Review: Faraday's Last Experiment
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 23, 2013
Here in the first installment of Warnings to the Curious, a projected series of linked stories, S. Anderson Laatsch crafts a tale about the (fictional) last experiment of Michael Faraday. It's a tragic last scientific fling away from the wife for the old man.  The twist?  Faraday is following the footsteps of Victor Frankenstein.HISTORICAL FIGURELaatsch clearly researched the life and personality of Michael Faraday before writing.  The version of Faraday she presents retains the historical figure's loneliness and religious faith.  The implicit parallel between the obsessed lone wolf Faraday and the Byronic, driven Frankenstein deepens the characterization.  Faraday and Frankenstein, it turns out, have more in common than just electricity.CLASSIC STEAMPUNK SETTINGSThe story is set in the late 1860s in Middlesex, UK, and in St. Charles, MO.  Keeping description to a minimum, Laatsch recreates the atmosphere of bygone times by employing a nineteenth-century writing style and having her characters observe antique social customs and etiquette.  Lovers of technology will not, however, be disappointed.  Two curious mechanical devices enter early into the story.THE TALE IS TOLD IN FULLIn contrast to the first installments of many ebook series, "Faraday and Frankenstein" presents the whole story and does not withhold the details of the end for an unpublished next chapter.  Curious readers will find notices of the forthcoming installments at the end of the ebook.FIVE STARS"Faraday and Frankenstein" prompted me to read further about Michael Faraday.  When I re-read the story afterward, I found it still pleased me.  Only good short stories bear re-reading well.