Scan barcode
A review by pacinocorleone
A Descent into the Maelstrom by Edgar Allan Poe
1.0
"This can be nothing else than the great whirlpool of the Maelstrom."
1 star. This short story felt flat to me. Of course, this is THE Edgar Allan Poe we're talking about. His works are notoriously known to chill all readers to the bone. I have only ever read his poetry, but this is the first (short) story I've read of his and I was not entirely impressed. I read somewhere that two ways you can create suspense in your work and scare readers is to either under describe things or over describe them. After reading 'A Descent into the Maelstrom,' is it obvious Poe underwent the latter notion. His descriptions were detailed so extensively that I would forget what was being talked about by the end of the paragraph, and it seemed like a burden to get through it, rather than a fear. Nevertheless, I will not judge Poe so soon just by this one work!
1 star. This short story felt flat to me. Of course, this is THE Edgar Allan Poe we're talking about. His works are notoriously known to chill all readers to the bone. I have only ever read his poetry, but this is the first (short) story I've read of his and I was not entirely impressed. I read somewhere that two ways you can create suspense in your work and scare readers is to either under describe things or over describe them. After reading 'A Descent into the Maelstrom,' is it obvious Poe underwent the latter notion. His descriptions were detailed so extensively that I would forget what was being talked about by the end of the paragraph, and it seemed like a burden to get through it, rather than a fear. Nevertheless, I will not judge Poe so soon just by this one work!