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A review by bookishlychar
His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe's Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined by Dahlia Adler
4.0
I have mostly read Poe's works throughout school. In fact, some of the short stories I knew, but didn't know were attributed to him. It was nice to revisit these stories as an adult and also see these retellings with more diversity in the cast of characters. I liked the inclusion of the Poe stories at the back of the book, and chose to read the stories in tandem. It allowed me to see the similarities and where the authors of the retellings found inspiration.
My three favourite stories were:
Night-Tide (inspired by Annabel Lee) by Tessa Gratton - This story felt ominous and haunting. I could feel for the main character while she went through figuring out what happened to Annabel.
The Glittering Death (inspired by The Pit and the Pendulum) by Caleb Roehrig - This story felt horror-esque. A modern day serial killer that was a reminder of how much violence happens to women.
The Fall of the Bank of Usher (inspired by The Fall of the House of Usher) by Fran Wilde - This one was just weird, but an interesting read. I don't know why I liked it so much. I think it was the inclusion of the twins Mad and Rik.
I liked what the authors did with these retellings and how they didn't stick to one specific genre. The authors wrote within their wheelhouse, which added to the variety of the stories in the retellings. If Dahlia Adler continues creating these type of anthologies, I will continue to pick them up. They are good and interesting reads and I like the retelling take on old classics.
My three favourite stories were:
Night-Tide (inspired by Annabel Lee) by Tessa Gratton - This story felt ominous and haunting. I could feel for the main character while she went through figuring out what happened to Annabel.
The Glittering Death (inspired by The Pit and the Pendulum) by Caleb Roehrig - This story felt horror-esque. A modern day serial killer that was a reminder of how much violence happens to women.
The Fall of the Bank of Usher (inspired by The Fall of the House of Usher) by Fran Wilde - This one was just weird, but an interesting read. I don't know why I liked it so much. I think it was the inclusion of the twins Mad and Rik.
I liked what the authors did with these retellings and how they didn't stick to one specific genre. The authors wrote within their wheelhouse, which added to the variety of the stories in the retellings. If Dahlia Adler continues creating these type of anthologies, I will continue to pick them up. They are good and interesting reads and I like the retelling take on old classics.