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Summary: Classic horror for your Halloween reading.
Review: While I love vampires I have to say that Frankenstein is superior to Dracula in classic horror literature. There is so much here in this book that it would be insulting to try and describe it in so few words. The characters of the creature and creator are completely different in this book. It is easy to have sympathy for the both of them. Two men locked together in a love/hate relationship. It is a very emotional book. I think most readers familiar with the movies and not the book, will be surprised at how intelligent and well spoken the creature is. This is a must for any horror fan.
Rating: 
Summary: So close to being the best...
Review: This book was so close to being the best horror novel ever written. It just lacked a couple of things. The most important being a good description of what the monster looked like, granted it was fun to make up the image yourself. One of the reasons why I personally think it is a bit on the short side and does lack some description is that it was written for a friendly writing contest by Mary Shelly, her husband and some friends. However anyone who considers themselves well read even if they are not a fan of horror should read this book. It is very good and at only just over 200 pgs (most editions) it is not a time consuming book.
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Summary: "cursed, cursed creator."
Review: Victor grew up reading the works of Paracelsus, Agrippa, and Albertus Magnus, the alchemists of the time. Toss in a little natural philosophy (sciences) and you have the making of a monster. Or at least a being that after being spurned for looking ugly becomes ugly. So for revenge the creature decides unless Victor makes another (female this time) creature, that Victor will also suffer the loss of friends and relatives. What is victor to do? Bow to the wishes and needs of his creation? Or challenge it to the death? What would you do?
Although the concept of the monster is good, and the conflicts of the story well thought out, Shelly suffers from the writing style of the time. Many people do not finish the book as the language is stilted and verbose for example when was the last time you said, "Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy of death."
Much of the book seems like travel log filler. More time describing the surroundings of Europe than the reason for traveling or just traveling. Many writers use traveling to reflect time passing or the character growing in stature or knowledge. In this story they just travel a lot.
This book is definitely worth plodding through for moviegoers. The record needs to be set strait. First shock is that the creator is named Victor Frankenstein; the creature is just "monster" not Frankenstein. And it is Victor that is backwards which added in him doing the impossible by not knowing any better. The monster is well read in "Sorrows of a Young Werther," "Paradise Lost," and Plutarch's "Lives." The debate (mixed with a few murders) rages on as to whether the monster was doing evil because of his nature or because he was spurned?
Rating:
Summary: a monster classic
Review: The main idea of this novel came to Mary Shelley from a dream she had in the midst of a story writing contest during an extended visit by herself, her husband Percy, and Byron. They'd engaged in a contest to write a horrific story. The two, more famous writers didn't produce anything that went anywhere, but Mary Shelley's story, "Frankenstein" grew into one of the best monster novels ever written. The book is a frame narrative, written in the form of journal style letters from an explorer sailing through the arctic. The main story is told from Dr. Frankenstein's perspective after most of the plot has already occured. Frankenstein is in the midst of chasing down his creation and in retelling the story, from his decidedly slanted view, the question of who the real monster is, the creation or Frankenstein himself, arises.
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Summary: Nothing like the movie monster
Review: First off, let me get this out of the way - this is not what I expected. When one refers to Frankenstein, the image conjured up is always the square headed, green skinned Karloff with bolts through his neck (at least, for us non eggheads :P). I am so glad that I read this book just to see who and what Frankenstein's monster really was before Hollywood got ahold of him. There is a mysterious feeling surrounding this book when you know how it came to be. Read the Author's Introduction if you read nothing else. Their talks on the subjects of the day ring in the background of Frankestein and, since we are after all dealing with Byron and Shelly in the background, one can almost feel the mood that must have been present that summer. As for the content of the book, the main question I find interesting is that reviewer/critic Harold Bloom said that the greatest paradox was that Frankenstein's monster had more 'humanity' than his human creator. It is a good angle from which to read the book. Frankenstein (the creator) works feverishly to learn the secret of resurrection and once he succeeds, abandons his progeny to a cruel world that can not see his inner beauty for his gruesome appearance. The spurned creature turns to his creator and threatens him into helping him by creating a mate so that he can have some solace in the world. With this he would be peaceful. Are his acts the acts of a monster or of a man pushed too far? Honestly, the book itself brings up the questions but I didn't see that they were answered. Of course, I might be missing it. Regardless, it is fun to read and you owe it to yourself to find out what Hollywood jipped you out of.
Rating: 
Summary: way overrated
Review: there is a certain degree of philosophy in this one. man is not good. our man is taking his experiments too far, wanting to make a human, using body parts from dead people. it lives of course. it escapes. learns to read and write. decides to find its master. the conflict deepesn. although the plot is interesting, it is not carried out that well. the psychology is lost somewhere. i just don't buy it, because there is really nothing to buy. the "monster"'s role gets abit unclear, and some of the philosphical elements are lost. it gets a bit stilted. the plot IS interesting, but it just isn't worked well. it all becomes kind of blurred. THIS IS NOT A HORROR NOVEL. it really is not, as stated by a true horror master: H.P.Lovecraft. it is a philosophical supernatural drama. if you want a horror novel, you are looking in the wrong direction. i agree there is something grizzly here, but that does not make horror.
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Summary: Discussion Group Glamour Book!!!
