I was watching Lisa Frankenstein recently, and also thinking about how I needed to make some blog posts, and it reminded me that I’ve always meant to do a post like this. I was just waiting to have enough books I could personally recommend. Frankenstein is one of my favorite classics, less so for the writing itself (sorry, Mary, I find a lot of classics are just overly wordy), but because the ideas in it and the overall story are really interesting. So I like retellings and stories that are inspired by it!

Unfortunately I still don’t have ten retellings I’ve personally read and liked, so you’ll have to settle for a list of books I read a long time ago and barely remember, books I didn’t personally like but maybe you will, and books I haven’t read yet but want to. Hey, that’s sort of a Frankenstein-ed list! I could’ve pretended like I did that on purpose, but I try to be honest with my visitors. Still, always nice to be on theme, and maybe you’ll find some good books!

*If you’re considering buying any of these books from Amazon US, I’d appreciate it if you use my links! It will help support this blog at no additional cost to you!*

This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee

A steampunk setting in which someone tries to bring his dead brother back to life, but his brother isn’t quite the same. According to my review, it was about brothers and grief and monsters and what it means to be human.
Amazon // Goodreads // My Review

Cadaver & Queen by Alisa Kwitney

Set in a historical world, the first female medical student finds the biomechanical cadaver of Victor Frankenstein and realizes, unlike the others, he still seems to have thoughts and feelings. I don’t really remember this one, but apparently I found the story engrossing. This is part of a series that I don’t think ever got finished, so there are some loose threads.
Amazon // Goodreads // My Review

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppal

This is a duology about Victor Frankenstein and his twin and some other characters you might recognize. Another I barely remember, but my review says it was ominous and gripping with an undercurrent of darkness.
Amazon // Goodreads // My Review

Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin

Set in a vague dystopian world where people are missing body parts and replace them with biomechanical ones, a girl decides to try and create a companion for herself. Despite that description, it wasn’t really about romance. I had mixed feelings about this one. I never really got into it, but I found it surprising.
Amazon // Goodreads // My Review

A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock

A gay couple create a daughter out of an intelligent or sentient-seeming fungus. You know, I read recently something about mushrooms learning to move a robotic frame? I did not fact check that, but it reminded me of this book and made me think it might not be as much SFF as I thought. Mushrooms freak me out even when they’re not intelligent. Anyway, this book kept the readers at too much of a distance from the characters for my taste, but it had some weird and horrifying ideas and lots of queer characters.
Amazon // Goodreads

Creatures by Various Authors

This one is an anthology of five short stories, all inspired by Frankenstein. I can’t say any left a big impression on me, but this had a lot of diversity and variety, and the stories managed to capture some different elements of the original in mood or theme.
Amazon // Goodreads // My Review

Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson

To be honest, I started and then dropped this one. I think it was partly that I didn’t like the audio, partly that I wasn’t being drawn in, and partly that the trans rep didn’t seem great—but since I didn’t get that far, I could be wrong. It’s one I might try again, in case it was just my mood. It has two timelines, one about Mary Shelley, and one in the near future with AI and sex dolls and cryogenics.
Amazon // Goodreads

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

Someone stitches together body parts, the corpse goes missing, and then weird murders start happening. That does sound a lot like the original, but set in Baghdad in more modern times, and I would like to read it.
Amazon // Goodreads

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

A sorta retelling told from Elizabeth’s POV. I don’t think this one leans into the sci-fi too much, but it still sounds interesting.
Amazon // Goodreads

Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein

I have a confession to make: I’ve owned a copy of this for years and still haven’t read it. As far as I understand, it’s basically just the original, but with illustrations. And the illustrations are beautiful, if you’re into the lanky, grungy, darkly whimsical visual style.
Amazon // Goodreads