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esshgee's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars from me. I enjoyed most of these short stories and poems, and, unlike many of the reviews on here, I actually liked the anecdotes by the mystery writers. Nelson De Mille's was a particular standout for me
kaboomcju's review against another edition
5.0
I just love Poe. I'm so totally biased! This compilation has many of the stories found in other anthologies. What's neat about this particular book is that it was put together for Poe's 200th birthday (woo-hoo!). It contains numerous essays written by today's current mystery writers (King, Grafton, etc.). Kinda cool to see how Poe influenced them.
egonzales74's review against another edition
4.0
i love EAP and this book commemorates his 200th birthday with shorts stories by other mystery writers plus a collection of his famous and not as well known stories.
llkendrick's review against another edition
2.0
I just don't get Poe. I started out reading the first two stories in this book - The Cask of Amontillado and A Descent into the Maelstrom - and I didn't get them at all. The commentary afterwards by famous mystery writers helped, but not enough. I had to go online and get summaries that explained these two stories. I figured if I had to do this with every story in this book, it was too much work and not worth it. So then I skipped to his two most famous stories, A Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven. I understood both of these stories and didn't need to research them, but I didn't think they were all that great. At least not enough to be wildly popular. So in all, Poe is just not for me. Sorry Poe fans out there!!
5elementknitr's review against another edition
5.0
When I saw the title of this book, I had to immediately request it of my library. Then, when I started reading it, I realized I had not properly understood that title.
I thought it was going to be this:
An Edgar Allen Poe story, then a story written by a modern writer inspired by that story.
It was actually this:
An Edgar Allen Poe story, then an essay written by a modern writer telling how they discovered EAP or were inspired by EAP or something else about EAP.
At first, I was terribly disappointed, but after reading all of it, it was a wonderful read. I was comforted in the knowledge that I'm not alone in having originally discovering EAP through the Vincent Price/et al. Poe-esque movies of the 60s and 70s. And there are also a couple of delightful poems instead of essays. One of the "essays" was almost exactly as long as the essay-writer's bio! All the bios about each essay writer were written by that essay writer, and many are equally as entertaining as their essay!
Not only has this inspired me to check a more complete book of EAP from the library, but also to seek out those delightfully awful, barely-based-on-Poe's-stories movies!
I thought it was going to be this:
An Edgar Allen Poe story, then a story written by a modern writer inspired by that story.
It was actually this:
An Edgar Allen Poe story, then an essay written by a modern writer telling how they discovered EAP or were inspired by EAP or something else about EAP.
At first, I was terribly disappointed, but after reading all of it, it was a wonderful read. I was comforted in the knowledge that I'm not alone in having originally discovering EAP through the Vincent Price/et al. Poe-esque movies of the 60s and 70s. And there are also a couple of delightful poems instead of essays. One of the "essays" was almost exactly as long as the essay-writer's bio! All the bios about each essay writer were written by that essay writer, and many are equally as entertaining as their essay!
Not only has this inspired me to check a more complete book of EAP from the library, but also to seek out those delightfully awful, barely-based-on-Poe's-stories movies!
barrettcmyk's review against another edition
3.0
currently reading in preparation for an upcoming trip to Baltimore. seems only fitting. and before anyone asks, yes, i have read some Poe before, in HS (Cask Of Amontilldo, The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart) and all seriously creeped me out. so i'm doubly intrigued as to how that opinion might've changed over time.
021011: skipped one or two of the stories in there, but so far i've read William Wilson, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontialldo, The Tell-Tale Heart, Ligeia, The Fall of the House of Usher, and A Descent into the Maelstrom. Amontialldo still wins for creepiest; Fall and Ligeia i can't really appreciate because i keep attempting to "science" an explanation. And i found Fall and Wilson unnecessarily wordy somehow. descriptive, sure, but i was rereading paragraphs constantly because my mind kept wandering off. Favorite is Maelstrom -- the descriptions there are rather stupendous.
03/11: read Pit and the Pendulum, which i think i liked better than most of the others, save for maybe Descent. that one was my favorite for some reason. perhaps because it's less horror and more thriller? and of course, The Raven, which was just as chilly yet morose as i seem to recall it being.
021011: skipped one or two of the stories in there, but so far i've read William Wilson, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontialldo, The Tell-Tale Heart, Ligeia, The Fall of the House of Usher, and A Descent into the Maelstrom. Amontialldo still wins for creepiest; Fall and Ligeia i can't really appreciate because i keep attempting to "science" an explanation. And i found Fall and Wilson unnecessarily wordy somehow. descriptive, sure, but i was rereading paragraphs constantly because my mind kept wandering off. Favorite is Maelstrom -- the descriptions there are rather stupendous.
03/11: read Pit and the Pendulum, which i think i liked better than most of the others, save for maybe Descent. that one was my favorite for some reason. perhaps because it's less horror and more thriller? and of course, The Raven, which was just as chilly yet morose as i seem to recall it being.
manu_ek's review against another edition
Il voto non va ai bellissimi scritti di Poe, quanto ai commenti correlati dei vari scrittori americani...non lasciano nulla e non dicono niente. Volume consigliato solo ai super ammiratori di Poe, anche se esistono libri migliori di questo.
karmakat's review
3.0
Rating based on the essays, not on the Poe works. Edgar Award winners write on Poe and his influence. Some essays were quite interesting and insightful. Others, not so much.
bites_of_books's review
5.0
What an excellent way to read Poe, having other horror and mystery writers comment on how Poe influenced them after each Poe story or poem was quite the treat :)
nutfreenerd's review
5.0
A really great collection of Poe's work. I love how there are essays in between each story/poem from modern mystery writers. It's not all of Poe's work, but it's definitely a great assortment. And Poe's stories themselves are just brilliant. I highly recommend this one!