Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
by Mary Shelley · first published 1818
45% recommend55% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Widely regarded as one of the first science fiction novels, it raises lasting questions about technology and its risks. It is a gothic, thought-provoking work for anyone working in tech or AI.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2008–2025Inherit the Stars
James P. Hogan
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 86 recommend · 8 mention6 recommend · 86 recommend
2022–2026I'm Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdy, Jannettte Mcury
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 73 recommend · 7 mention3 recommend · 73 recommend
2008–2024Tiger! tiger!
Alfred Bester
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 109 recommend · 10 mention9 recommend · 109 recommend
2008–2026Doomsday book
Connie Willis
Recommended by 12 · mentioned by 1612 recommend · 16 mention12 recommend · 1612 recommend
Animal farm by George Orwell
Maureen Kirchhoefer
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 187 recommend · 18 mention7 recommend · 187 recommend
2008–2026City
Clifford D. Simak
Recommended by 16 · mentioned by 2416 recommend · 24 mention16 recommend · 2416 recommend
2008–2026The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester
Recommended by 34 · mentioned by 4834 recommend · 48 mention34 recommend · 4834 recommend
2007–2025The mysterious island
Jules Verne
Recommended by 32 · mentioned by 5132 recommend · 51 mention32 recommend · 5132 recommend
The best recent article on Shelley and Frankenstein: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/12/21/frankenstein-out-... Includes reviews of: Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds by Mary Shelley, edited by David H. Guston, Ed Finn, and Jason Scott Robert MIT Press, 277 pp., $19.95 (paper) The New Annotated Frankenstein by…
on “In Search of Mary Shelley review: A life of monsters and men” ↗Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Basically the first science fiction, and the warnings of the perils of technology are still just as relevant today.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗"Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley. The themes in this book are more relevant now than at any time since publication in 1818, and to nobody more than ML coders.
on “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?” ↗1. Animal Farm by George Orwell 2. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes [1] 3. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley 4. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette Mccurdy 5. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris 6. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe [2] 7. Cosmos by Carl Sagan 8. The Greatest Show on…
on “Ask HN: Which books did you read at least twice?” ↗…Bureaucracy & Tech https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64222.Going_Postal ## Bruce Bethke - *Headcrash* — Cyber-satire https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213465.Headcrash ## Mary Shelley - *Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus* — Classic Gothic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein ## Douglas Adams - *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* — Comic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11.The_Hitchhiker_s_Guid...…
on “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?” ↗Since Mary Shelley published 'Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus' in the early part of the nineteenth century, there's been an awful lot of sci-fi written. Which books do you recommend and why?
on “Ask YC: What's the most inspiring sci-fi book you've read?” ↗Since Mary Shelley published 'Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus' in the early part of the nineteenth century, there's been an awful lot of sci-fi written. Which books do you recommend I should steer well clear of and why?
on “Ask YC: What's the most insipid sci-fi book you've read?” ↗The most famous book title I know with that format is Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. It's so old a style that I find it funmy that it could be seen as a fad.
on “ASCII table and history – Or, why does Ctrl+I insert a Tab in my terminal?” ↗…Frankenstein's assistant achieved prominence through Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the character "Ygor" in the film "The Ghost of Frankenstein". (No character named "Igor" appears in Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus".) "Igors" are a community of folks within the fictional "Discworld" universe created by author Terry Pratchet. Dr. Frankenstein's assistant is merely a lab assistant. Igors on Discworld are folks who…
on “Emacs users are like Terry Pratchett’s Igors” ↗Also for example "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley, which was published in 1818. But actually it goes back even further, at least to the 17th century, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night#/media/File:Twel...
on “Pointers Are Complicated, or What’s in a Byte?” ↗…re-read) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. 1984 by George Orwell. (a re-read) Night by Elie Wiesel.. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.. (a re-read) When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley.. (a re-read) I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette Mccurdy.. (a re-read) If you're interested, check out my blog post where I talked about some of the mentioned books here - https://www.rxjourney.net/30-things-i-know
on “Ask HN: Books in 2025” ↗Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)
on “ASCII table and history – Or, why does Ctrl+I insert a Tab in my terminal?” ↗Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
on “The curse of knowing how, or; fixing everything” ↗