Our ongoing series reviewing audio adaptations of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror works. Note that these reviews may contain spoilers.
By John J. Joex
Book Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
![Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus | [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gwCAjrV7L._SL175_.jpg "Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus | [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley]")
Practically every Science Fiction and Fantasy fan is familiar with the basic story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein even if they are not as well versed with how the story progresses in the original novel itself. Framed in letters written by Captain Robert Walton leading an expedition to the North Pole, the book begins with Walton’s team discovering Victor Frankenstein pursuing his creation in this arctic wilderness, intent on its destruction. Frankenstein comes aboard the ship to escape from the treacherous conditions and he recounts his tale to Walton. He tells of his early fascination with the natural sciences and how he pursued this while studying at the university which resulted in him applying his new found knowledge to actually creating a living being from dead body parts (though the details of how he does this is left vague in the book). After the initial elation of his accomplishment, he finds himself repulsed by the creature he has created and he abandons it and falls ill for several months. He eventually returns home when he hears that his younger brother has been murdered. Once there, he learns the truth that the creature he created is responsible for having killed his younger brother. The monster confronts Frankenstein and tells him the story of what transpired after his creator abandoned him. He found himself reviled by others because of his appearance, causing him to flee from society. However, he came across a family living in isolation and he observed them over the course of a year, learning to talk and discovering much about the social norms of humanity through them. When he finally decided to reveal his presence to them, hoping that they would accept him, they were reviled by his appearance setting him on a murderous rage that brought him to Frankenstein’s family. However, once he confronts his maker he requests that Frankenstein create a companion so that the two could live together in isolation, far apart from humanity. Frankenstein at first agrees and goes to an isolated location to carry out this task. But he finds that he cannot bring himself to create another creature of this type, which enrages the monster and sends it once again on a killing spree, targeting his creator’s friends and family and returns the story to Frankenstein’s quest to hunt down and destroy the monster.
This book is of course a seminal work in both the Horror and Science Fiction genres. It draws much on the gothic tales of its time while also providing an early foray into speculative/science fiction as the origins of the creature are based in science (to the extent that the field had progressed at that time), with no supernatural underpinnings. The basic story gives us the classic tale of man falling victim to his aspirations and the potential dangers of technology out of control. Those have since become common, if maybe even trite, themes in Science Fiction, but to delve into their origins you should start with Shelley’s book. However, some modern day readers should note that this book lacks the sophistication and tightness of the novel format that books in the genre would demonstrate over the next century and more. Frankenstein is very wordy and drags in many places. And very often you wish that Victor would just quit his bellyaching and moaning and face up to the mess he made. And while this may derail the book some readers, I just found it a minor nuisance and the bumps in the road were well worth it once the journey came to its conclusion. There’s plenty to like about this story and much in the way of substance to dive into and sift through, which seems to have become a rarity in books these days. Feel free to skim through the passages that meander from the main story, but don’t let them stop you continuing to the end of the book.
The audiobook version that I listened to came from Audible.com and I have my usual complaint about their books being broken down into only a small number of large files (making it impossible for me to forward through the superfluous parts with my older MP3 player). There are multiple audiobook versions of the novel available, and I chose the one narrated by Dick Hill (mostly because of its economical price of $7.95). He delivers an excellent reading of the book, offering subtle changes of accent between the characters to keep each of them separate throughout the narration. And this one is definitely worth the listen. We have all been exposed to the Frankenstein story in some form or another over the years, whether in movies, television, comics, etc. But genre fans should also experience the original novel as well to fully appreciate this landmark work that has inspired countless retellings since its first publication in the early nineteenth century.
