This was quite a good selection, nearly complete, of Edgar Allan Poe's works. It contains some of his most famous ones, as well as the inclusion of his complete poems. What I found on reading this was that while many of his pieces of fiction are not amazing, those that are approach the sublime. Poe was able to capture, in some of his pieces, an almost perfect ingenuity considering his subject matter and evocative mood that he was able to bring forth with his writing. That is power and that is why Poe is still as relevant today as he was back then.

3.75- well worth the read. ( )

A truly unique writer. His skill is beyond compare. A basic to read again and again. None of his work seems dated. I can still visualize the terror of "Descent into the Maelstrom" even though I first read it when I was fourteen. The images he paints in your mind are enduring. ( )

I've had this for two or three years now. It's an old used copy and I love it! It's lovely to have so much Poe in one volume. ( )

It's a pretty good book. Edgar just continues to baffle and amaze. He should be an inspiration to all authors. Well, maybe not so much kids authors. But you get the point. ( )

A collection of 73 tales and 52 poems spanning the writing career of Edgar Allan Poe. He is best known for his poem "The Raven" and tale of "The Tell-Take Heart". A favourite among gothic horror fans, I was really looking forward to reading this complete collection.

Sadly I was quite let down. There was a lot of gothic horror tales, but there were a lot of random tales as well. The ones I really enjoyed were:
The Unparalled Adventures of one Hans Pfaal (non-horror)
The Gold Bug
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Mystery of Marie Roget
The Black Cat
The Tell-Tale Heart
A Predicament
Diddling (non-horror)
Hop-Frog
William Wilson
Beatrice
The System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether
Narrative of A. Gordon Pym
Eleonora
Some words with a Mummy (non-horror)
The Spectacles
This is only a list of 16 tales and out of 73 it's a pretty small proportion. I found that there were far too many I didn't enjoy between those I did which mad it very difficult to keep going and finish them all.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the poetry and they are something I would go back and read again. I think the best thing to do is stick to a collection of his best horror ones to save being disappointed with the rest (however they do become a little formulaic after a while). ( )

Many mixed feelings about Poe. Brilliance and schlock at turns. ( )