From Booklist
The latest Mammoth anthology of supernatural, crime, and science fiction features man-made creatures of human and subhuman pedigree inspired by the example of Victor Frankenstein's creation. Accompanying the complete text of Mary Shelley's 1818 horror classic are 21 stories, two novellas, and a poem that explore the full spectrum of monsterly creation in literary styles ranging from comic to macabre. Eminent sf and horror practitioners including Ramsey Campbell, Robert Bloch, and Kim Newman test their life-creating skills by breeding a mutant hound, remodeling a deceased grandfather, and--in a surprisingly serious piece by Manley Wade Wellman--turning a rare ape into an intelligent Shakespearean actor. More credible standouts are Daniel Fox's probing account of a genetically engineered prodigy's voluntary demise in the face of competitive jealousy and David Case's "Dead End," a tautly written thriller about a unique breeding experiment involving regressed humanoids that eventually include the tale's horrified narrator. Although far from exhaustive despite its bulk, this is indispensable for thoroughgoing collections of classic horror, which will also want to consider
Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein (Underwood-Miller; dist. by Publishers Group West, $24.95 [0-88733-194-7]; paper, $15.95 [0-88733-193-9]), an edition of Shelley's yarn that features many full-page illustrations by a top-notch horror-comics artist.
Carl Hays
Ingram
From the editors of
Mammoth Books of Terror, Zombies, and
Vampires, a collection of tales about Mary Shelley's mad scientist features marvelously monstrous contributions from Clive Barker, Robert Bloch, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Tremayne, and many others. Original.
