Reviews
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume 1 (The Works of Edgar Allan Poe #1), by Edgar Allan Poe
lanko's review against another edition
3.0
This one actually was better than Part 2, it had more stories and more of them picked my interest. It was also free.
Two months that I read this and I still remember the story about the cat on the wall or the corpse under the living room.
Two months that I read this and I still remember the story about the cat on the wall or the corpse under the living room.
lanko's review against another edition
2.0
Probably should have read it at night. Also, only contained four short stories, only one really creepy. Can't really complain though, it was free.
Despite saying that and with this rating, Edgar Allan Poe was a true master and an inspiration to the genre. But they could have brought better stories into this.
It's possible it could have been the editing/translation of my version, but again, wasn't exactly a joyful read, except for one really good story. Also felt the ones chosen were a bit repetitive by the "culprit" going insane with guild and revealing everything anyway by some dumb move.
Despite saying that and with this rating, Edgar Allan Poe was a true master and an inspiration to the genre. But they could have brought better stories into this.
It's possible it could have been the editing/translation of my version, but again, wasn't exactly a joyful read, except for one really good story. Also felt the ones chosen were a bit repetitive by the "culprit" going insane with guild and revealing everything anyway by some dumb move.
nesdy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.25
The stories on this volume weren't the best. I feel like half of them are just the narrator describing something, but not much is happening. I would like the detective stories if I didn't find the detective so annoying. Some of them were great though, just not most.
abetterjulie's review against another edition
2.0
This was more for the tales I hadn't read before, and I found them tedious and overworked. I'll keep reading the rest of his writing, but this collection felt meh to me.
lbough's review against another edition
3.0
Contains:
- The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaal: Unexpected sci-fi, also inadvertently funny
- The Gold-Bug: pirate treasure mystery, fun and short
- Four Beasts in One - The Homocameleopard: Gotta admit, couldn't finish it. Bleh...
- Murders in the Rue Morgue - My first Poe mystery, I liked this one a lot, but I've been reading a lot of Sherlock Holmes lately too.
- Mystery of Marie Roget - This was good, but then lost me at the end.
- The Balloon Hoax: More balloon adventures, along the lines of Hans Pfaal, but too much detail...
- Ms. Found in a Bottle: I have no idea what was going on here. Ghost ship story, but kind of vague.
- The Oval Portrait: Short, very short, but finally getting to the macabre.
- The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaal: Unexpected sci-fi, also inadvertently funny
- The Gold-Bug: pirate treasure mystery, fun and short
- Four Beasts in One - The Homocameleopard: Gotta admit, couldn't finish it. Bleh...
- Murders in the Rue Morgue - My first Poe mystery, I liked this one a lot, but I've been reading a lot of Sherlock Holmes lately too.
- Mystery of Marie Roget - This was good, but then lost me at the end.
- The Balloon Hoax: More balloon adventures, along the lines of Hans Pfaal, but too much detail...
- Ms. Found in a Bottle: I have no idea what was going on here. Ghost ship story, but kind of vague.
- The Oval Portrait: Short, very short, but finally getting to the macabre.
gamz's review against another edition
5.0
My first foray into the world of Poe was as an 11 year old reading "The Tell Tale Heart". I scared me silly! The nameless man and his lantern sneaking into the old man's bedroom to stare at his eye...creepy!!
That story and made me a lifelong fan of Poe. The imagery and darkness of his tales and poems never fail to send creepy crawlies up my spine as it did at my very first reading. His tales are dark and disturbing, but also hauntingly beautiful in their expressiveness. Reading it as a child, I missed the nuances of the stories, the underlying messages of the fragility of humankind and the weakness we battle daily. I always have a copy of this book on my e-reader and will randomly read a story just because.
I am happy to say that I have shared my love of Poe's work with my children who, I hope, will one day pass it on to their own kids. If you haven't read any of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. You will not regret it!
That story and made me a lifelong fan of Poe. The imagery and darkness of his tales and poems never fail to send creepy crawlies up my spine as it did at my very first reading. His tales are dark and disturbing, but also hauntingly beautiful in their expressiveness. Reading it as a child, I missed the nuances of the stories, the underlying messages of the fragility of humankind and the weakness we battle daily. I always have a copy of this book on my e-reader and will randomly read a story just because.
I am happy to say that I have shared my love of Poe's work with my children who, I hope, will one day pass it on to their own kids. If you haven't read any of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. You will not regret it!
joelshults's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this volume a lot, mostly for the Narrative of A. Gordon Pym. It is one of my favorite Poe stories I've thus far read.
joelshults's review against another edition
3.0
This is the volume of this series that contains all of Poe's poetry. I admit I don't enjoy poetry as much as prose and, so, didn't enjoy this volume as much as the others.