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maisoon's review against another edition
5.0
Bought: October 2013
Reread: April 2021
My favourite of many EAP collections that I've seen throughout the years. My copy is a paperback with many folds from being abused and thrown in a bag, and many dog-ears to mark my favourite poems. This collection perfectly balances the poetry and the short stories. It took me a while to get into EAP's tales, as I felt that they didn't deliver the sense of foreboding and melancholy that his poetry does. I can safely say this: I was wrong.
(Fave Poems: A Dream Within A Dream, as well as The City in The Sea. I really want a sea themed sleeve some time in my life inspired by the latter poem. Short Stories: It was unsettling to read The Masque of the Red Death during a pandemic. And even more unsettling that it was my favourite.)
Reread: April 2021
My favourite of many EAP collections that I've seen throughout the years. My copy is a paperback with many folds from being abused and thrown in a bag, and many dog-ears to mark my favourite poems. This collection perfectly balances the poetry and the short stories. It took me a while to get into EAP's tales, as I felt that they didn't deliver the sense of foreboding and melancholy that his poetry does. I can safely say this: I was wrong.
(Fave Poems: A Dream Within A Dream, as well as The City in The Sea. I really want a sea themed sleeve some time in my life inspired by the latter poem. Short Stories: It was unsettling to read The Masque of the Red Death during a pandemic. And even more unsettling that it was my favourite.)
nicolewhopickedthisbook's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
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jeffhall's review against another edition
3.0
With Richard Corben's passing in December 2020, it seemed time to revisit some of his work, and this collection of his adaptations of poems and stories from Poe is a great place to start.
As always, Corben's muscular illustrations are a delight, and if most of his re-imaginings of Poe's oeuvre are directly routed through Roger Corman's film versions, then the campy gothic silliness is all the more enjoyable for its obvious cinematic aspirations.
The one standout work in these pages is Corben's take on the poem "The Conqueror Worm". In Poe's original version, it's an allegorical poem, and Corben strikes a perfect balance of giving Poe's verse an explicit physical manifestation (flesh-eating worms!) while also staying true to the allegory at the heart of the work. Corben's ability to stay true to Poe's intent while drenching the entire thing in blood, boobs, and glorious revenge is really quite remarkable.
Although most of the rest of the contents don't quite live up to the wonderful adaptation of "The Conqueror Worm", it's still a fun ride through a B-movie take on Edgar Allan Poe, and the eye candy of Richard Corben's color illustrations is enough to make the journey worthwhile.
As always, Corben's muscular illustrations are a delight, and if most of his re-imaginings of Poe's oeuvre are directly routed through Roger Corman's film versions, then the campy gothic silliness is all the more enjoyable for its obvious cinematic aspirations.
The one standout work in these pages is Corben's take on the poem "The Conqueror Worm". In Poe's original version, it's an allegorical poem, and Corben strikes a perfect balance of giving Poe's verse an explicit physical manifestation (flesh-eating worms!) while also staying true to the allegory at the heart of the work. Corben's ability to stay true to Poe's intent while drenching the entire thing in blood, boobs, and glorious revenge is really quite remarkable.
Although most of the rest of the contents don't quite live up to the wonderful adaptation of "The Conqueror Worm", it's still a fun ride through a B-movie take on Edgar Allan Poe, and the eye candy of Richard Corben's color illustrations is enough to make the journey worthwhile.
whatswithrandy's review against another edition
2.0
Somehow I always have some difficulty to read older books because of the language. This has previously hindered me to read books like Wuthering Heights and The Picture of Dorian Gray. It gave me difficulty to read War of the Worlds and I forser trouble reading The Time Machine and Dracula.
Edgar Allan Poe, being one of my favourite writers because of the works I HAVE read make it harder to confess the amount of work I have not. I skimmed through many poems that just didn’t speak to me and through stories which failed to form in my mind.
I did enjoy many of them, the Raven is one of my all time favourites (especially the way Omnia turned it into a song) and others such as A Dream, Spirits of the Dead, and A Dream Within a Dream did speak to me. I enjoyed some stories such as The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, How to Write a Blackwood Article and the subsequent Predicament and X-ing a Paragraph got a good chuckle out of me, but for the rest I was too exhausted to finish. I didn’t understand the point of The Literary Life of Thingum Bon. Esq.
So I guess this is a dnf for me, after trying really hard, but the use of language is lost on me.
Edgar Allan Poe, being one of my favourite writers because of the works I HAVE read make it harder to confess the amount of work I have not. I skimmed through many poems that just didn’t speak to me and through stories which failed to form in my mind.
I did enjoy many of them, the Raven is one of my all time favourites (especially the way Omnia turned it into a song) and others such as A Dream, Spirits of the Dead, and A Dream Within a Dream did speak to me. I enjoyed some stories such as The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, How to Write a Blackwood Article and the subsequent Predicament and X-ing a Paragraph got a good chuckle out of me, but for the rest I was too exhausted to finish. I didn’t understand the point of The Literary Life of Thingum Bon. Esq.
So I guess this is a dnf for me, after trying really hard, but the use of language is lost on me.
henniebooks's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. I wasn't impressed with the tales that much. However, I loved the poems a lot.
tericr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
zitahk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
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