The Mystery and Macabre of Poe

Advantages: Not only is it a good read, it is also very entertaining.
Disadvantages: You will need patience in order to capture the meanings of an old language.

... First Encounter Thinking back I can recall my first encounter with this author and I can sum it up in one word.....Awesome. I was in the third grade and my teacher stood in front of the class to read a poem called The Raven. I was so moved by the way this author drew me into his words. From the first introduction to his works til today I desired to be a writer. I was fascinated by the way that he expressed himself. Tho the language is from days gone by with a little patience I was able to understand the method to the madness. One example that I can extend is two lines from the poem called The Raven: " Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, " I love the way that Poe spoke of a dark night as a student pouring himself over his books of study while...

loveofnight 24.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe - Edgar Allan Poe

This Will not leave you Poe- Faced

Advantages: Price - it's as cheap as chips
Disadvantages: My rubbish review title

...It's a fair cop! I admit to a minor deception because I am actually reviewing Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe. In my defence, I'm new and haven't yet worked out how to make suggestions. I'll forge ahead and prepare for the wrath of you purists. I am reviewing the Wordworth Classic edition (ISBN 1-85326-013-4) which costs about £1.50 and is available in most bookshops. £1. 50? Gotta be worth a look when it's around the price of a Sunday newspaper. This bargain is crammed with gems and as the stories are relatively short, it is ideal for commuting (on the train and not in the car, obviously!) Even better for late night reading once you have of course ckecked all windows and doors are secure. I will give a very brief synopsis of the stories; some of which may be familiar to you from film and dramatisations...

arbie 19.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Complete Tales & Poems - Edgar Allan Poe

The Heart is Beating, Louder . . . Louder! But Whose?

Advantages: Short, easy to read and full of mystery.
Disadvantages: A bit too creepy and confusing.

...I am looking for abridged books to read, so I pay regular visits to the library to look for these abbreviated books and borrow them . . . one day the library was clearing out some books which were old editions or worn out . . . they were selling them at a very cheap price just to get rid of them! I searched through these books and I found some good books and some short stories books as well . . . I bought them and went back home and started to read. One of these short stories books was The Tell tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe. I had never heard of the writer before nor read his books so I did a little research to learn a bit about him. Edgar Allan Poe He was an American writer, poet and critic. He was born in Boston in 1809 and he died in 1849, at only 40...

karimkha 16.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe

Reed's Love Song To Poe

Advantages: Some good songs and performances
Disadvantages: Overlength, inconsistent and some bad performances

...So often formerly interesting and cutting edge musicians lack grace when entering their twighlight years. Prime examples would include Paul MCartney, Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart (yes, I think some of Rod's early work was both interesting and cutting edge). There seems to be a need to either keep up with kids or lose originality altogether. This has thankfully never been the case for Lou Reed who has remained constantly interesting, whether you like him or not, and this release from 2003 is no difference. This record is essentially Reed's tribute to Edgar Alan Poe. Rife with guest appearances from the likes of William Dafoe, David Bowie, Ornette Coleman and Antony Heggarty, this is an intriguing if sometimes patchy album. Some songs are wonderful, others meander and he gets too involved in contrived spoken word in places. When it...

Nixu1980 04.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Raven, The - Lou Reed

Poe and Project a Masterpiece

Advantages: A masterpiece!
Disadvantages: i don't know!

...In 1975 former Pink Floyd sound engineer Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson gave birth to a supergroup called Alan Parsons Project. This is the first and maybe the most complete album by the Project and has 26 years ! In this album they tried to put in music tales and poetries by Edgar Allan Poe (absolutely not easy task!). To be mentioned the collaboration with Orson Welles like narrating voice in the instrumental "songs" (To dream within to dream that opens the album and the suite The fall of the house of the Usher) and as you can read in the CD booklet has never met Alan but only sent a tape). Now the songs! All masterpieces! The Raven (first rock song rock to use the vocoder) sung from ALAN PARSONS (the best with Alan leading vocals)! Alan Parsons plays this song even in the most recent concerts! Then...

sandor 02.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Tales Of Mystery And Imagination - Alan Parsons Project (The)

1026 pages of horror, mystery, terror and love

Advantages: Great read
Disadvantages: Some difficult language and very small print

...This book was first published in 1938 and I bought the newest Penguin paperback edition from Amazon for £10.49. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, USA, in 1809. He was orphaned but went to live with a foster father. Somewhat controversially these days, Poe married his 14 year old cousin when he was 27. She died 11 years later from TB. He died aged 40, after a live of blighted by family tragedies and his own illnesses. His depression and pre-occupation with death is dealt with in his clever writing. These are key themes in this anthology. There are 73 stories in this book - some long and some short - as well as 62 poems. There are also 3 essays written by Poe, discussing the poetry. I will only discuss some of the stories here as 73 is far too many to go into. The first story is "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans...

