A review by kaeschwalber
Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

The ending made this book. If you are listening I recommend 1.25 speed 
Plot: (I don’t remember everyone’s names)

Mary Sutherland is the bastard grand niece of victor Frankenstein. Her childhood was made up of few bright spots because of the situation of her birth, resulting in the death of her parents, and thus being raised by her judgmental and absentee grandmother. She has bright moments with the family of her neighbor - a girl around her age that she has queer panic over. This family, headed but the Indian scientist and capitalist  Mr. J (I never read how to spell his name) is who introduces her to science and paleontology.  He invited her to his circles as she comes of age and she ends up falling in love with a man named Henry, who is a boisterous and risk attached young man who actually has interest in what she has to say. Time jump to a year after she gave birth to a still borne daughter. As she is coming out of the haze of her depression she and her husband are called to his estranged father’s estate after his death. Here she finds out that her husband has wracked up debts, and he has spoken ill of a sister who clearly does not deserve it. His sister is kind to a fault and very soft spoken. She tread very lightly around her brother and is very sick with perhaps asthma or TB. With his debts paid and his fathers holdings going to his sister, they are not in a rush to get back to London, where Henry has recently fumbled a job. It’s clear that he has the vigor of a scientist but not the rigor, while Mary has both. When they do return, he continues to fumble his position by speaking publicly against a well respected paleontologist. He reconnects with a man who Mary Remembers as a vile young man who tried to take advantage of her and is the worst kind of prejudice-one with power and influence. Henry does not heed Mary’s warnings about him. Mary meanwhile makes the discovery of her grandfathers letters and finds the possibility of creating a Frankensteined monster but for paleontology. Henry agrees and they create plans to go about rediscovering the spark of life. They ultimately end back at his sisters house to finish they work. Mary ends up discovering how to reanimate the creatures with the help of the science they guy she hates discovered. Said man shows up unannounced because shocker Henry owes him money. In a bout of anxiety Mary says that dickhead can be a part of their research to forgive their debts. They end up creating something that might resemble a plesiosaur and give it life. They then write around trying to see where they can show it off. In the meantime Mary starts catching feeling for Henry’s sister and she is pulled farther from him because of his weak behavior. Ultimately the crew had a falling out because Mary wants her accolades and dickhead tells her to shove it, and Henry does not speak up. Dickhead ends up stealing the plesiosaur - Mary Henry and Henry’s sister end up  chasing after them. As the plesiosaur moves to warmer weather it starts to rot while living. They catch up to dickhead, find their creature, and in a moment of rage and self protection Mary kills dickhead. They were able to avoid blame. She separates form Henry and goes to travel the world with Henry’s sister and connecting with the people she loved from the past. She also hopes to unravel the secrets of life in the hopes that one day she can find her creature and heal it fully, or at least hone her knowledge into a tool that could one day be used for good. The girls do not kiss and it’s a major heart ache for me- but hopefully they will one day.