i also read them in order and forgot that character was named scrofula, so when i got to mort i had assumed that it some sort of reverse callback joke where it turned out that that guy was mort

it's really a testament to frank herbert's skill as a writer that paul is sympathetic while also being a piece of shit that i hate so quickly after being the hero* of the first book

the foreshadowing in this book seems to indicate he'll be dead at the end but from mt understanding if the series at large i think that will only mean things get worse but at least this dickhead will be gone

and the way william told victor "you're the monster" when he died really really pissed me off lol like i get it that's what you're going for here you really did not need to make it that explicit

it kinda felt like it happened the way it did purely and specifically to loop back around to the north pole expedition without really justifying it narratively

i think the places where it diverged worked for its own take on the story but now it has left no reason for the creature to incite victor to follow him into the tundra

ok i'm about halfway through now and it's diverged enough where i can now look at this as a frankenstein inspired story and not an actual adaptation which i think will help me enjoy it more

also this is quite the take on elizabeth. and william. like changing the dad and somewhat the mom i understand but i feel like there should be at least 1 Innocent in victors life that is under threat and there so far isn't one? henry isn't even here 😔

ok correction the hubris of these 2 men

my main problem so far, and again this is kind of just me being pedantic, is that the original feels like a story about the hubris of Man while this one feels much more like the hubris of This man

as someone who was born in the 21st century the existence of nuclear bombs has always been a constant while never really being a Threat. i've never actually lived in a world where nuclear war seemed like a real possibility. that scene really hit me with the full "what have We done" of it all i think