Monsters Abound
02/02/2006
Mad Marv 1. Man Made Monsters. Burbank, CA: Crypto-American Press, 2005. 260 p.
Man Made Monsters shows us, through a series of short stories and “recipes for disaster,” that the lessons learned by both Prometheus and Victor Frankenstein still apply—tinkering with the powers beyond human understanding may have grave consequences (pun intended). Over the course of five horrific short stories, Mad Marv weaves together classic horror, a bit of science fiction, and a healthy dose of splatterpunk for good measure. The result is an entertaining collection wrought with blood, gore, mind control, and government conspiracy.
In the opening story, “Overtime,” John, an investigative reporter, finds himself naked in an unfamiliar place, unable to open his seemingly stitched eyes. Given the nature of this book, the reader quickly realizes that John is indeed a reanimated corpse and is the first man-made monster of the aptly-named collection. John is reborn without knowing how or why, and his primary goal upon this unexpected return is, of course, to use his investigative skills to determine who sent him to an early grave. Although the memories from his final days of life are fuzzy at best, John discovers that he had uncovered a governmental program to control the news (the aforementioned government conspiracies) before he was killed. The decaying reporter must make things right before his soul leaves his rapidly decomposing body for the last time.
Admitting the similarity between John, who was brought to life by an eccentric scientist with a “soul catcher,” and Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, Mad Marv describes angry members of the community with flashlights in hand, viciously pursuing John. The author continues the brief parody by writing “The explosion propelled an eight-inch carriage bolt through his neck. He tried to pull it out, but it was firmly entrenched, protruding on both sides” (45). The readers can picture John as the infamous man-made monster with which they are so familiar. On more than one occasion, Mad Marv tips his cap to the great Mary Shelley and James Whale.
In “Sins of the Mother,” “The Hypno-Chondriac,” and “Narcolepsy,” the monsters in question are all brought about by various mind control methods. They are not the living dead per se, but rather are—for the most part—living, breathing humans who are altered by forces beyond their control. Similarly, the characters in “Mosquito” become the unwitting vehicles of a type of institutionally-sponsored germ warfare. These individuals are transformed in the name of science or, in other cases, the name of military advancement. The author clearly does not believe in artificial happy endings and thus the reader is often left with harsh—but more realistic—conclusions. Ostensibly, the greater monsters are the creators, not their subjects, yet justice is not always served in these stories.
Between each story, Mad Marv provides “recipes for disaster,” which offer step-by-step instructions for creating one’s own monsters, including golems, mannikins, and Homunculi. The final recipe involves turning oneself into a monster, such as the ever-popular vampire or shape-shifting lycanthrope. These snippets include historical background for the nefarious beings and their creation, along with accounts of the disastrous consequences associated with monster-making pursuits. The creatures are indeed monsters, and they will turn on their creators without remorse and ultimately threaten humanity as a whole.
In terms of the quality of writing, I have some minor concerns with Mad Marv’s collection. Spelling and grammatical errors are peppered throughout, most notably the misspelling of “Hypno-Chondriac” (i.e., Hypno-Chrondriac) that appears on the header of each page in that chapter. Additional examples of editorial oversights are: “She lost a lot weight” (54) and “Larry watched as she violent thrashed, spurting black blood back in all directions” (240). The errors can be jarring, but do not necessarily doom the book to failure. Furthermore, the writing tends to be somewhat laconic and the dialogue is, at times, comically simplistic. When, for instance, the reanimated John from “Overtime” finally confronts his killer, he states, “I don’t have a lot of time and I have no patience. Don’t stall by pointing out the obvious fact that I’m dead. Just tell me what I need to know” (30). The writing is clearly short and to the point, yet part of Mad Marv’s charm is that he simply has a story to tell and does not take himself too seriously.
All in all, Man Made Monsters is an enjoyable set of stories worthy of inclusion in the horror genre. With some editing and slight revisions, it may be recommended for both public library and personal horror collections.
1. According to Crupto-American Press, "Mad Marv (a pseudonym) is indeed an interesting person. Before allowing Crypto-American Press to publish his writings, he specified that he must remain anonymous. He seems to know about things that he shouldn't. Quite frankly, Mad Marv scares the hell out of everyone who knows him...." From Their authors' site. Accessed Feb. 1, 2006. <http://www.cryptoamerican.com/id13.html>