Prometheus Books Puns

If you are looking for the announcement thread for the previous month, it may be found here.

Since the book club traditionally concludes every month with an AMA by the author of the selection, we never really have the opportunity to collectively explore older works; so during the month of October, we thought we would try something a little different. We will be reading the classic horror novel (and novella) Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley & The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Each week there will be a discussion thread and when we are done, we will have an AMA with author and professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London - Roger Luckhurst. Roger specializes in Victorian literature as well as Gothic & weird fiction and is notable for his introductions and editorships to the Oxford World's Classics series volumes: Late Victorian Gothic Tales*,* Dracula, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde*,* The Portrait of a Lady*,* H.P. Lovecraft's Classic Horror Tales*,* King Solomon’s Mines*,* and The Time Machine among others. If you ever have had any questions on classic (or contemporary) horror, he is the one to ask.

From the BBC (Frankenstein):

>Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general.

From Goodreads (The Yellow Wallpaper):

>A woman and her husband rent a summer house, but what should be a restful getaway turns into a suffocating psychological battle. This chilling account of postpartum depression and a husband's controlling behavior in the guise of treatment will leave you breathless.

Since both works are in the public domain, you may find copies of each through Project Gutenberg - Frankenstein and The Yellow Wallpaper. These are the editions referenced for the purpose of dividing the weekly readings though any edition should be fine.

You may find the dates of, and links to, the discussion t

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On one hand it can be similar to Lovecraft in it's Ancient races and eerily human kinda thing. But the way it's delivered is different. Almost like comparisons to ancient humans god myths. This is so hard to explain. So take Prometheus. This journey to discover ancient humanity and they find it. Sometimes the creatures they find are ancient, unable to be compromised with. Sometimes the species are humanoid but ancient, sometimes already dead and all that's left are these primordial massive ruins. These ancient relics of an eerily humanoid race. But it's all HR Giger stylised. I hope this info helps. Usually the stuff encompasses science teams, sci-fi and horror. Or soldiers but they're totally outclassed by this horror. Hope this helps. I really wish I could explain better.

Link to the original announcement thread.

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the first discussion thread for the (first) October selection, Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley! Hopefully you have all managed to find the book (refer back to the announcement for a link to a public domain copy) but if you haven't, you can still catch up and join in on a later discussion; however, this thread will be openly discussing up through and including Chapter VI. If you wish to talk about anything beyond this point, please use spoilers.

Below are some questions to help start conversation; feel free to answer some or all of them, or post about whatever your thoughts on the material.

1. What are some of your favorite parts or quotes? What parts did you find confusing or wish were different?
2. What, in your opinion, is the nature of the origin of horror in the novel? What is your relationship to the horror genre (especially gothic) and your familiarity with Classics?
3. How necessary were the conditions that lead Shelley to create her story? Could another author, even a contemporary writer, have penned a similar tale?
4. Why do you feel the novel unfolds in letters and nested tales? How do these devices affect the themes and central terror?
5. What roll do sickness and dreams play for Shelley and her characters? Do you feel these elements service the style of the novel or feed the exploration of existential dread and ambition?
6. What questions or predictions do you have moving forward and what do you hope to see? Is there a question you would like to posted to the group for next week?
7. BONUS: which song, album, or musical artist would be a good accompaniment for the reading thus far?

Reminder that second discussion will be posted on Friday, October 15th, and cover up through and including Chapter XVII.

Link to the original announcement thread.

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the third and final discussion thread for the (first) October sub book club selection, Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley! This thread will be openly discussing everything in the novel.

I was reminded this week that the fine folk over at r/ClassicBookClub also read through Frankenstein not long ago and some of the prompts this week will borrow from their discussion points. If you have enjoyed this classic selection for book club and find yourself wanting more or simply desire additional opinions of Frankenstein from fellow bookworms, definitely visit this wonderful community.

Below are some questions to help start conversation; feel free to answer some or all of them, or go your own way and post about whatever your thoughts on the material.

1. What are some of your favorite parts or quotes? What parts did you find confusing or wish were different?
2. How do you feel Frankenstein's understanding of free will changes over the course of his life and his studies? How does he apply this estimation to his own actions, to that of his creation, and to the potential mate for his creation that he ultimately refused to animate?
3. What morals do you feel Shelley wished to impart on her audience with this tale? For what purpose do you feel the novel was made to include the subtitle "Or the Modern Prometheus?"
4. Why are Frankenstein and his monster both ultimately miserable, bereft of human companionship, and obsessed with revenge? In what ways are their respective demises similar or different?
5. Why do you feel Walton abandoned his journey in the end and how are his purported or true motivations revealed to his sister and to the audience?
6. What further reading, by Shelley or another author, would you recommend to someone who loved this novel and wants more?

Reminder that next week we will be reading the entirety of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman then discussing the work on October 29th. One day before this, the AMA with professor Roger Luckhurst will take place - on October 28th at 10am ET.

Note: The announcement thread for November [has been posted](https://old.reddit.com/r/books/comments/q8nj5p/the_rbooks_book_clu

I know this has been asked a few times but I can't tell what people consider "similar to" when making suggestions.

