The Pale Blue Eye in Around the World in 80 Books

May 05, 2010 Tony rated it liked it

Shelves: novels

Bayard is building a niche little brand for himself as a concocter of literary thrillers, of which, this is the second. It's built around the seven months Edgar Allen Poe spent at the West Point military academy in 1830-31, and a series of crimes that occur while he is there. August Landor, A former New York policeman who's retired to the countryside for his health, is asked by the academy commandant to investigate a gruesome murder. As he is burdened by the recent death of his wife and elopemen Bayard is building a niche little brand for himself as a concocter of literary thrillers, of which, this is the second. It's built around the seven months Edgar Allen Poe spent at the West Point military academy in 1830-31, and a series of crimes that occur while he is there. August Landor, A former New York policeman who's retired to the countryside for his health, is asked by the academy commandant to investigate a gruesome murder. As he is burdened by the recent death of his wife and elopement of his daughter, he has no demands on his time and accepts the assignment. Landor throws himself into the investigation, eventually enlisting cadet Poe as his eyes and ears on the ground.

The story moves at a rather measured pace, as Landor and Poe are laboriously discover clues, and more crimes are committed on the academy grounds. However, it's very thick with atmosphere, as Bayard strives to channel the heavy, oppressive tone of Poe's darkest work. Having Poe act as a sidekick is a nifty gimmick, as his highly mannered speech and writing make for colorful breaks from the gloom and doom that otherwise pervade the story. Poe comes alive off the page as a larger than life oddball outsider, and without him, the story would be dull indeed.

The drama builds slowly, as Poe falls in love with the daughter of the academy's doctor, and her brother becomes the prime suspect in what are now several murders. And for much of the last act of the book, I was getting steadily irritated with the pace at which things were unfolding and the motives that were being revealed. I can't say much more without spoiling things, but there is a twist ending that yanks the rug out from under the reader and suddenly reveals Poe's presence in the book as not just a fun gimmick, but a critical element, and elevates the plot from completely banal to something a good deal more interesting.

Poe as a fictional character is nothing new (see, for example, Joel Rose's The Blackest Bird, Andrew Taylor's The American Boy, Harold Schecter's series of mysteries, and Barry Perowne's A Singular Conspiracy, to name but a few novels featuring Poe as protagonist), but he's well used here. And Poe aficionados will find plenty of references to his work woven throughout. The most obvious being the name and home of the protagonist, which come from a short descriptive story Poe wrote in 1849 called "Landor's Cottage." All in all, a fairly satisfying -- if rather slow-moving -- literary thriller, if that's your kind of thing. Just good enough to make me want to check out Bayard's other two books. ...more

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Mar 06, 2008 Jessica rated it liked it

Shelves: historical, literary-mystery, edgar-allan-poe

While the female characters don't quite ring true (a society mother happily aflutter at the thought of her daughter marrying a constable? No way!), the parts with Poe are great and the ending is worthy of his classic stories. ...more

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