The Nightmare of Frankenstein

The Legend of Frankenstein #1

by Perry Lake

Alone... Hunted... Hounded... He will allow nothing to stop him.
In his quest to learn the secrets of his creation, the Monster of Frankenstein seeks out various eccentric doctors and researchers such as Adam Weishaupt—the founder of the Illuminati, the murderous duo of Burke and Hare, and Andrew Crosse, who created life in his laboratory. Along the way, the Monster battles ghouls, witches, and mad scientists! See him captured by madmen and forced to battle other monsters in the arena of death!

Genres: Horror, Victor Frankenstein, Werewolves, Historical Fiction, Monsters, Historical

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 25, 2015

About the author

Perry Lake lives in Northern California. FATE Magazine, the Overstreet Monthly, Fantasy Theater, Orion’s Child, Tales of Fantasy, and the prestigious Journal of Dracula Studies, amongst other local and international publications, have presented both his fiction and non-fiction work.

Mr. Lake is a lifelong devotee of world history, geography, and true tales of horror. Inspired by the works of Bram Stoker, Sheridan LeFanu, Mary Shelley, HP Lovecraft, and countless other masters of supernatural horror, Mr. Lake brings considerable experience and authenticity to his tales of the outré and generally weird stuff.

Reviews

[William Bitner Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre - Gothic Horror
Pages - 190

“The Nightmare of Frankenstein: The Legend of Frankenstein, Book 1” by Perry Lake is my first read by this author. I would like to say a big thank you to Perry for gifting me a e-copy of this book. This was like reading 2 books in 1. The first half of the book concentrates primarily on Victor, his family, and friend Henri, from childhood through school and up to and including the creation of the monster. A wonderful melding of fact and fiction. Historical events and background on the alchemist, scholars, geography, and literature of the era, was very well researched and fit in perfectly with the story line.

The second half of the book deals with the monster. His sometimes murderous journey from the Arctic, through eastern Europe and into Scotland and Great Britain. Along the way he crosses paths with some very interesting and colorful characters that include Dracula, a werewolf, Mary Shelley, William Burke & William Hare, Dr. Robert Knox, Andrew Crosse, and Adam Weishaupt to name a few. The monsters primary goal is to connect with Victor’s colleagues, retain the Necronomicon from the Illuminati and finally make a female mate. It’s an exciting and adventurous journey.

I would say this book is a bit of gothic, horror, historical and retelling of a classic. Although not sticking entirely to the script of Mary Shelley’s version it was quite good on it’s own merit. Creating a whole new story-line and characters.

I was taken back to my childhood of viewing black and white Saturday Night Double Feature Creature films, and Hammer Films about Mummies, Werewolves, and Dracula. I was also reminded a little bit of the show Penny Dreadful in the latter part of the book. All in all this was quite an entertaining read that kept me engrossed from start to finish. I look forward to reading more of Perry Lakes work.

(From back cover):

Alone...

Hunted...

Hounded...

He will allow nothing to stop him.

In his quest to learn the secrets of his creation, the Monster of Frankenstein seeks out various eccentric scientists and mad doctors such as Adam Weishaupt—the founder of the Illuminati, the murderous duo of Burke and Hare, and Andrew Crosse, a real-life researcher who created life in his laboratory. Along the way, the Monster battles ghouls, witches, and mad scientists! See him captured by madmen and forced to battle other monsters in the arena of death!

[Perry Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cool... it's like I wrote it myself.

[Stephen McQuiggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Frankenstein did what even God Himself could not do - he created a being greater than himself.'

