I mainly got this for the S.P. Somtow story, which I had not read before, and which was excellent. He manages to mix disturbingly sick with lyrically beautiful like no one else...

However; the rest of the book was pretty underwhelming - not as good as I expected, even by the general standards of theme anthologies.

Contents:

The Lord’s Apprentice · Isaac Asimov
An introductory essay by Asimov. Leads one to believe that good things will be coming. But.

Near Flesh · Katherine Dunn
Probably the least Frankenstein-y story in the book, it tells of a nasty, unattractive woman who uses male sex robots to gratify herself... and gets what's coming to her. I didn't like it.

Summertime Was Nearly Over · Brian W. Aldiss
Frankenstein's monster has holed up it a mountain cave, with his bride, till modern times. When he encounters a young hiker, things come to a head...

The Creature on the Couch · Michael Bishop
Frankenstein's monster works as a night watchman. But his boss sends him to a psychotherapist due to his obvious maladjustment.

Fortitude · Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Not written for this anthology. Written as a screenplay. An elderly woman is kept alive by machinery - which is controlled by her obsessed doctor, who prevents her from committing suicide. Better-crafted than most of these stories, but I still didn't love it.

Monsters of the Midway · Mike Resnick
What if reanimated monsters were set to playing pro football?

Dreams · F. Paul Wilson
One of the men whose corpse has been integrated into Frankenstein's monster seeks out the girl he loved in life...


Evil, Be My Good · Philip José Farmer Frankenstein's monster is writing a missive, while in the process of freezing to death in arctic climes. He waxes philosophical.

A Writ of Habeas Corpus · Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
"Frank" is stuck in a mental hospital, but appeals to a good lawyer to get him out. The celebrity advocate pushes him into a role as a movie star.

The State Versus Adam Shelley · Benjamin M. Schutz
A portrait of a teenage psycho, in the form of a mental evaluation.

Chui Chai · S. P. Somtow
As I said, this is a great, disturbing piece. Thai legend and myth mixes with seedy reality in this story of prostitution, money, and an amoral doctor.

I, Monster · Loren D. Estleman
Another where the monster survives up to the current day and has to find a place in today's society. Here, he becomes a pro wrestler.

This Icy Region My Heart Encircles · Steve Rasnic & Melanie Tem
Mary Shelley keeps her dead husband's heart sitting around, after his death.

Mad at the Academy · Esther M. Friesner
Tries way too hard for humor, and falls flat. The monster gets to be a movie star, again, here.

Last Call for the Sons of Shock · David J. Schow
Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Dracula &c get together at a bar, as they do annually, and reminisce about the good old days.

Victor · Karen Haber
Frankenstein is destroyed by his monster.

Part Five · Garfield Reeves-Stevens
An aspiring actress in LA is ready for the casting couch - but not ready for what's actually in store for her.

Frankie Baby · Joyce Harrington
After the visit of a long-lost childhood friend, a young mother's child dies. But then the friend, now a renowned doctor, offers a replacement.

Pity the Monsters [Newford] · Charles de Lint
A young woman is assaulted by a monstrous man in an alley. When she comes to, she seems to have been rescued by an eccentric old woman. But the reality is far creepier. (This one wasn't bad.)

The Last Supper and a Falaffel to Go · George Alec Effinger
Once more, the monster makes it to the present day - and this time becomes a homeless man.

Selected Filmography · Leonard Wolf
Some dude's opinions about some Frankenstein movies. Unnecessary. ( )

18 short stories on the Franenstein theme. There's usually one in a short story collection like this that I don't enjoy as much as the others. Not the case this time round as I enjoyed all of them.

My favorite top 3 have to be Near-Flesh by Katherine Dunn, The Creature on the Couch by Michael Bishop and Part Five by Garfield Reeves-Stevens.

I love the almost sci-fi setting of Near-Flesh and the conflict of Asimov's rules of robotics that played out in the final pages.

The Creature on the Couch offers therapy for the monster and an exploration of unresolvable conflict that's bulit in to the monster's very make up.

Part Five could almost be a Dracula story, but is all the more creapy for the monster revealing his un-natural survival tactic.

Although it didn't make my top 3 Frankie Baby by Joyce Harrington is a very modren take on the old tale. With it's genetic manipulation asspect I think it will become all the more unerving as time goes by.

The indtoduction by Isaac Asimov is worth reading as it's almost a story on the human condition in itself. ( )

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the original motion picture, Frankenstein, some of the best-known authors of the fantastic and the mysterious explore the legend of Mary Shelley's classic monster.

From Brian Aldiss's eerie look at a mysterious creature hidden for centuries, to S.P. Somtow’s tale of passion and dismemberment in Thailand, to Katherine Dunn’s examination of a bizarre affair – here are spectacular new Frankenstein stories transcending time and place.

Keller, David (Assistant Editor); Miller, Megan (Assistant Editor); Betancourt, John (Assistant Editor)