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234th out of 549 books
—
490 voters
In the Shadow of the Master: Classic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe and Essays by Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, Tess Gerritsen, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Laura Lippman, Lisa Scottoline, and Thirteen Others
by
Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author) ,
Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author) , Sara Paretsky (Goodreads Author) , T. Jefferson Parker , P.J. Parrish (Goodreads Author) , Joseph Wambaugh (Goodreads Author) , Nelson DeMille (Goodreads Author) , Tess Gerritsen (Goodreads Author)
,
more…
Few have crafted stories as haunting as those by Edgar Allan Poe. Collected here to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth are sixteen of his best tales accompanied by twenty essays from beloved authors, including T. Jefferson Parker, Lawrence Block, Sara Paretsky, and Joseph Wambaugh, among others, on how Poe has changed their life and work.
Michael Connelly reco...more
Michael Connelly reco...more
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
January 6th 2009
by William Morrow
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Edgar Allan Poe has become one of my personal favourite authors after I read this stunning compilation featuring from amongst Poe's greatest works. This includes my personal favourites: The Tell Tale Heart, The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven and The Pit and the Pendulum. Add to that essays by writers influenced by Poe's genius and this compilation becomes a must for any classic literature lover.
The one reason I love Poe's writing so much is because he was a poet and also a writer of prose....more
The one reason I love Poe's writing so much is because he was a poet and also a writer of prose....more
I remember reading The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe and I had heard of the Tell-Tale Heart. However, I don't remember ever being and Edgar Allen Poe fan. Being a Michael Connelly fan, however, I had downloaded anything related to Michael Connelly to my Kindle. This book, In the Shadow of the Master, is a collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories. Each one is followed by a reflection by a contemporary author who has won an Edgar award. The Edgar award recognizes mystery writers.
At first, I didn't want t...more
At first, I didn't want t...more
So I was thinking I enjoyed this book a lot. I think it's clearly established that Edgar Allan Poe is a master of story-telling suspense, and I always like returning to my favorites. And the book itself is superb, it has a nice retro look to it and features the Harry Clarke illustrations, which seriously bump up the already high creepy factor of the stories significantly.
But the shtick of this particular edition of Poe stories is what didn't really work for me. It's put out the Mystery Writers o...more
But the shtick of this particular edition of Poe stories is what didn't really work for me. It's put out the Mystery Writers o...more
I had an urge to read some Poe and this was on the shelf at the library, so I grabbed it! It's a pretty good selection of Poe's short stories, a couple of poems ("The Raven" and "The Bells"), and an excerpt from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, which I kind of wish they hadn't included because really, why bother including a short portion of a longer work when Poe wrote so many good shorter pieces? My favourite stories were some of the ones I had already read: "The Cask of Amontil...more
I just don't get Poe. I started out reading the first two stories in this book - The Cask of Amontillado and A Descent into the Maelstrom - and I didn't get them at all. The commentary afterwards by famous mystery writers helped, but not enough. I had to go online and get summaries that explained these two stories. I figured if I had to do this with every story in this book, it was too much work and not worth it. So then I skipped to his two most famous stories, A Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven....more
Mar 24, 2010
Ben
added it
As most of the contributing mystery writers take care to mention in their essays in this book, much has already been written about Poe and I will merely echo a few sentiments. I’m not sure the last time I read Poe material, perhaps in high school. The Murders in the Rue Morgue made the greatest impression on me for its grisliness and reminder of Sherlock Holmes; and I’d never thought about the fact that Poe preceded Sir Arthur Conan Doyle until now. That is a common theme among the contributing...more
currently reading in preparation for an upcoming trip to Baltimore. seems only fitting. and before anyone asks, yes, i have read some Poe before, in HS (Cask Of Amontilldo, The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart) and all seriously creeped me out. so i'm doubly intrigued as to how that opinion might've changed over time.