Review: Forget the horror themes. This book is timeless for all cultures because it forces us to ask the big questions: What is our responsibility as a creator? What is God's responsibility as a creator? What is God's realm? What is Man's realm? If God is us, and we are God - are we evolving or are we going where we shouldn't go? Are there ways that society should/shouldn't use or ignore their knowledge? What do we do when our technology surpasses our humanity? How should humanity proceed with technology? Are we ready to know what we know? The intrigue is endless, and can be revisited with new groups for discussions over and over.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book
Review: I studied this book, "Frankenstein", in my 12th Grade English Literature class. There are some slow parts, but overall an adventure to read. Victor Frankenstein's family at the beginning, his "nervous fevers", how he created the monster and became obsessed with his work, his marriage to his cousin, Elizabeth, etc...it's all there, but the reader such as myself has more sympathy for the monster than Frankenstein himself because of the monster's longing for love. It's a good book for students and anyone who enjoys tragedies (it doesn't really seem to be like a horror story though).
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Summary: A man-made tragedy
Review: I have read "Frankenstein" several times. Although it has been included in the genre of horror tales it is not so much a horror story,but more a tragedy.
It's a story of scientist who creates an artificial being in attempt to understand the secrets of life.
However when he gazes upon the hideous countenance of his creation he rejects it automatically thereby avoiding total responsibility for his actions.
This of course brings about some negative repercussions for Dr.Frankenstein as his creation seeks revenge for his rejection.
Unlike the way that this creature has been portrayed in most of the movies,the creature in this book has some intellect for it had taught itself to read and speak.
Which is impressive as this man-made being never went to school or had a tutor to help.
Also this character displays a human sense of empathy when it is able to identify with some of the people in the books that it was able to read.
Obviously the author Mary Shelley had portrayed this creature in such a way as to gain sympathy for it from the reader.
Even after this creature kills the wife of Dr.Frankenstein one still feels more sympathy for his creation rather than Frankenstein himself.
The creator it seems is not so god-like in this novel for after he creates the hideous looking creature he abandons it and any responsibility for it.
One wonders seriously if this man ever thought about the consequences of his actions or whether he just did it to prove himself god-like? If so maybe his ego was more in control than his intellect. That's probably why when he saw ugly the creature was he turned away from it rather than face the fact that he had botched up his creation's appearance.
If he was truely dedicated to his work than he would have or should have attempted some plastic surgery to remedy the hideous appearance of his man-made being.
Because of it's hideous appearance the creature recieves a less than positive response from the few humans it encountered,which is why this creature became so bitter and misanthropic.
This more than anything makes this tale a tragedy than a horror story.
Rather than terrify the reader,this story appeals more to one's sense of sympathy instead,especially for the unfortunate creature who through no fault of it's own is brought into this harsh world to experience the fear and animosity of it's creator and the people that it had encountered.
Although written in the early part of the ninteenth century this particular story is still of current importance to our times as well,especially when we are on the brink of genetic tampering and artificial intelligence.
There are some among us who believe it possible to create machines that can think and maybe even feel like us.
Which does raise some disturbing questions of whether we should really want robots or machines to think and feel like we do.
After seeing the movie "Bladerunner" I seriously doubt that a race of man-made beings like the replicants should be a welcome idea or that it could be of any benefit to us when we come in conflict with such creatures.
If anything this novel by Mary Shelley serves as a timeless reminder of what might be the result of creating something in our image.
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Summary: Fabulous, Meaningful Gothic Novel
Review: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is actually great novel with intense themes that apply to the 1800s as well as today! A 4/5 rating is a little low, and I wish that I could give it a 4.5/5 because it is so good. But, it has a few weaknesses so I couldn't give it five stars. The novel is a whole lot more emotional and meaningful than the 1931 movie. They are so different in their story's events and in their message that it is surprising that they even share the same name! Although I don't agree with everything Mary Shelley is implying in her writing, such as the idea of a planned destiny, some of the novel's main messages are actually quite true and apparent to the modern world. The novel shows how taking someting, such as science or the desire to become famous, taken to the extreme actually destroys rather than builds. This applies to the confict between science and ethics in the case of genetic engineering and cloning of modern day. Also, the novel shows how others' heartless and presumptuous actions can totally ruin a person and can bring out the evil from within that person. Even though the book isn't very long, with all these powerful themes, it is not exactly an easy read. The story is great, and Mary Shelley related events very well. I have to admit, some parts were predictable, but other parts of the book were suspensful and exciting to read. The story starts with an arctic explorer who finds and saves a man he found almost frozen to death. This man, in order try to teach the explorer a lesson about the the downsides of fame, tells his story about his scientific discovery dealing with life and death and his terrible destruction. This story is not action-packed, terrifying, nor that believable (it really doesn't need to be) but it is emotional, tragic, dark, and moving, and Mary Shelley's writing style creates this mood well. The language that Mary Shelley uses is exquisite, but sometimes challenging because it is old-fashioned. I would recommed that you get an edition, such as the Penguin Classics, that has end-notes so you can have a greater understanding of Mary Shelley's writing. Also, there are certain parts of the book that move at a slow pace. Getting through the slow parts is well worth it, however, because it is such a powerful and fascinating book.
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