A novel that skips gracefully around the time-frame of Shelley's original, being both sequel and prequel. The author has a remarkably authentic voice for historical fiction, and the narrative dealing with the young Victor's growing obsession with reanimating the dead, his induction into the mysteries of alchemy, lends not only an intellectual clout to the tale but successfully foreshadows the darkness to come. Lake's real triumph here though is the 'Monster', which is very much his own creation. Neither the lumbering oaf beloved of the silver screen, nor the sympathetic lonely avatar of the original novel, but rather Vengeance incarnate. The first person narrative allows us direct access to his ever so cold and logical thinking, rendering him as fascinating as he is repellent. A fast paced, thoughtful, and action packed book in which the author has reassembled a classic into his own vision of tenebrous grandeur. I had never read any of Lake's books before, but on the strength of this I'm hungry for more.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read one of Perry Lake's Dracula novels, which I also enjoyed, but honestly I think I liked this one better, even though I generally like the Dracula character better than Frankenstein.

This is is not exactly a retelling of Frankenstein, but more a prequel and a sequel in one. We get to see Dr. Frankenstein as a young boy, which leads into the Mary Shelley novel, and then we get to see what happens after Shelley's novel ends.

My personal favorite parts were the "Monster Fight Club" at the end, and the meeting with Dracula. (I mention a monster fight club in one of my books as well, so I have a soft spot for it, but I digress.)

This is a very well researched novel. To me personally, that's both good and bad. It's good because it's very rich in historical detail. However, at times it seems almost like a historical novel rather than horror. In particular the early chapters I found to be slightly bogged down with historical facts. However, if you are a fan of historical novels, then you will probably love this part.

I also didn't remember Frankenstein being quite so bloodthirsty, as he slaughters several entire families, including several children. But then again, there have been different interpretations, and while he may seem more brutal than I remember, it's not like he was always portrayed as a nice guy. The murders arent graphic, but are very cold blooded. This is a horror novel, after all. He killed a few people in Shelly's novel as well, but in this one he's a neck snapping machine.

In closing, I think any fan of Frankenstein may enjoy this one. As I said, it serves as both a prequel and sequel to Shelley's novel, and complements it nicely.

[Steven Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having already read the author’s previous novel, Brides of Dracula, I was very much looking forward to his take on another legendary monster. And once again, I wasn’t disappointed.

With so many books and movies failing to capture the brilliance of Shelly’s original novel, it came as such a breath of fresh air to discover a wonderfully written and plotted story, which only enhanced my love for the famous monster and mad-scientist.

The author effortlessly mixes in historical fact with fantastic fiction, without bogging down the story.

If you were bitterly disappointed by the 1998 movie (like I was) then this prequel/sequel/reboot is a must for all fans looking for a fast, easy read that will get you itching for the follow up.

Roll on Book 2!!!!

[Perry Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll wet yourself in fear.

[John Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another trip around the bend with Professor Lake. This time, Frankenstein’s on the docket. Now, I’m an honest man. So, I have no trouble admitting to you that my first run with Perry Lake’s work felt a little wanting. To be fair, it was mostly because I’m not a vampire fan. Matter of fact, I’ve been so run down on the genre due to overexposure, terrible exposure, and just . . . ‘sposure . . . in general. So, it’s not really fair for me to judge any work that contains vampires since I’ve grown to resent them so much. That being said, my first taste of Perry’s work was Dracula Arisen. While I enjoyed a brutal, fiendish telling of the classic Dracula . . . I still hate vampires. But, Perry did a lot of work to pull me back. And for that, my many thanks. That’s when I found this bad boy. The Nightmare of Frankenstein.

NOW we’re talking.

The first half of the book is Victor Frankenstein’s journey in science. He studies both abroad and at home. All the lovely names that are just creepy in themselves, let alone the topics they represent. Thomas Aquinas, Paracelsus, Albertus Magnus. Those names in themselves set a story, and with the natural rapidity that Lake uses them, the names and their occult topics became like a hypnotic, poetic back drop for the events to come. It’s almost like the phonetics of the names themselves are a character, an air, an atmosphere. I’ll also say this. Never before have I seen Victor Frankenstein and Godlike thirst for knowledge be presented so mercilessly. Perry’s mad scientist is after knowledge and science like a lover scorned, like a lust, like an ache. And it’s not ‘sit and ruminate about the nature of knowledge’ kind of thing. It’s doing, acting, getting in the game. Perry’s characters, both Victor Frankenstein and his eventual monster, speed through their endeavors like it’s zero hour. Quite a wonderful reflection of the author, I think. What I know of him, anyway. Interesting, that.

