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The Devil's Scribe
by
Alma Katsu (Goodreads Author)
After decades of running from her past, Lanore McIlvrae returns to America for the first time in 20 years to confront the source of her fear. The year is 1846 and Lanore—Lanny—has just landed in Baltimore after a long transatlantic crossing. That very night, she meets an “unattractive man with a high forehead and sunken eyes, and a tiny, pinched mouth like a parrot’s beak”...more
ebook, 50 pages
Published
March 13th 2012
by Pocket Star
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Previously posted at PaperbackDolls.com
Alma Katsu has released a brilliant eShort story The Devil’s Scribe that gives you a little more insight into Lanore (Lanny) the heroine from The Taker. We are immediately taken back to the year 1846 when it is shocking for a young woman to be alone in a bar at night, yet Lanny sits having a drink. Why does she not care what others think about her and why has Lanny returned to Boston after 20 years? Lanny tells us “I’d been fleeing my past, trying to outrun...more
Alma Katsu has released a brilliant eShort story The Devil’s Scribe that gives you a little more insight into Lanore (Lanny) the heroine from The Taker. We are immediately taken back to the year 1846 when it is shocking for a young woman to be alone in a bar at night, yet Lanny sits having a drink. Why does she not care what others think about her and why has Lanny returned to Boston after 20 years? Lanny tells us “I’d been fleeing my past, trying to outrun...more
A wonderfully written short story that happens in the midst of the novel that would be the Taker. It is the tale of Lanore, herione and villian of the Taker as she travels back to America in the 1800s to check on the package, I will be vague here as it does much to do with the novel the Taker and I don't want to give any away; and see that it is still secure as she left it.
As she arrives in the port city she runs into a strange little man who needs to learn the tale that is the life of Lanore. T...more
As she arrives in the port city she runs into a strange little man who needs to learn the tale that is the life of Lanore. T...more
In The Devil's Scribe, Lanore McIlvrae from The Taker meets with the one and only Edgar Allan Poe by chance in an expensive Baltimore hotel in 1846 after having been gone from America for the last 20 years. Poe describes himself as an orphan and a widower able to support himself as the "devil's scribe," but Lanny seems passingly interested in his life story and the fact that he's a writer. However, in spite of her preoccupation with why she came back to America, she walks with this stranger thro...more
I must give warning.......this is a short story, so things are bound to happen quickly and be rather, well, short. For this review I'll just divide this is two. ^.^:
What I Liked
Well, I really like Alma Katsu's writing for some reason. She has me rather hooked! I loved how she blended Edgar Allen Poe into Lanny's story. It made me smile and chuckle, even though this story was slightly on the darker side.
Which, whilst speaking of it, was another reason this book caught my interest. It has a small...more
What I Liked
Well, I really like Alma Katsu's writing for some reason. She has me rather hooked! I loved how she blended Edgar Allen Poe into Lanny's story. It made me smile and chuckle, even though this story was slightly on the darker side.
Which, whilst speaking of it, was another reason this book caught my interest. It has a small...more
This was probably closer to a 3.5, but in order to contrast it with my rating for The Witch Sisters, I've bumped it up to the high side. While short, this is just the kind of fun interlude that you want from a series' companion story. The idea that Lanny would bump into Poe and inspire one of his best stories is a hoot, and does just fine as a standalone episode.
I love Alma Katsu's mastery of gothic language. This very short, 19 page novella is simply a prime example of it. It is so dark and gothic, it actually reminded me of some of the classics of Henry James, the Bronte sisters, ect that I devour. I loved this and it simply whet my desire for the new book, The Reckoningcoming out in June.
"The Devil's Scribe" is just a fun, quick, short peek at the main female character from "The Taker", about 20 years after that book ended, and probably just before the sequel (The Reckoning) picks up. Sorry...I'm terrible with character names...I can't remember hers, but if you read "The Taker", you know who I mean. She interacts with a famous literary figure, which I think is always fun. I love it when writers do that. Definitely worth reading this little short story, if only to reassure yourse...more
Wonderful short story. Worth the $.99 on Amazon. This may not make sense unless you have read the Taker. Alma is becoming one of my favorite writers.
Don't know that this short story would make sense if it did not follow The Taker. However, read in succession, it's a wonderful addition!
Super short novella. But I loved it! Lanore returns to the US and meets a famous literary character. Interesting.... Waiting for the second book in the trilogy.
This is a fun edition to the series. I won't revel any spoilers, but it has aspects that remind me of Shakespeare in Love.
Another terrific read! I love Alma`s style of writing, a lot of suspense as well as twists and turns you do not expect.
Jul 15, 2012
Shannon
added it
Great novella by Alma Katsu. Lanny's story is truly amazing and I'm so excited to start reading "The Reckoning"!
A nice little story but extremely short. 65% of the ebook is a preview of The Taker, the first book in the trilogy. I spent $2.99 on it and feel like I was cheated. If you haven't read the first book I doubt the short story would be entertaining to you at all.
Kind of expected more, but oh well. Still a great story. Can't wait for next month and The Reckoning!
Short but sweet reminder of why I love Alma Katsu's writing style.
An exciting and unexpected side route for fans of "The Taker" -- Lanny arrives back in Boston to check on the home she lived in there, and encounters a mysterious writer who claims to be "the devil's scribe." It's Edgar Allen Poe, and he's just as creepy and odd as you might imagine. This short story was a fun way to whet my appetite for the second book in The Taker Trilogy, "The Reckoning" which is due out in June 2012.
A dark gothic and moody story! I wanted more!
Excellent short story. Katsu's writing style is so fun to read...dark and twisted but fun - I really enjoy her stories and I'm so looking forward to June! Keep writing, I'll keep reading!!
I understand this is just a short novella, but I don't feel it really added anything to the story. I kept waiting for something interesting/surprising to happen...but it didn't.
I love Lanny!
May 16, 2013
Samira
marked it as to-read
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May 06, 2013
Literary Vixens
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May 05, 2013
Davina Bell
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I'm the author of THE TAKER and THE RECKONING (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster), the first two novels in a trilogy about desire, obsession and the dark things we sometimes do for love. The Taker, which has been widely compared to the ealy work of Anne Rice, was selected by ALA/Booklist as one of the top ten debut novels of 2011 and translation rights have been sold in 14 languages. The third bo...more
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Jul 02, 2012 04:28am