I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My stop on the blog tour can be found at Donnie Darko Girl.
This Monstrous Thing is an awesome steampunk take on the Frankenstein story that breathes new life (ha ha!) into the monster tale. When Alasdair's brother Oliver dies, Alasdair brings him back to life using clockwork parts but he doesn't come back the same way he was before he died. Then the book fast forwards two years.
Alasdair keeps the fact that he brought Oliver back to life a secret from their parents, and I wondered why. I could see both pros and cons of letting them know the son they thought was dead was alive again in some way, but I think ultimately Alasdair feared for Oliver's safety. Clockwork men and women are hated and feared, and Alasdair knew he couldn't hide Oliver forever if he brought him home.
I wasn't a fan of Alasdair's father - he was too gruff with his living son. If I only had one son who was still alive, I'd like to think I wouldn't be so tough on him. I guess it was because of the difficult life their family leads due to the secret and illegal work they do with clockwork parts. Still, I wasn't a fan of their father.
I do like Alasdair and Oliver. Their relationship sounded very close before Oliver died, but it changed after Oliver was brought back from the dead. It changed in ways Alasdair couldn't have predicted, and I loved the exploration of their relationship and the factors that changed it.
Admittedly there were a couple of slow moments in This Monstrous Thing; however, I still enjoyed the story. I love that there's an exploration of what makes us human and the question of whether that humanity is wiped away (and if so how much?) when you start adding mechanical, moving parts to keep the body going. But most of all, how much humanity remains when you die and are brought back with mostly mechanical parts? When you can't remember much of your life?
If you're a fan of Frankenstein and are looking for a fresh re-imagining of the story involving a tale of two brothers, then This Monstrous Thing will be right up your alley.
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