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Jigsaw Men by Gary Greenwood check out website: www.pspublishing.co.uk
The novel spawned a series of horror films. Brian W. Aldiss wrote a sequel with the title 'Frankenstein Unbound' which was also filmed. Other authors have also taken up the theme. HG Wells, too, fired the imagination with his novel 'The War of The Worlds' and Orson Wells' radio adaptation has become a classic. Gary Greenwood is familiar with the work of both Shelley and Wells and has woven together key themes from their masterworks in this novella.
Imagine an alternate history where both the Martian invasion happened and Frankenstein's scientific discoveries were accepted. The effect was to end the First World War in 1916 as the British Army deployed the Martian heat-ray technology against the Prussian armies of dead soldiers stitched together and re-animated. Both sides realised the folly of continuing the conflict. Thus, by the time this story is set, the face of the globe is radically different from that we recognise. America, for instance, is less technologically developed and is a relatively minor player on the world stage, although with big ambitions. Here is an author who has considered the world-wide implications of the changes he has made to the world as we know it. It is not overdone - there are enough hints to suggest that there is more to be thought about but they are not explained because they are not necessary for the sense of this particular tale. The story, like many good detective novels, has a first person narrative and belongs to the future crime sub-genre of Science Fiction. Detective Livingstone is assigned to a missing persons case. The daughter of Lord Trafalgar has gone missing and the MP wants her found quickly and discretely. What initially seems like a simple case becomes complex, leading to mayhem and involving espionage and the hard-core porn industry. 'Jigsaw Men' is a closely plotted novella with just the right amount of detail and pace to keep the narrative flowing and to intrigue the reader. It is one of a series of collectable books being produced by PS Publishing. These are numbered, limited edition volumes, nicely presented and with an insert signed by the author. The biggest fault is the absence of title and author on the front cover. Pauline Morgan
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OTHER REVIEWS - June 2004
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When
Mary Shelley wrote 'Frankenstein' in 1818 she unwittingly unleashed
a phenomenon that has caught the imagination of generations. 
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