Of course, like every approach to anything, it’s not without a setback or two. Now, this time around, in Frankenstein rather than Dracula, I didn’t mind in the slightest. KEEP IT COMIN’, PERRY! But, if science fiction isn’t your thing, and I mean that as the word implies . . . incredible brutal plunges into both science and fiction, you’ll have trouble keeping up with this book. Perry knows what he expects of his readers, and it’s a lot. But, I love to watch this guy work. It’s cold and precise, surgical and quick. Perry Lake writes like an assassin. Plan your work and work your plan, then do it all again with deadly force. Perry’s monster comes up just short of that assassin, I think. At least, he did to me anyway. From his merciless struggles against the law and acquiring illegal materials to gather the knowledge to create a mate, to his murders that take place in Tarantino like ferocity and speed. Perry’s monsters piles up the bodies and he stacks them tall. He leaves them in his wake and he hardly laments or mourns over them. The monster even goes so far as raping a woman, then slinking off into the night like he’d never appeared . . . all in the hopes that she may bear offspring, some other like him.

But, like I said, it’s the way cold short distance that Perry puts between his work and the reader. Lays it out like the dissection of crayfish. In so doing, the science fiction ALMOST becomes reality. Almost. And I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to watch it all burn to the ground in the final scene. I LOVE explosive conclusions where stuff burns to the ground. I know how generic that sounds, but it’s the truth. And Perry delivered that. I don’t have words to explain how much I loved seeing my beloved monster be that victorious. Which is strange . . . because, normally, I’m a sucker for tragedy. That’s why I’ve always loved Frankenstein and the mythos, the wretched, awful, conflicted, heartbroken nature of it all. So, you would think that a more distanced approach would turn me off. And I was a bit worried about that, too. But, Perry’s love of science, Perry’s thirst for knowledge, rivals that of Victor. I can’t help but see Victor Frankenstein himself writing this book. Which is just a stupid cool nerdy, geekout moment for me. There is a bit of dry air in the emotion department, which bothered me at first, but only slightly. It wasn’t until I started seeing Perry’s thirst for blood and death, and how they play into science, that it started to make sense. Perry is about as close to Victor Frankenstein as there is. The man is a professor. And he’s really fucking good at it. I couldn’t help but applaud.

I’ve ALWAYS loved Frankenstein and his monster. Not only that, but Lake is the most exhaustive scholastic writer I’ve ever come across. I was hoping that he would be entirely at home in THE ORIGINAL science fiction novel and its mythos. And I was right. Perry not only exhausts the topic, the science (both pseudo and non) and the fabric of the universe he creates, he exhausts the reader. I use that term lovingly. I’m a man who likes his extremes. I like intensity. Perry delivers in spades. There’s just . . . so . . . MUCH that happens. It’s got incredible re-read value. For instance . . . When the monster descends across Europe, there’s a supernatural encounter with a monster that has tentacles. It took me two or three reads to realize that this MIGHT be a Chtulu reference. Now, don’t quote me because I didn’t write it. But, it sure as hell seems like one of the old ones. And that scene, like many others, delivers. Only to be followed by a gigantic shootout in the cobblestone streets as the monster flees the law in his attempts to create his own mate.

There’s so much here. So many things, so much knowledge. The pages are hot to the touch. If you’ve ever wanted to see your monster in all his ugly glory, both victorious and heinous in his wicked deeds, but conqueror still, Perry’s retelling is just what you’ve been waiting for. Bravo, professor. Bravo.

P.S.—This is the first time I’ve seen the cover art for this. It’s killer. ;)

[Tony-Paul Vissage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another version of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s famous tale, this one told from both the creator and the creation’s points of view with the Creature’s being the more lengthy and interesting one. From the title, we might ask, “Whose nightmare?” Do we refer to the Creature as “Frankenstein” as millions have misnamed him? Did he take his creator���s name? Who is he in the title…Frankenstein? Or is he “the Nightmare?”

