This book is disgusting and depraved.

It's also one of the most brilliant books I've read in a while and loved it. It's basically the story of Frankenstein told by the monster. I was assigned to read Frankenstein in college and now recognize the Frankenstein as the doctor and not his creation.

The book is filled with of moral gray lines and morbid details to make you think. Like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it's not entirely clear who is the hero and villain. And also like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it's a great book.















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If you've ever felt sorry for the monster and disgust towards Frankenstein, this book is for you. Here Frankenstein has built his creature using the brain of an educated man embedded in his cobbled-together miscreation, but against expectations, the brain has retained its memories and personality. The murdered man was a young scientist, falsely accused of murdering his fiancee and killed on the rack for it. He awakens in the laboratory, unable to understand what has been done to him. Basically a decent person before his death, he struggles to maintain those values even as he wonders if he has imagined his previous life and is, indeed, one of Satan's minions. Eventually he is able to track Frankenstein and work his vengeance. How I cheered for him the whole way! I'd recommend reading the original "Frankenstein" first, but do treat yourself to this vicarious retribution afterwards. ( )

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/08/monster-by-dave-zeltserman.html

“As I write this, I can only pray that Frankenstein’s twisted soul is rotting away in whatever crevice within Hell it has surely sunk into.”

So begins Dave Zeltserman’s electrifying novel presenting the classic story of Frankenstein’s monster, from the viewpoint of the “monster.” The monster in this instance is a man by the name of Friedrich Hoffmann, who, on the eve of his wedding to his beloved Johanna is drugged and when he comes to, in an alleyway, he is covered in blood and has Johanna’s locket in his coat. He soon understands that she is dead, murdered in a most heinous way, and he has been blamed for the crime. Broken, tortured, and set to die on the executioner’s wheel, Friedrich can only hope that he will be joining his true love soon. Little does he know that a fate worse than death awaits him.

Monster is told from Friedrich’s point of view, and as he takes you from the wheel, into death, and back to a sort of unlife as the creation of the wicked, diabolical Dr. Frankenstein, you won’t be able to look away, although you may want to. I found myself pausing to cover my eyes for a moment every now and then, not only as I processed the horror that Friedrich is experiencing, but also at the moments of beauty that he manages to find in the midst of this nearly inconceivable ordeal. And there is beauty, in the most unexpected of places. When Friedrich first “awakens” and finds that he cannot move, cannot speak, and can barely keep his eyes open, he is soon introduced to Charlotte, who is only a head, in a bowl of milky liquid. At first, Charlotte repels him, but soon he realizes that she too, is a victim of Dr. Frankenstein’s depraved experiments and it is her stories (he lip reads, because she cannot speak), and assurances that he is still a gently and kind soul, in spite of what is surely hideous appearance, that make his days bearable. When Charlotte is taken from him, at the behest of the Marquis de Sade, and he is inexplicably abandoned, he realizes that he must be free, and find the man that made him into this monster.

Eloquently written (like a certain classic that comes to mind), Monster will take you on a journey of death, rebirth, and vengeance, and is about a man trying desperately not to sink to the depths of his tormenter. I fell in love with Hoffman, and his grief, not only at losing Johanna, but at his own condition, is palpable on every page. However, rays of light do shine through the darkness, and kindness comes from some of the most unexpected places. During his journey, he will encounter vampyres, satanic cults, and more, and it will take him to a crumbling castle, where all will be revealed. Or will it? Brace yourself when Friedrich reaches that castle. Frankenstein is a villain that will make your skin crawl, and is the ultimate embodiment of evil. He even outdoes the Marquis, and that says quite a lot. Monster weighs in at just over 200 pages, but manages to pack a huge punch. If you’re a fan of Frankenstein and the mythos that surrounds it, and love literary horror, this one’s for you. Highly recommended! ( )