankenstein head to London for a rest (and to avoid possible criminal charges). The monster, still alive, follows, but winds up in the Whitechapel district. There, he's mistaken for a disfigured, mentally disabled man and befriended by local prostitutes. When one of the whores is horribly murdered, the creature roams the area, hoping to protect the survivors. This brings him in contact with the real killer-Jack the Ripper. After 47 years, he's back in action. His 1887 slayings (sacrifices) extended his life. Now he's aging again and desperate to remain alive, and sees in the reanimated corpse of the Frankenstein monster a possible new way to live forever. Henry, the monster and Jack the Ripper's fates become entwined as Jack the Ripper hatches a plan to frame the monster for the killings, to force Henry to reveal his secrets of life and death.

Genres: Horror, Victor Frankenstein

276 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2006

About the author

Stefan Petrucha (born January 27, 1959) is an American writer for adults and young adults. He has written graphic novels in the The X-Files and Nancy Drew series, as well as science fiction and horror.
Born in the Bronx, he has spent time in the big city and the suburbs, and now lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, fellow writer Sarah Kinney, and their daughters. At times he has been a tech writer, an educational writer, a public relations writer and an editor for trade journals, but his preference is for fiction in all its forms.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm Frankenstein obsessed, and this novel filled my needs well. The monster was multi-faceted, with stellar backstory, beautiful simplicity/complexity, and was a creature I rooted for and knew was doomed. That's the kind of heartbreak I want in a Frankenstein novel. The take on Jack the Ripper was incredibly fresh, and dare I say, FUN. And I truly enjoyed the story of Frankenstein himself, and his wife Elizabeth. It's not always easy to make a reader sympathetic with the good doctor, but Petrucha did it with stunning ease. Gorgeously done.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a pleasant surprise. An absolute banger of a book about Frankenstein vs. Jack the Ripper that goes through the efforts of tying into the Frankenstein film universe, whilst also making sure to humanize the sex workers who were the victims of the Ripper.

There are some outstanding bits of dialog and whilst this is much too gorey to ever have been a Universal film, it would have made a damn good Hammer one.

[Don Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the kingdom of the Classic Universal Monsters, Frankenstein’s Monster reigns supreme. James Whale’s 1931 movie spawned seven sequels and made Boris Karloff a household name. THE SHADOW OF FRANKENSTEIN may not be an official part of the film series, but it’s a worthy entry in its own right.

Taking place immediately after the conclusion of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, the story finds Henry Frankenstein and his wife Elizabeth fleeing their village, trailed by a certain determined Inspector who holds Henry responsible for all the destruction caused by his creation. The Monster, meanwhile, escapes from the wreckage of the watchtower and takes off after Henry as well. They all end up in London, where both Frankenstein and the Monster are threatened by an even greater evil: Jack the Ripper…

Stefan Petrucha has accomplished what seemed impossible: creating an original tale that builds nicely on the movies that inspired it, while not ignoring or contradicting those movies. By placing THE SHADOW OF FRANKENSTEIN within the 25+ year time-gap between BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, Petrucha has more than enough room for character and plot development. He even takes things a step further, foreshadowing the events of future sequels such as THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN and even HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. We get to see how Henry’s research evolved from learning the secret of life to learning the secret of immortality, and we even discover the identity of the “criminal brain” within the Monster’s skull, giving a unique insight into what makes him tick.

Easily the best of the Dark Horse Universal Monsters novels and definitely the one with the most repeated reading value. As the title includes "Volume 1", I hope future installments will be a possibility.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge Universal monster junkie I had to try Dark Horses novels.
I was very impressed with how much the writer worked to fit this into the continuity of the movies ( it takes place between ;Bride of' and 'Son of'), as well as a cute mention of something from another universal movie.
Every scene with the monster is great. He is sympathetic and yet when he cuts loose a frightening force of nature.
The Doctor, despite everything, comes across as fairly sympathetic. He's caused a lot of his own troubles, but you still hope he'll get through them and find a , somewhat, happy ending.

I found the Jack the ripper character unpleasant and uninteresting. He was just a one dimensional boogey man/ psycho.
Everyone else from major to minor characters were interesting and wether good or bad you felt for them if they were hurt or killed.

My only gripe is that in trying for historical accuracy there was a tendencvy to reveal in the grim and gritty details of life in the early twentieth century, that added with the grisly killings made for some not terribly fun chapters.

This was a good read, would have made a good movie and I hope they do more.
Hopefully, they'll follow the movie trend, by doing a novel where a couple of the monsters fight.
Then they can do the novel where the monster meets Abbott and Costello.

[Matt Mazenauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no way a Frankenstein vs Jack The Ripper book could possibly be good. But oh my god, this actually is! The monster is compelling, the passages from his perpective are fascinating. Frankenstein's treatment of his wife and her decent into madness actually gave me chills. The realism and horror of this is amazing for a book not even based on the Mary Shelley book, but instead based on the first two Universal movies.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, I enjoyed the hell out of this book!
I bought it when it came out in 2006, but just got around to reading it.
It is set in the Universal Horror timeline.
Immediately after The Bride Of Frankenstein.
Henry Frankenstein and his wife flee to England, with the monster following.
Once in England, both Henry and his monster find themselves caught up in a series of murders that seem to suggest the return of Jack The Ripper.
A highlight in the novel for me is the character Minnie (who was played so memorably by Una O'Connor) She is written so well, I can hear the character as I read the book.
Henry is also well written. I don't care much for Henry in the films. Here, the author manages to make me see him in a different light.(He's no saint here, trust me. But he's not one dimensional either)
The monster as well, is well presented here.(which isn't easy)
Though he's not green in this one.
Other characters, original to the novel are well written here, and I cared about them.
I really liked this one.

[Austin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t have a lot to say about this book. I can appreciate the lengths to make a Universal Monster movie-tie in book with the likes of historical serial killers such as Jack The Ripper. I wasn’t a fan at all of the story, it felt like a cheap RLJ or Full Moon Features version of the Universal Monsters’ Frankenstein. Had some good backstory and such but it all felt too convoluted. And a bit too far stretched, even for a make believe horror novel. I see a lot of people praising the book on here so don’t pay any attention to me I guess. Just wasn’t for me. (It’s actually more of a 2.5⭐️ for me than a 3⭐️)

[Mark Kosobucki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set after Frankenstein makes the bride and his lab blows up. Take Frankenstein, his wife and servants, the monster and toss Jack the Ripper into the mix. It's a little long but still worth reading.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It's basically a sequel to THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN where the monster survives (although the Bride may or may not have survived, it's not mentioned.)

So Dr. Frankenstein flees to London with the monster in pursuit, where we find Jack the Ripper has returned. Of course before long all of the characters meet and things take off from there.

Some further backstory is given to the Frankenstein legend, as we find out more about the damaged brain used to create the monster. What is revealed sheds new light on the creation. There's also a new spin on the Ripper legend as we find out Sawney Bean, the famous Scottish cannibal, plays a part in the Ripper murders. He's not the murderer, but...well, I don't want to give too much away here.

It's a good tale for fans of Frankenstein and/or Jack the Ripper stories. Keep in mind the story follows the continuity of the movies rather than the Mary Shelley novels, but that's easy enough to understand. I recommend this for any classic horror fan.