Our Hideous Progeny - A New Take on Frankenstein

This cover art is absolutely stunning, and I grabbed this off the shelf at Indigo not knowing this existed.

Gothic? Sign me up. Frankenstein adaptation? Double yes. Debut novel? Give it to me.

C. E. McGill (they/them) is a Scottish born writer with a major in Frankenstein. At 23, coming out with this? I can't wait to see what else comes from this writer's brain. Now for the review!

The 30-Second Spoiler-Free Review

• Frankenstein retelling from his niece's POV

• you will feel feminist rage

• there is a dinosaur and I love him

• there are men, we are less fond of

• 1850s scientific community, the sheer detail that went into this book

• characters felt real, as if you could sit down and talk to them

• Mary and Maisie stole the show, Henry who?

“Of course, it mattered; perhaps the knowledge would not help to build bridges or make new medicines, but that was not all that science was about. Science was about the truth, about knowing what was possible and what was not; it was about the fervor I had felt looking upon the beached whale, or the fossil tooth in Catherine's palm. I had spent my whole life since in service to that same longing: the ravenous beast that was curiosity.”

The 5-Minute Review

• Mary and her husband, Henry, after losing their child are thrown into a spiral of gambling (Henry), debt (Henry), ego (Henry), and ambition (Mary) to climb out of it

• I'm truly impressed by how Henry was written, because I put him on the same level of distain as Tamlin (ACOTAR). He was infuriating, and I know he was a product of his time, but this man could not pull himself out of his grief to see that his wife was also in pain

• The ethical dilemma of "what do we bring to life" was such an intriguing chapter, where they both took a few seconds to think about their recent grief, and then decided against it. I definitely didn't see a dinosaur coming out of those deliberations

• Mary as a witty and sharp-tongued protagonist, named after Mary Shelley, Mary Anning, Mary Somerville; I absolutely adored her, especially to some of the quick remarks she made that had me stifling a giggle. But she's smart, she knows the subjects she's talking about, and it pained me to see the other characters scoff at a woman in science

• It may be a slow burn, but I read the book in 2 sittings, and I devoured it. Slow start, but it's needed because the second half of the book is a tornado on fire.

• +1 for the Gothic vibes in MAISIE'S HOUSE. Take that Henry

• Not normally one for historical fiction, but this grotesque retelling hit all the right spots

• Maisie, and how McGill handles chronic illness. The everyday battles, the stubbornness and strength it takes, her blooming relationship with Mary, just beautifully written