Rating: 
Summary: Forget the movies, this is what it's all about
Review: A great book, it's amazing how a dream can create such an incredible story. When I say forget the movies, it's because in the movies, even the original one with Boris Karloff, there is many things that are not in the book. For example, in the book, there is no lightning revival of the body, there is no hunchback assistant, it doesn't take place in some mystical castle on the edge of a cliff, but in a small student apartment. And, in my opinion, that is what makes it a great book. Allow me to explain.First, since the story is told by Dr Frankenstein to his new friend, Robert Walton, and since he feels ashame of himself, Dr Frankenstein is not willing to reveal his secret to anyone, nor say how it happened, because he fears someone might repeat his experience. That gives Dr Frankenstein a humanity which he doesn't have in the movies. In the different films, he looks more like a crazy fanatic scientist than anything else. Second, the fact that there is no hunchback is good because otherwise that shows how alone he was, how desperate his quest was that he didn't want anyone else involved in it. Hhe purposely isolated himself so not to bring to many attention on his research. Third, you see that Dr Frankenstein is not a crazy scientist living in a desolated castle, but rather a young scientist still in university. Finally, one thing I liked as well is that the monster is not, as in the movies, a grunting 8 foot man with bolts sticking out of his neck who scares people off without any reason. The monster is an articulate men who reads, talks, writes english perfectly. You know why he hates humanity that much, because he's been treated so badly by everyone. All in all, a fantastic book, a great story.
Rating: 
Summary: Unexpected
Review: This book is profound. It is unlike the story from the horror movie; you delve into the characters and find out the reasons for the monster's fury. I recommend it to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a fabulous novel of suspense, horror, and love. Young Victor Frankenstein goes to college to become a scientist and decides to do a project of creating life. Victor finally does this and creates a giant which Victor is scared of. Meanwhile one of Victor's brother's is murdered and Justine, a maid is killed for it and Victor knows the monster killed it. Many more murders are to take place and then Victor and the monster have a conversation... I won't ruin the plot for you! Anyways this book is a fascinating novel that is great for a reader of any age whatsoever. The novel is fast paced and has many interesting plots that you'll enjoy. Mary Shelly does a great job with this book. It is a novel you won't want to miss. Buy it and read it now! You'll be glad you did!
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Summary: WONDERFUL book.
Review: This book is absolutely amazing. The only thing I didn't like is how she made the book third person (its really told by the sailor Robert Walton, and not Victor Frankenstein, which people seem to misunderstand.) Besides that, the book is very well paced, and I found it very easy to understand. For you readers out there who said they had diffuculty in understanding the book you should pick up Cliff Notes or go to sparknotes.com to help you aid your understanding of this book, instead of declaring its "garbage" because you have failed to understand this brilliant womans messsage. Anyways the book is about how the monster represents a modern Adam and how mankind in general faces the dilemma of how to cope with our existence. This book left me heart-broken and in tears at the end. I felt horribly sorry for the monster who was more human this his juvenile and ignorant (yes, despite all the masters brilliance, he was ignorant) creator Victor Frankenstein. Definitely read this, the book is exquisite :)
Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: I had to read this book in school, and it was the worst book I ever read. It had no plot and went on and on saying ten pages of what we could say in one line. I do not recommend this book to anyone.
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Summary: Review from a teenage writer, sort of
Review: Okay, you're probably thinking that I'm just someone complaining about having to read it in my freshman year's honors English class. No, I was not forced to read this. I read it far before it was on the reading list. Just wanted to clear that up. Back to the review. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is an intriguing autobiography of a man obsessed with tampering with the laws of nature by reversing them. This novel shows how man deals with failure and loss. Unfortunatly, Victor Frankenstein dealt with failure and loss the wrong way and... Wait, I don't want to give away the ending. Anyway, Mary Shelley creates a clever plot and adds some gruesome happenings and romance, combining the three to make one of the most famous horror stories. Unfortunatly, for those of you still hooked to video games and fast-paced action, you may have a difficult time reading this for it tends to drag out at some points. But that's how literature is, you'll just have to deal with it. Apart from that, I would definitly recommend this book to just about anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical novel from the romantic period
Review: "Frankenstein" is a typical novel from the romantic period. The story is based on the conflict of a scientist with the results of his work. But Frankenstein is far more than that: It is the story of two individuals (Frankenstein and his "monster") and their acceptance and behavior in society, and of course, the novel contains a lot of latent psychological information (what would Freud have said about that?). However, it is typical for the age of romanticism that the feelings and thoughts of the individuum are at the center of the plot (see e.g. the works by Byron or by the German authors Eichendorff and Novalis). This holds as well for the music composed during that time (Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, ...). Mary Shelley describes in great detail the innermost feelings of Frankenstein and his "wretch" and how they changed from one minute to the other, and what made them change their moods, and why and how, and who was around etc. This actually - because presented through the entire book - makes the reading of the highly interesting story rather tedious. Story: 5 stars, Fun: 1 star
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly written and chock-full of theme
Review: Assuming that the people who are going to be interested in this book are going to be people who have seen the movie and want to compare it to the book, yes, the book is equally horrifying, and with no visual aid whatsoever (in the version that I read). This, to me, is a testament to Shelley's writing skill. Victor Frankenstein is portrayed not as a mad scientist but as an ambitious, emotional, lovesick, scholarly human being. The monster, too, is human. The best books are the ones that we can relate to, and we relate better to truly human characters. I actually felt more sorrow for the monster than I did for old Vic; I, too, have much love in my heart, but have said and done cruel things to people who have angered me, who have shunned me or wronged me. Human beings are capable of great good and great evil (since Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) and if we are not loved, we become evil. I also empathized with Vic a little, though, for I know how it feels to accomplish/acquire something and find out later that I never really wanted it. I could empathize with both sides of the conflict, and it taught my pendulum-like ego that there are some things in life that we cannot control, and that no matter how successful we are, we need people. We have to care. All of this, combined with more-than-adequate imagery, combine to make this one of the most powerful books I've ever read.
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Summary: This edition has a wonderful introduction.
Review: There are, of course, umpteen book editions of this all-time classic. Why choose this one? Because it has a very well written introduction that does much to establish a sense of the personal challenges that Mary Shelly faced while writing this gothic, incredibly prescient tale. Mary Shelly had experienced her share of tragic circumstances, and she knew the pains of loss of life, and how our deeply embedded desires to overcome grief can lead us to hope for -- life out of death. And to think that she was only 19 when she wrote this book, one that is, if anything, more relevant to our times than to hers! I won't give anything away here, except to say that knowing something of this young author's personal circumstances really heightens appreciation for the book as well as her literary talents. I commend the New York Public Library for publishing this fine edition. The comperhensive introduction also traces the history of various adaptations of the novel, including of course, the James Wale films from the 1930s. It appropriately points out how many of these adaptations completely missed key elements of the story. In that respect, I must admit it is fun to read the young readers' reviews, and sense their excitement in discovering the deeper levels of meaning in this story. Keep at it young readers -- you'll gain more and more from this novel as you read it over at different stages in your lives!
Rating:
Summary: The best Frankenstein book!
Review: This book shows that Dr. Frankenstein's creation was not a monster, just misunderstood. It is hated by the people who see it because of its monstrous appearance. The first person to not be afraid is a blind child. Frankenstein, unfortunately, accidentally kills the child. It goes through some rough things throughout the book. But I won't spoil it for you. You'll most likely read this a few times. This will show you what happens when you play God.
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