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Frankenstein Horror
The Frankenstein Wheel
From his frozen tomb, the fiend arose, and headed grimly southward toward the cities of men. Young Max De Lacey, descendant of the man who had driven Frankenstein's monster mad with rage at mankind, was a mystic, who though the Oracle of the Frankenstein Wheel, saw the monster returning from his Arctic tomb in quest of his terrible bride.
In a very short time, the prophecy of the Wheel was fulfilled, in a peculiarly horrifying way...(back cover copy)
In a very short time, the prophecy of the Wheel was fulfilled, in a peculiarly horrifying way...(back cover copy)
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
3 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Paul W. Fairman
184 books13 followersPaul Warren Fairman (1909-1977) was an editor and writer in a variety of genres under his own name and under pseudonyms.
In 1952, he was the founding editor of If, but only edited four issues. In 1955, he became the editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic. He held that dual position until 1958. His science fiction short stories "Deadly City" and "The Cosmic Frame" were made into motion pictures.
Wrote the "Man from S.T.U.D." series of espionage spoofs under the pseudonym of F.W. Paul.
He also wrote under the pseudonym Ivar Jorgensen
In 1952, he was the founding editor of If, but only edited four issues. In 1955, he became the editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic. He held that dual position until 1958. His science fiction short stories "Deadly City" and "The Cosmic Frame" were made into motion pictures.
Wrote the "Man from S.T.U.D." series of espionage spoofs under the pseudonym of F.W. Paul.
He also wrote under the pseudonym Ivar Jorgensen
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 24, 2019
Recently, I’ve been going through book titles that have been languishing on my bookshelves for many years. Some of them were treasured books from my youth. Some (like this one) I either outgrew or found different interests, and the forgotten tome resided in a particularly dusty corner of a seldom-visited shelf.
I acquired my paperback copy early in the 1970’s for the massive sum of 75-cents. While reading, I was amused to find a glossy page advertisement in the middle of the book for Kent cigarettes. That certainly brought back memories!
So, how was THE FRANKENSTEIN WHEEL?
The story purportedly continues after the concluding events that are detailed in Mary Shelley’s novel, FRANKENSTEIN. As film fans will be able to tell from the cover illustration, the Monster bears a striking resemblance to Lon Chaney, Jr’s make-up in THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. The intent may have been to pursue the events from the novel that started it all, but there is also an assumption that the Reader is more familiar with the films than the book, particularly James Whale’s BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. A number of memories of the events from Shelley’s book have a passing reminder of the movies.
In fact, movie fans must be the intended audience. The Creature from the original is hardly to be found in either the Monster’s description ... and definitely not in his dialogue. Much is made of his having grown more philosophical in THE FRANKENSTEIN WHEEL, but the Creature in FRANKENSTEIN had deeper thoughts in the original.
I digress.
Suffice it to say that the Creature did not build his Arctic funeral pyre after the end of FRANKENSTEIN. Instead, he was trapped in an ice cave much as he was in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. When released, he sets about completing Victor Frankenstein’s promise and seeks to find a mate.
Some time later, a young adventurer takes interest in a psychiatric patient who claims to have seen his dead fiancée dancing on a remote beach. When he tries to go to her, he is stopped by a Monster coming ashore from the water. With the aid of Felix De Lacey (the young man whose family was visited by the Creature in their forest cabin in FRANKENSTEIN), the adventurer goes in search for proof of the existence of the undead bride-to-be ... and the Monster who rose up from the sea.
THE FRANKENSTEIN WHEEL is a very short and very brisk read. It caters to the monster movie fan who breathlessly awaited a late night showing of HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. That isn’t a bad thing. Indeed, that’s likely why I bought the book decades ago. If the expectation is NOT for a high literary quality sequel to Mary Shelley’s celebrated classic, it is a fun way to spend a few reading sessions. (I should also mention that fans of the Universal horror film classics are very likely to guess the resolution long before our valiant protagonists.)
This is recommended for the Reader who anticipated and enjoyed Friday evening Monster Movie Nights.
I acquired my paperback copy early in the 1970’s for the massive sum of 75-cents. While reading, I was amused to find a glossy page advertisement in the middle of the book for Kent cigarettes. That certainly brought back memories!
So, how was THE FRANKENSTEIN WHEEL?
The story purportedly continues after the concluding events that are detailed in Mary Shelley’s novel, FRANKENSTEIN. As film fans will be able to tell from the cover illustration, the Monster bears a striking resemblance to Lon Chaney, Jr’s make-up in THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. The intent may have been to pursue the events from the novel that started it all, but there is also an assumption that the Reader is more familiar with the films than the book, particularly James Whale’s BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. A number of memories of the events from Shelley’s book have a passing reminder of the movies.
In fact, movie fans must be the intended audience. The Creature from the original is hardly to be found in either the Monster’s description ... and definitely not in his dialogue. Much is made of his having grown more philosophical in THE FRANKENSTEIN WHEEL, but the Creature in FRANKENSTEIN had deeper thoughts in the original.
I digress.
Suffice it to say that the Creature did not build his Arctic funeral pyre after the end of FRANKENSTEIN. Instead, he was trapped in an ice cave much as he was in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. When released, he sets about completing Victor Frankenstein’s promise and seeks to find a mate.
Some time later, a young adventurer takes interest in a psychiatric patient who claims to have seen his dead fiancée dancing on a remote beach. When he tries to go to her, he is stopped by a Monster coming ashore from the water. With the aid of Felix De Lacey (the young man whose family was visited by the Creature in their forest cabin in FRANKENSTEIN), the adventurer goes in search for proof of the existence of the undead bride-to-be ... and the Monster who rose up from the sea.
THE FRANKENSTEIN WHEEL is a very short and very brisk read. It caters to the monster movie fan who breathlessly awaited a late night showing of HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. That isn’t a bad thing. Indeed, that’s likely why I bought the book decades ago. If the expectation is NOT for a high literary quality sequel to Mary Shelley’s celebrated classic, it is a fun way to spend a few reading sessions. (I should also mention that fans of the Universal horror film classics are very likely to guess the resolution long before our valiant protagonists.)
This is recommended for the Reader who anticipated and enjoyed Friday evening Monster Movie Nights.
February 21, 2021
With the slightly cheesy pulp fiction cover art, I expected a story equally cheesy and hilariously bad, but what I got was something far deeper and better than that. A tale that follows the story of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus, this is a story with deep intellectual undertones and emotions I was not expecting. I love this story and am happy that I happened upon it.
March 1, 2017
An entertaining and fun little read. Very enjoyable.
October 29, 2016
Part of the pulpy, trashy paperback "Frakenstein Horror Series" issued by Popular Library in the very early '70s. At just 191 pages, it's still somewhat padded! -- That said, this is actually a simple, creditable sequel to the original novel. I'm 90 percent certain that "Paul Fairman" is a pseudonym for a better-known writer, but cannot prove this.
The series (of which this is the only one having anything to do with Frankenstein or his monster) was a lot of fun for this then-teenaged horror fan, and it's more than likely that a good part of the enjoyment I had reading this for the first time in October 2016 had to do with filling the gaps in that old collection of mine, visiting anew an old guilty pleasure.
The series (of which this is the only one having anything to do with Frankenstein or his monster) was a lot of fun for this then-teenaged horror fan, and it's more than likely that a good part of the enjoyment I had reading this for the first time in October 2016 had to do with filling the gaps in that old collection of mine, visiting anew an old guilty pleasure.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews