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Reviews
Creatures: The Legacy of Frankenstein: The Legacy of Frankenstein by Tade Thompson, Emma Newman
geekcliche's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
chirson's review
3.0
I read this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
A collection of stories about Frankenstein's Monster, published right in time for the 200th anniversary of the original monster's conception, offers a rich range of reinterpretations and rewritings. Themes of monstrosity are a given, but we have the relationship between creator and creation, too, and sexism, and autonomy, and consent. And I was, for the most part, impressed with the five authors' takes.
The first story, Tade Thompson's "Kaseem's Way", was my surprising favourite. It was markedly not my kind of story, but regardless of that, and despite its relatively straightforward relationship with the source text, the story impressed me on the strenght of the writing and thematic resonance. This tale of racially discriminated outcasts devoted to the goal of creating life by artificial means, interspersed with 1st person fragments concerning Victor Frankenstein's original creature, still alive after all these years and looking for his brother, was detailed and rich, with well-fleshed characters and a coherent narrative.
By contrast, I'm afraid I found Rose Biggin's "The New Woman" thorougly disappointing. Yes, I know the references, I see the significance of the title, but still, this sapphic re-telling focused on desire, misogyny and the intersection between art and science somehow became flimsy and shallow, and vague. Its characters (other than the sculptor) were two-dimensional, and their relationships felt contrived. Its worldbuilding was haphazard and spoilt suspension of disbelief. A waste of an imaginative and promising point of departure.
The third text was better, but not by much. In "Reculver" by Paul Meloy, the writing worked, and the narrative was stronger and with a good sense of place, but I disliked the ending.
Emma Newman's "Made Monstrous" is an alright detective story and a good character study, but feels underdeveloped. I thought the final plot twist didn't work because of how obvious it was, and yet treated like a revelation for a reader. There was not enough mystery in the entire narrative, and using an established backstory for the finale just didn't have the punch, particularly when the confrontation took place at the beginning. I still like Newman, but I don't think this was her strongest showcase.
The final story wasn't my favourite and I wish some elements thereof had been edited down or out. It deals with consent, and yet doesn't quite have much to say on the subject. But the atmosphere of "Love Thee Better" by Kaaron Warren and her use of the original's material made it perhaps the best fitted for this anthology. Sent on an endless and oneiric cruise with her one-armed husband, the protagonist gradually reveals the horrors of this trip, as boundaries between natural and unnatural, dead and living, autonomous and enslaved, innocent and complicit become porous and unreliable. I didn't like the ending, or not quite, but it engaged well with Frankenstein.
My overall grade may not seem high, but I look forward to reading more from both Thompson and Warren.
A collection of stories about Frankenstein's Monster, published right in time for the 200th anniversary of the original monster's conception, offers a rich range of reinterpretations and rewritings. Themes of monstrosity are a given, but we have the relationship between creator and creation, too, and sexism, and autonomy, and consent. And I was, for the most part, impressed with the five authors' takes.
The first story, Tade Thompson's "Kaseem's Way", was my surprising favourite. It was markedly not my kind of story, but regardless of that, and despite its relatively straightforward relationship with the source text, the story impressed me on the strenght of the writing and thematic resonance. This tale of racially discriminated outcasts devoted to the goal of creating life by artificial means, interspersed with 1st person fragments concerning Victor Frankenstein's original creature, still alive after all these years and looking for his brother, was detailed and rich, with well-fleshed characters and a coherent narrative.
By contrast, I'm afraid I found Rose Biggin's "The New Woman" thorougly disappointing. Yes, I know the references, I see the significance of the title, but still, this sapphic re-telling focused on desire, misogyny and the intersection between art and science somehow became flimsy and shallow, and vague. Its characters (other than the sculptor) were two-dimensional, and their relationships felt contrived. Its worldbuilding was haphazard and spoilt suspension of disbelief. A waste of an imaginative and promising point of departure.
The third text was better, but not by much. In "Reculver" by Paul Meloy, the writing worked, and the narrative was stronger and with a good sense of place, but I disliked the ending.
Spoiler
The Gaimanesque Murder Mystery-ish quality, the interpretation that the narrator's guilt is not misplaced but perhaps insufficient? Hard pass.Emma Newman's "Made Monstrous" is an alright detective story and a good character study, but feels underdeveloped. I thought the final plot twist didn't work because of how obvious it was, and yet treated like a revelation for a reader. There was not enough mystery in the entire narrative, and using an established backstory for the finale just didn't have the punch, particularly when the confrontation took place at the beginning. I still like Newman, but I don't think this was her strongest showcase.
The final story wasn't my favourite and I wish some elements thereof had been edited down or out. It deals with consent, and yet doesn't quite have much to say on the subject. But the atmosphere of "Love Thee Better" by Kaaron Warren and her use of the original's material made it perhaps the best fitted for this anthology. Sent on an endless and oneiric cruise with her one-armed husband, the protagonist gradually reveals the horrors of this trip, as boundaries between natural and unnatural, dead and living, autonomous and enslaved, innocent and complicit become porous and unreliable. I didn't like the ending, or not quite, but it engaged well with Frankenstein.
My overall grade may not seem high, but I look forward to reading more from both Thompson and Warren.
curlyhairedbooklover's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
I didn't like most of the stories and the one I did like (the new woman) I felt fumbled the ending....
I was so excited to read this book as a lover of Frankenstein and was immensely disappointed.
I was so excited to read this book as a lover of Frankenstein and was immensely disappointed.
liesljrowe's review
3.0
As so often happens when I read short story anthologies, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to rate "Creatures". Some of the stories in here are absolutely stunning. I loved Emma Newman's "Made Monstrous", focusing on a detective trying to solve the mystery of a series of body part thefts. The 1920s tale of two women who reanimated a woman together as a project of science and art combined was also fabulous. However, some of the other stories were less to my taste. Perfectly serviceable fiction, but nothing which really caught my imagination. Not to mention my squeamishness over medical matters definitely is a hindrance when trying to read a story about the first treatise on human anatomy. Definitely would recommend to anyone who is a fan of the original novel, it's well worth a read.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
catsluvcoffee's review
3.0
Waiting within the pages of this anthology are five new stories taking Mary Shelley's story of Frankenstein and giving it a unique twist. Spanning different time periods from the 1850's with Kaseem's Way, to the present day with Love Thee Better, each tale keeps to the solemn voice of the original.
Some stories resonated more with me than others but they all managed to sustain the feeling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The authors have all taken the mad doctor's ideology of reanimation and molded it into their own monstrous creation, terrifying yet piteous.
Read more at Cats Luv Coffee
Some stories resonated more with me than others but they all managed to sustain the feeling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The authors have all taken the mad doctor's ideology of reanimation and molded it into their own monstrous creation, terrifying yet piteous.
Read more at Cats Luv Coffee
mabookyard's review
4.0
My Rating : 3.5🌟 overall for all the stories
.
Will upload the individual stories's soon!
This book is a collection of 5 stories which have Frankenstein as one of their ideas! And boy oh boy was it entertaining!
The first thing I loved about this book is how each story is unique in its own way and in no way related to the actual classic! It may have the concept of Frankenstein but never in a same way! Each story had its charm and I absolutely loved that fact!
Second of all, it's no wonder I loved this book, I am a fan of horror/thriller and this book was right up my alley!
As I said before, each story was different! And if you look even closer, you can classify them into different genre! Especially I loved the last 2 stories! You can call them realistic horror fiction! And they were amazing! Since it's a collection of stories by different authors, you can almost identify the writing style.
Though I loved few, I had issues with few. Overall, I loved the concept and how the stories were written. If you a fan of retellings, gothoc fiction, horror or thrillers, definitely give this book a shot!
*Thankyou Netgalley for providing an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
.
Will upload the individual stories's soon!
This book is a collection of 5 stories which have Frankenstein as one of their ideas! And boy oh boy was it entertaining!
The first thing I loved about this book is how each story is unique in its own way and in no way related to the actual classic! It may have the concept of Frankenstein but never in a same way! Each story had its charm and I absolutely loved that fact!
Second of all, it's no wonder I loved this book, I am a fan of horror/thriller and this book was right up my alley!
As I said before, each story was different! And if you look even closer, you can classify them into different genre! Especially I loved the last 2 stories! You can call them realistic horror fiction! And they were amazing! Since it's a collection of stories by different authors, you can almost identify the writing style.
Though I loved few, I had issues with few. Overall, I loved the concept and how the stories were written. If you a fan of retellings, gothoc fiction, horror or thrillers, definitely give this book a shot!
*Thankyou Netgalley for providing an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
eloisebell's review
3.0
This was a brilliant anthology of 5 unique and brilliantly wrote stories, based on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. I don't usually get on well with anthologies as a struggle to connect with the characters in such a short time but each story in this collection was a great length, not the snippets of stories you usually find in other short story collections.
Obviously, with all collections, some of the works stand out as masterpieces while others fall flat. But overall this was a good collection and will make brilliant reading for any Frankenstein super fans.
Obviously, with all collections, some of the works stand out as masterpieces while others fall flat. But overall this was a good collection and will make brilliant reading for any Frankenstein super fans.
jessmcall's review
2.0
DNFed at 40% Frankenstein is my favorite book so I thought this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, I was so bored and couldn't get into any of the stories I read. Not for me
cate_ninetails's review
3.0
I love Frankenstein. I love the ripples that such a story has made through modern literature and cinema, so I absolutely had to snatch up this book. I don't often read short story anthologies, so it's difficult to judge the book on the whole when the stories inside of it vary so wildly. There are some true stand out moments and I especially loved Eve, the beautiful creation of two bohemian women. At times though, other stories did drag and in my opinion, were a little too derivative and dependant on the source material rather than finding an original spark and story to tell. So, there are highs and lows but the good parts were very enjoyable.
sashanotwillsmith's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0