Reviews

Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

mellii's review against another edition

Let's be honest with ourselves here

bmip666's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

swann_srg's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

pooxs's review against another edition

4.0

Despite Poe’s verbose and sometimes convoluted style, his gothic stories are enjoyable to read.

vthecreature's review against another edition

dark mysterious

I enjoyed many parts of this but am overall grateful to have finally completed it. the ‘women’ stories were cool but the concepts got repetitive. the dupin stories were interesting as well in their events but became tedious when dupin was explaining how he figured out the mystery after the fact. the ones i most enjoyed were william wilson, masque of the red death, the cask of amontillado, the pit and the pendulum, tarr and fether, and hop-frog. this is probably because these had the strongest endings and were entertaining throughout. the more iconic house of usher and tell-tale heart were standouts of course.  i’d like to read more of poe’s works in the future. 

noecitos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense

4.5

lukre's review against another edition

4.0

There are some AMAZING stories here (and I'm not talking about the ones all of us know about like the Tell-tale Heart), I mean The Oval Portrait or The Colloquy of Monos and Una - these two, they are so atmospheric, so dark and spooky, so beautifully written that I am amazed they aren't talked about more! 
But then we get some head-scratching ones - and these are mostly the Dupin ones. And I don't get it, besides the Purloined letter these are just him monologuing how stupid everyone around him is and how smart he is. And unlike with Poirot, the reader is not given a chance really to follow along with the detective. Hmmm.

All in all Poe is a master when he is talking about the human soul, the darkness and beauty in it. Go read this.

johnawickline's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

twdrake's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

sophhhh's review against another edition

3.0

Edgar Allan Poe's stories offer a mix of brilliance and mediocrity. While gems like "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Ligeia" showcase his mastery of psychological horror, some stories lack memorability. Poe's skillful use of language and insights into human nature persist throughout, but the collection deserves a 3.5/5 for its unevenness.