This Monstrous Thing

In an alternate 1818 Geneva, Alasdair Finch works as a secret mechanic who repairs bodies with clockwork parts. When his brother Oliver dies, Alasdair uses forbidden knowledge to bring him back, but the resurrection leaves Oliver changed and their lives dangerously exposed.

As rumors and fear spread around people with mechanical bodies, the publication of Frankenstein stirs the city and intensifies the hunt for so-called monsters. Alasdair is pulled between guilt, ambition, family loyalty, and the growing danger surrounding his work and his brother.

The story moves between the present and flashbacks that fill in the brothers’ past, their ties to Mary, and the events that led to Oliver’s death and return. The result is a Gothic, steampunk retelling that centers on brotherhood, prejudice, and the question of what makes someone human.