What I'm looking for is:

• Massive timeline and universe (lots of empty space to explore)
• Human/life creation and other big philosophical questions being touched on in the universe
• Ancient intelligent life/beings/entities that came well before us and were way better than us or had impressive cultures and technology which are eventually interacted with (exciting! What will happen?)
• Which all creates huge mystery, discovery and wonder. Something you pause to let your mind wonder about. Huge, impressive things that pale in comparison to the size and time that has passed in the universe
• With a very subdued, neutral or even dark and scary view of it all (the colors scheme and reserved but technical art of prometheus)

I know some people don't like the movie because of specific tactical decisions the people made in it. I'm not talking about that level of detail at all. I'm talking about a book that matches the over all theme I described above that wraps around the movie. Set and setting.

Hey redditors

Is there any book with a similar story like the movie Prometheus? This movie is one of my favorites and the thought of meeting your "engineers" fascinates me so much.

Hello,

I am searching for books that scratch that particular itch. New planets, ancient civilization, mysteries all around. Religion vs science. Existential crisis. Mindblowing twists. That kind of stuff.

I am relatively unread in the scifi genre. I read the Hyperion Cantos (which does tick some of those boxes), dune (only the first one) and a couple smaller books. I have however watched most of the big scifi shows and movies.

Thanks in advance!

I'll just post here an intro (avalaible as a free sample in any e-book store), it will explain a lot more than my messy writing could do, the book is like tutorial to parts of human brain and nature, with exercises to go with it:

*William James, father of American psychology, tells of meeting an old lady who told him the Earth rested on the back of a huge turtle.

"But, my dear lady," Professor James asked, as politely as possible, "what holds up the turtle?" "Ah," she said, "that's easy. He is standing on the back of another turtle." "Oh, I see," said Professor James, still being polite. "But would you be so good as to tell me what holds up the second turtle?" "It's no use, Professor," said the old lady, realizing he was trying to lead her into a logical trap. "It's turtles-turtles- turtles, all the way!"

Don't be too quick to laugh at this little old lady. All human minds work on fundamentally similar principles. Her universe was a little bit weirder than most but it was built up on the same mental principles as every other universe people have believed in. As Dr. Leonard Orr has noted, the human mind behaves as if it were divided into two parts, the Thinker and the Prover. The Thinker can think about virtually anything. History shows that it can think the earth is suspended on the backs of infinite turtles or that the Earth is hollow, or that the Earth is floating in space;1 comparative religion and philosophy show that the Thinker can regard itself as mortal, as immortal, as both mortal and immortal (the reincarnation model) or even as nonexistent (Buddhism). It can think itself into living in a Christian universe, a Marxist universe, a scientific-relativistic universe, or a Nazi universe—among many possibilities.

As psychiatrists and psychologists have often observed (much to the chagrin of their medical colleagues), the Thinker can think itself sick, and can even think itself well again. The Prover is a much simpler mechanism. It operates on one law only: Whatever the Thinker thinks, the Prover proves. To cite a notorious example which unleashed incredible horrors earlier in this century, if the Thinker thinks that all Jews are rich, the Prover will prove it. It will find evidence that the poorest Jew in the most run-down ghetto has hidden money somewhere. Similarly, Feminists are able to believe that all men, including the starving wretches who live and sleep on the streets, are exploiting all women, including the Queen of England.*

Read it, i

I read James Turnbull's Monitoring with Prometheus book couple of months ago and found it very useful. I just cleaned up my notes and published it here: https://psibi.in/prometheus

It covers summary of around 80% of the book. The remaining chapters weren't required for my day job, so I just skimmed through them. I'm hoping this will be useful to others!

Hello everyone. I know it might sound strange, but I would like to read essays or books that delve into Prometheus and maybe early representations of the myth, or the psychoanalytic approach to it, do you know anything that might ring a bell to you? Thanks in advance.

Another example would be Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

There are definitely more examples but those are the two I could think of off the top of my head. It just seems strange as if they couldn't decide on one title.

"Pre-1900" is not to imply that that is when the change took place, it's just my personal observation that the trend of giving an alternate title using "or" was more common in 19th-century texts.

I understand that we do subtitle movies and books today using text after a colon, but when and why did this come to prominence?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-circuit_model_of_consciousness

I am looking for some good books to read, and came across Prometheus Rising. I am wondering how legit his ideas are or how much is just mumbo jumbo spiritual talk like what is seen by Terrence Mckenna's writings

Also looking at

1. How to change your mind (Seems all round solid from what i've heard)
2. Waking Up - Sam Harris (Also seems solid and seen it recommended here)
3. The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide (Good but may go a bit into nonsense in some parts)
4. The Psychedelic Experience / Prometheus Rising (Unsure on these ones yet, hence the question)

I have heard someone also say that spiral dynamics is a “better version” of 8 circuit in that it includes everything but is presented in a different form

Keen to hear everyone's thoughts on which books they find to be the most useful to learn more but not be mislead into irrational ideas - ala Food of the Gods - Terence Mckenna

I'm reading a new book now called Prelude to Extinction, and it's perfect. Everything I wanted Prometheus to be, and wasn't. I want more like this. It's hard sci-fi without being too technical (doesn't get too heavy and doesn't take away from the plot). Thr story is basically a team of scientists travel to an earth-like planet in search for intelligent life, and things get really creepy and ominous. They find clear signs of intelligent life, but something is wrong, and I'm thoroughly freaked out. I'm craving more stories like this. Sorry if I'm being too vague.

