Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

audio cd

English language

Published March 16, 2008 by Blackstone Audiobooks, Inc..

ISBN:: 978-1-4332-1563-6
OCLC Number:: 213464858

(1 review)

Ambitious young scientist Victor Frankenstein succeeds in creating a living being, then, horrified by his countenance, frightens him away. Wandering in search of companionship, the being is spurned by all and learns to hate and kill. In a confrontation with his maker, he threatens a rampage of destruction unless Frankenstein creates a mate for him.

117 editions

el dang reviewed Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

An unexpected pleasure

5 stars

I wasn't expecting to like this book anywhere near as much as I ended up doing! The story as told in the book is much more interesting than the limited image of it that's got in to popular culture, and this was my first encounter with the whole thing. It's so much more about deeply flawed Victor Frankenstein (TLDR: our reading group kept using the term "main character syndrome") than about the mad science process. And while the creature is far from likeable, his portrayal has genuine pathos, even though most of what we hear about him is secondhand through the recounting of someone who hates him.

There are several impressively strong resonances to the modern world, between the general lack of ethics in tech and the current wave of "AI" hype. And of course big self-centred men who think that extreme success in one sphere gives them licence to …

I wasn't expecting to like this book anywhere near as much as I ended up doing! The story as told in the book is much more interesting than the limited image of it that's got in to popular culture, and this was my first encounter with the whole thing. It's so much more about deeply flawed Victor Frankenstein (TLDR: our reading group kept using the term "main character syndrome") than about the mad science process. And while the creature is far from likeable, his portrayal has genuine pathos, even though most of what we hear about him is secondhand through the recounting of someone who hates him.

There are several impressively strong resonances to the modern world, between the general lack of ethics in tech and the current wave of "AI" hype. And of course big self-centred men who think that extreme success in one sphere gives them licence to behave as badly as they like in others.