Frankenstein the man is present, of course, in the first section of the book, following him from boyhood, and his interest in science and alchemy in particular. While following his life as set forth in the original, it reveals more background about his studies and attempts to meet various alchemists, some of whose lives are recounted in more detail in the Dracula series by this author. As in the original novel, his story ends with his death in the Arctic, and it is here that the Creature picks up the tale with a first person account.

This is Perry Lake’s version, without a doubt, and though it relates to Mary Shelley’s original in some respects, it widely diverges in others. This creation is truly a monster. Like his counterpart, he’s articulate and knowledgeable in his self-education. No awkward, semi-dumb brute here, accepting a daisy from a little girl or trying to capture sunlight in his fingers, this is a man-thing capable of intricate reasoning, but also of great violence and a hatred of the world which has rejected him. Where the original creature merely wished to co-exist with Man, this one wants that also, but on his own terms…and more. He’s extremely resourceful. In spite of his size, he rides horses. He uses weapons other than his hands. He’s wily and cunning, violent and deceitful. He will kill without blinking an eye…man, woman, or child. He abducts people, promises to release them when they do his bidding, then kills them when their usefulness is over. This Creature is truly one of vengeance, not only of his Maker but all of Mankind, one from whom the villagers will definitely shriek and flee in terror at mere mention of his name.

Some of the events recounted in the Dracula series involving the Creature are also more detailed here.

My main complaint, besides a few grammatical errors here and there, would be the fact that some areas are glossed. The Creature visits Dracula at his castle:

“…After some initial misunderstanding, I realized that the vampire king and I had much in common…”

No explanation of what that “misunderstanding” was…inquiring readers are certain to wonder.

His arrival ends one chapter (or story, since this novel, like that other series, is in short story form. At the beginning of the next story, he leaves:

“…I left behind me left the smoldering ruins of the Castelui de Vlad Tepes…”

No detail of how the castle came to be in “smoldering ruins,” just that one sentence. This occurs in a couple of other places, also. Is the inference being, that part of the tale is told in Dracula’s own story so why repeat it here? Indeed, nothing of what went on between the vampire king and Frankenstein’s creation is revealed, and this brief mention seems to negate the ending in the other series where Dracula is pursued by van Helsing and his companions...unless that is the way the castle came to be in “smoldering ruins”?

I was also disappointed that the ending of the Dracula series which seemed to point to a very unique and original approach to the Frankenstein one, wasn’t followed up. I had looked forward to this series simply on the strength of that ending, and it isn’t evident…yet.

In all events, this is an intriguing novel with, if not a new slant on the story (there is at least one other series about the Creature), at least a provocative one. It should satisfy that reader liking violence and vengeance in his novels.

I'm awaiting the next installment with anticipation.


This novel is owned by the reviewer and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.