Thanks... hopefully this makes sense

Is this a set of stories that contains EVERYTHING in this series and stays as it’s own series? Or does it branch out into other series of comics? I’d like to get a series that starts and finishes in its own universe

I am looking for books that go into much greater detail about them as I can't find anything other than what little is said on websites and slight mentions in Iliad and the like.

I decided to order the star trek Prometheus books and wondered what peoples thoughts on them where? It was a spontaneous purchase after watching the Voyager episode.

So when I first got into the Flarrowverse TV shows a year or so ago I did some research into the Arrow comic lore. After the midseason finale and hearing about Prometheus’ origin, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the New 52 Richard Dragon (featured in the Green Arrow Broken comic stoyline). The basics of his backstory are that the Green Arrow kills Dragon’s crime-lord father, which leads him to seek revenge. In doing that, he winds up going to the League of Assassins and training under the original Richard Dragon. After training, he winds up killing the original Richard Dragon, taking his name, and then returning to Green Arrow’s city (which was then Seattle) to enact his revenge against the Green Arrow.

Sounds familiar right?

I know Guggenheim mentioned he isn’t all that concerned with comic book canon, but the similarities here are just too close not to notice. Unfortunately, the end of the comic book arc with Dragon doesn’t provide much insight into the potential end-game in the show. Arrow slices Dragon’s femoral artery which requires he leave and seek help immedeatly or die, and then we never see him again. But the backstory of Dragon and Broken storyline could shed some light on events happening in the back half. As far as what parallels, here are some possible scenarios:

• The original Richard Dragon that New 52 Dragon trains with might be replaced with Talia Al Ghul in the show, as we know she is scheduled to appear in the second half and Oliver mentioned that he recognized that flip move.

• Dragon builds a team of Arrow villains to try and kill the whole Arrow team (called the Longbow Hunters), which could mean that Prometheus is building up a team with Artemis and maybe Laurel to try and take out Oliver and the new recruits.

• The Longbow Hunters team he collects manages to shot and injure one of Arrows team members at the time, Henry Fyff, who takes a bullet aimed at Naomi Singh. As far as I can tell the only real connection these comic characters have to the show are that they are both computer-tech people, so maybe someone takes a bullet protecting the computer tech girl in the show (i.e. Felicity). Could be an interesting forgiveness arc if Ragman takes the bullet for her.

• Richard Dragon kidnaps Diggle at a point in this comic arc, so that might be occurring in the back half.

• This one is a STRETCH, but in the Broken comic book arc the daughter(?) of Shado, Emiko, sh

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin is honestly the only biography that I've ever read personally.

I read originally half of it for a school report and became fascinated with it, managed to pick it up a few years later and finished it.

I've always held Oppenheimer in high regard, I thought he was a man who made necessary if not difficult decisions, and that he was plagued by the results of those decisions.

But a character in his life engineered much of his downfall, and I've never despised someone who actually existed more than Lewis Strauss for the absolutely monstrous things he did in bid for what appears to be mere pettiness and pride.

I noticed in the back of the book that there were some other recommendations, one a biography on Henry Ford I believe? I think I'll pick that one up next.

Have you had a book that made you absolutely furious with someone in a historic context?

Link to the original announcement thread.

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the second discussion thread for the (first) October sub book club selection, Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley! Hopefully you have all managed to find the book (you may refer back to the announcement for a link to a public domain copy) but if you haven't, you can still catch up and join in on a later discussion; however, this thread will be openly discussing up through and including Chapter XVII. If you wish to talk about anything beyond this point, please use spoilers.

Below are some questions to help start conversation; feel free to answer some or all of them, or go your own way and post about whatever your thoughts on the material.

1. What are some of your favorite parts or quotes? What parts did you find confusing or wish were different?
2. What is Victor Frankenstein's relationship to the environment or nature and what role does nature serve in the larger novel? When is he blind to nature and when is he enraptured by it?
3. What are your feelings upon hearing the creature's tale, as Frankenstein did? Do you agree with the doctor's reaction to the request for a second creation and with which character(s) do your sympathies lie?
4. Who do you feel is culpable in the deaths of William and Justine?
5. In what ways are parental relationships depicted in the novel and what do you feel Shelley means to illustrate in these explorations?
6. What questions or predictions do you have moving forward and what do you hope to see? Is there a question you would like to posted to the group for next week?

Reminder that we will be finishing the novel next week as third discussion will be posted on Friday, October 22nd.

Note: The announcement thread for November has been posted so be sure to pick it up ahead of week one!