# Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

15 Hacker News commenters recommended Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend this 1818 novel as readable, beautifully written science fiction that still feels relevant today. Critics mostly object to how the Guillermo del Toro film adaptation handles the monster.

## Why people recommend it

- Del Toro film praised as visual masterpiece (5 comments): "I just watched "Frankenstein" (by Guillermo del Toro) from last year, and thought it was pretty fantastic." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942130)) "I really enjoyed it and have become a fan of Guillermo del Toro works recently" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46167686)) "Frankenstein and Death by Lightning were two standout successes recently." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46161181))
- Readable, well-written science fiction (2 comments): "She writes long (wordy?) sentences that are clear, and even feels beautiful to read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46119693)) "Superb science fiction, very readable even though written 200 years ago." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46391723))
- Themes still relevant today (2 comments): "The themes in this book are more relevant now than at any time since publication in 1818, and to nobody more than ML coders." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46132887)) "accurately critiques a future it never saw like a laser beam cutting across time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47164152))

## What people warn about

- Film humanizes the monster too much (3 comments): "The entire premise depends on him being a monster, not some sort of misunderstood, sympathetic EMO." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46162462)) "This movie failed at effectively portraying this conflict by humanizing the monster too much." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46163908)) "ruined his monster by removing the inner rage he felt and expressed towards the world" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46164617))
- Cheap makeup, effects and lighting (3 comments): "The makeup was awful, the effects were cheap, the monster... wasn't a monster!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46162986)) "looks oddly cheap and fake with really bad lighting in many scenes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46162552)) "The makeup was awful, the effects were cheap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46162385))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Frankenstein by Mary Shelley", https://hackerapproved.com/p/frankenstein/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).