[Nuzo Onoh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having enjoyed Perry Lake's Brides of Draculae, I was looking forward to his next book, The Nightmare of Frankenstein. The story was narrated in two parts - first, the third person narrative chronicling the early life of Victor Frankenstein, the monster creator; then the second part, a first person narrative by the monster, Frankenstein himself.
Lake again, uses his expertise in Victorian voices to weave an authentic Gothic horror story. It is clear that he always researches his stories extensively and as I’ve noticed in his works, he tends to allow the research to overwhelm his fiction, affecting pace and structure.
I found the first part more like an academic treatise than a work of light fiction. It was bogged down with so much information and technical jargon/language that one was tempted to just skip the pages and seek the real story. Take for example the following extract - “Due to his discussions with Dr. Gall, Victor knew that divergent parts of the brain served sundry purposes. He therefore chose to fashion a brain from the Perseverance, Comparative, and Calculative skills of a merchant, the Conscientiousness and Concentration of a burgermeister, the Firmness and Observational skills of a constable. Both the Music center and the Benevolence center, which in cranioscopy is the closest kin to a soul or spirit, and which designates the appreciation of beauty, came from a young singer…”
Notwithstanding, at least, I got to learn about the expression, “Excarnation”, which is the process of cutting all flesh from the body to allow the bones to fit into a small container…gruesome!!
The story got a bit better when told from the monster's perspective. I enjoyed in particular the monster’s encounter with Count Dracula and Professor Waldeman. Also the gruesome cemetery night raid for corpses was skilfully written. It was great to come across scenes I had previously read about in Brides of Dracula, such as Dr Frankeinstein’s meeting with the vampire Countess Dolingen and the Monster fight club. However, just as in the first part of the book, the second part was still weighted with so many details that made the story drag for me at times. Proofreading errors in several places and gaps at the start of each sentence also interfered with my enjoyment of the story – “his tied (tired) old eyes..”, “He entered the accursed castle in which none of his family had sat (set) foot..”, “Victor realized the problem lie (lay) in the size of the crystal”, “Victor never did finished (finish) reading the black book.” These are just a few of a range of errors that I found somewhat distracting while reading the book.
In conclusion, in The Nightmare of Frankenstein, Perry Lake has written a well-researched book which students interested in the subject would find invaluable. However, as a work of light horror fiction, it failed to hold my attention in its entirety.

[J. Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry Lake is far from the first author to take a crack at Mary Shelley's venerable monster, but he manages to bring a lot of new ideas and fresh perspective to this well-worn subject. Taking the original novel as his base, he works both backwards (exploring Victor Frankenstein's childhood and the beginnings of his obsession with reanimating the dead) and forwards (revealing how the monster survived and his ongoing attempts to create a mate for himself). Like all of Lake's novels, the book is extensively researched and filled with allusions to history, literature, and mythology. Readers of his previous Dracula novels will recognize certain characters and events as well, this time seen from the Monster's point of view.

If there's a drawback to the book, it's that the monster himself is a pretty unpleasant protagonist. He kills repeatedly without much remorse, sometimes in self-defense, but just as often out of simple expediency. He commits rape as well, and any sympathy I might have had for him being a shunned outsider pretty much went out the window at that point.

And yet, I can't deny that the book is a real page-turner, full of action and suspense. I may not have liked the monster as a character, but I still wanted to know what happens next. Will the monster's long life give him the opportunity to gain some perspective, or even redemption? We'll have to wait for the sequel to find out...

(Disclosure: I was given a free copy of the book by the author.)

[Mardell E · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the first page of this story the author sets a delightful scene as we envision young Victor with his busy little fingers dismantling an old clock. Not only did this scene draw me into the story, it endeared Victor to me. On this page we also meet the lovely and sweet Lizabetta. She is an orphaned cousin being raised as Victor's sister and she adores him. A page later we meet Henri who will be the only boyhood friend Victor ever has.

From the point of introduction this brilliant boy hungers to learn secrets average people never dream of. Strangely, I found myself accepting and making excuses for the many horrid choices he makes along the way. To say he went over to the dark side would be putting it mildly and causes me to wonder how I could overlook his atrocities and wish for him to succeed. But, Victor began with a passion for knowledge and a dedication to his quest that developed into a strong obsession which consumed his morality.

Of course I was not ready for Victor to die, nor Lizabetta or Henri. I wanted to know many more things about each of them.... (Clever Perry Lake!) But they did and now I was dealing with the monster. I was all set to dislike him for the horrible things he was doing and then he began to self educate and I read on. Yes, it was all in an effort to create a female monster but following his struggles made it hard to hate him. He went from country to country and back again searching for those men and the secrets Victor had used to build him. People died and the monster was beaten, shot and stabbed which somehow evened things out and left me to wonder if anyone was good. After all, it was their dark secrets that taught Victor how to build his monster. Hmmmmm!

This book is a big leap away from what I normally read. However, Perry Lake has a subtle way of weaving emotional tangles into a story that is very intriguing and I know you will enjoy reading it.

[c chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for all fans of. Horror!