OKAY maybe this review is sacrilegious, but I stand by it.

First, the whole story-within-a-story-within-a-letter thing just doesn't do it for me. I get the reason why the device is used (tyvm ENGL2040) but unfortunately I'm not reading this in 1818. Every few pages I realise that this is technically a recount and for some reason I can't suspend my disbelief about how good people's memories are.

Second, I think this novel struggles to be immersive. Yes, Frankenstein justifies towards the end why there's a lack of detail surrounding his scientific processes, but that doesn't defend the complete lack of detail surrounding like... anything else. Love your descriptions of the mountains, Ms Shelley, but that's surely less relevant than explaining what the main characters are up to?? Had I not been familiar with the premise already, it would be so easy to misinterpret what was going on.

And this gets me to my real reflection. The problem with reading "first of their kind" novels 200+ years after their publication is the intrigue just doesn't translate. I suppose it's particularly true with novels like this, that stand out for their developments in genre and suspense - the 21st century reader is acclimatised to those already. That's not to say classics don't have value to read, but this novel didn't really get me there:

1. For the reasons above, I didn't find the writing as a particular point of appreciation. I enjoyed the last 10% dramatically more than the first 90% - it felt like the characters were finally doing things, and the epistolary format started becoming a feature, rather than a gimmick.
2. The moral lessons this novel teaches are lessons I already knew. Thanks, Sam Altman.

Maybe this is a bad take, hopefully it doesn't come across as anti-intellectual, but this one wasn't for me. Yes, it still gets 2.5 stars, because I'm not a hater and I found parts of it enjoyable (and worthy of analysis in my ENGL2040 essay).

This book reads like an episode of BBC's Merlin...

There are interesting beats in the plot, including strong action and entertaining dialogue, but there are some diabolical plot holes and a complete lack of character development.

It's very apparent that this book was written and released serially...

I can find enjoyment in reading each chapter - and there are certainly some characters and dynamics (e.g. Mr Wemmick) that I can get invested in or want to read more of. However, each chapter being relatively self-contained means that I was never particularly motivated in finishing the novel, and I was certainly left unsatisfied by the overarching pacing and messaging.