Mel27 07.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Complete Tales & Poems - Edgar Allan Poe

THE ORIGINAL HORROR WRITER

Advantages: THE ORIGINAL HORROR WRITER
Disadvantages: some of the language is a bit hard to understand, not for the faint hearted

...BEFORE I GET GIONG... i am actually reviewing "the complete ILLUSTRATED works of Edgar Allen Poe", but im sure it is much the same as the other one. Edgar Allen Poe is the original american detective and horror short story writer. Many films, tv programs (most of the simpsons halloween specials are!) are based on his stories. Edgar was the original creator of suspense. The complete works of Edgar Allen Poe contains (i htink) all of his poems and short stories. I havent read any of the poems, but i have read lots of the short stories. Contains the really cool scary "tales of mystery and imagination" such as: The Pit and the Pendulum The Fall of the House of Usher MS. Found in a Bottle The Black Cat The Tell-Tale Heart The Assignation The Premature Burial Quite a number of the earlier stories feature really mad men. This...

chazzero 13.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Complete Tales & Poems - Edgar Allan Poe

Horror masters pay tribute to Poe

Advantages: Great stories written by poe. Scarey.
Disadvantages: Below average work for george romero

...Two masters of horror, Dario Argento (Suspiria, Phenomena) and George Romero (Night of the living dead, Dawn of the dead), each pay tribute to Edgar Allan Poe with screen adaptations of the master?s terrifying tales from the dark side. Romero?s story centres on a greedy young wife?s bid to trick her dying husband out of his millions, and the terror which is unleashed when mysterious beings take possession of the old man?s body. The inspiration for Argento?s blood curdling tale is Poe?s notorious tale "The Black Cat". Skilfully grafting in chilling scenes from several of Poe?s other classic stories. Argento?s trip into terror tells of a man?s cruel obsession with his wife?s cat that finally drives him to murder of the most gruesome kind. Firstly Romeo?s story is not up to scratch, and although it provides a spooky atmosphere, its...

pizzacat 11.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Two Evil Eyes (DVD)

Con Air Extended

Advantages: great cast
Disadvantages: a little far fetched

...Overview ----------- Con Air is an action movie involving a serial killer hijacking a prison transport plane and the mayhem that ensues. It has an A-list cast and $50 million worth of explosions. Storyline and Characters ------------------------------- Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer of "Crimson Tide"and "The Rock", Con Air stars Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe, an ex-Army Ranger hero who is being paroled eight years after killing a man in a fight while defending his wife. Poe's fellow passengers, who start out locked in cages and handcuffed, include psycho killer Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich), psycho killer "Diamond Dog" (Ving Rhames), psycho killer Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi), psycho killer "Swamp Thing" (M.C. Gainey), serial rapist Johnny 23 (Danny Trejo) and half a dozen others. There are some great characters in...

johanna18 07.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Con Air - Extended Cut (DVD)

Buyers be aware..

Advantages: they have shops everywhere
Disadvantages: Rip-off prices, poor advice, poor customer services

...Buyers beware... don't be ripped off by Phone4u. Phone4u Epsom branch for a 3 HUAWEI mobile broadband USB stick- quoted me £79.99. I knew '3' shops and online sold them USB mobile broadband sticks for £50 and queried the diffence in price. The shop assistant convinced me that the two models were different and the one they were providing was a later model that provided higher-speed broadband. Stupidly, I trusted Phones4u's shop assistant and went ahead with the purchase. A few days later I found out that they had actually lied to me. The model that they sold me for £79.99 was actually available for £49.99 in '3' shops - a full £30 more (60% more!!). I queried the shop and they refused to take back the item or refund the difference - I had made the request just 4 days after the purchase. (The modem was still intact...

sam2072 31.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of phone4u.co.uk