021011: skipped one or two of the stories in there, but so far i've read William Wilson, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontialldo, The Tell-Tale Heart, Ligeia, The Fall of the House of Ush...more
021011: skipped one or two of the stories in there, but so far i've read William Wilson, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontialldo, The Tell-Tale Heart, Ligeia, The Fall of the House of Ush...more
I ended up liking this more than I thought I would. When I started reading, I wasn't in a good "Poe" moment. Something had happened, I think I learned something depressing in real life and I couldn't handle reading this for a while. When the book was finally due at the library and I had one last day to read it and I found I couldn't put it down.
I thought I was familiar with all of Poe's work, but this book showed me the holes in my repertoire. I need to get a better collection of his stories! Pl...more
I thought I was familiar with all of Poe's work, but this book showed me the holes in my repertoire. I need to get a better collection of his stories! Pl...more
Have read "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Gold-Bug." Classics, certainly, but I find the essays and info about Poe's life to be even more interesting. It's kind of disheartening how some of the greatest writers in history (Poe, Lovecraft, Dickinson) weren't appreciated until years after their death.
although i did not finish reading this short story collection, i read many of them. the storytelling was creative, but the stories were too dark for me. i enjoyed reading the essays from mystery, suspense, and thriller authors interspersed through the book; they shed light on understanding poe's work and life.
Aug 06, 2011
Alan
added it
reprint of Poe stories with short commentaries by current mystery writers. edited by Michael Connelly. Always good to reread Poe.
Apr 03, 2009
Suzie
added it
each story is followed by an essay by a mystery writer. I enjoyed it but found reading Poe more challenging than I expected.
Nov 06, 2012
Alishia
added it
Loved it.. Rereading poe always but the essays by these other authors added to the enjoyment.
The Tell-Tale Heart is one of my all time favorite Poe short stories! He is the Master!
short stories by Poe and tributes from today's top mystery writers
Nov 11, 2010
Kaethe
marked it as to-read
I'm a Poe fan. And this is such a pretty, pretty book.
Sep 06, 2011
Virgia Julies
added it
great books to cover an entire weekend!!
What can I say...POE
This is a great book for those who think they know Poe, but upon reflection realize they've only really Heard about Poe or talked about what others think of Poe.
In other words both the works by Poe and the essays by the authors in between are amazingly worth your time. The essays say all there is to really be said, I think, Scholarly guesses be damned.
Poe did steal all the ideas didn't he? He is memorable isn't he? And more so he is versatile in a way I never knew.
In other words both the works by Poe and the essays by the authors in between are amazingly worth your time. The essays say all there is to really be said, I think, Scholarly guesses be damned.
Poe did steal all the ideas didn't he? He is memorable isn't he? And more so he is versatile in a way I never knew.
The Poe stories are, of course, fantastic; the mystery writers' responses are, mostly, comprehensible. I like that this volume contains some stories that are slightly more obscure, like "A Descent into the Maelström" and "Ligeia".
I enjoyed reading through some of my favorite tales and discovering ones I hadn't read. I also enjoyed reading the essays on Poe, two of my favorites being by King and Grafton.
What an excellent way to read Poe, having other horror and mystery writers comment on how Poe influenced them after each Poe story or poem was quite the treat :)
Awesome literature from the great Edgar Allen Poe. Anyone who likes the supernatural horror genre and related genres should read this book or at least something else by Poe. The other authors and essays add a nice modern touch to this book.
I loved the book. Edgar Allan Poe is a great writer. He has his own style and i was enthralled by his stories. Very riveting. The essays by some of the authors are also great. Most of it are hilarious. It's an awesome read.
i love EAP and this book commemorates his 200th birthday with shorts stories by other mystery writers plus a collection of his famous and not as well known stories.
It's Edgar Allan Poe. Do I need to explain further?
Eloquent, unsettling, creepy, classic.
Fantastic!
May 20, 2013
Carmen Floyd
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Marla
marked it as to-read
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teache...more
More about Michael Connelly...
Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teache...more
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Oct 14, 2012 08:19pm
Oct 15, 2012 03:08am