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Book reviews for "Edgar,_David" sorted by average review score:

The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings: Poems, Tales, Essays and Reviews
Published in Paperback by Penguin USA (Paper) (29 April, 2003)
Authors: Edgar Allan Poe and David Galloway
Amazon base price: $8.00
List price: $10.00 (that's 20% off!)
Average review score:

i THOUGHT THIS BOOJK WAS VERY EXCITING .
THIS BOOK IS VERY GOOD AND KEPT MY INTEREST THROUGH OUT THE WHOLE TIME I READ IT.

Delve into the mind of a madman!
This story was disjointed, abstract, distrubing and confusing to the point that it hurt my head... yet I want to read it again. Although I'm not sure I understood everthing that happened, you get so caught up in the the agony of the characters insanity, one must read on to try to make sense of it. This is a book that you will read over and over to try and understand and just when you think you've got it... you will have doubt enough to read it once again!

Lord of the flies
This book is very good it is about children deserted on an inhabited island.It is all about jealousy,leadership and hate.
It is good because it is quite scary and when they go crazy they go crazy. The ending ! marvelous i haven't seen a better book yet wich has a better ending than this book.I also think that it would be quite fun being deserted on an island but when you read this book you won't want to be left on an island ever.


The Four Just Men (Oxford Popular Fiction)
Published in Paperback by Oxford University Press (1995)
Authors: Edgar Wallace, David Glover, and David Trotter
Amazon base price: $7.95
Average review score:

The Four Characterless Men
If you are the Saint fans, you'll be also interested in "The Four Just Men". They are also a kind of "Modern Robin Hoods" who fight against the injustice beyond the reach of the Law. I read some Edgar Wallace's short stories before and they were splendid. This book is enjoyable, but not so good as I expected. Unlike the Saint, the Four Just Men lack outstanding indivisualities that attract readers. Indeed they are nondescript and distinguishable only by names. When more than one heros appear, they should display different characters or abilities.

The four just men
Modern authors can learn much from this book by the late Edgar Wallace. It is an intriguing plot,captivating to the very end. The reader finds a love/hate relationship with these 'off the wall' protagonists who of high moral character themselves are also lethal in the resolving of their motives.
Captivating reading for the mystery buff.


The Tarzan Novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs: An Illustrated Reader's Guide
Published in Unknown Binding by McFarland & Co (E) (2001)
Author: David A. Ullery
Amazon base price: $45.00
Average review score:

For fanatics...
This work is obviously a labor of love by a real Burroughs fan. Without reference to the Tarzan of the movies or comic books, the author gives us all kinds of details on the real thing -- Tarzan as he appeared first and at his greatest, in the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Several sections list and describe various facets of the books, such as different languages referred to in the narratives, the lost cities and civilizations that Tarzan encounters, and plot summaries. In the Cast of Characters section it's interesting to discover that in several instances there are multiple characters with the same name, but who appear in different volumes.

My big gripe is how much it costs. It's ridiculously overpriced. I don't know what the publishers were thinking (maybe "there's a sucker born every minute"), but that's far too much for what you get. Sure, it has an index, and sure, there are vintage illustrations by Roy Krenkel and J. Allen St. John (no Frazetta). But it's "trade" size and a paperback, for crying out loud. If I'd seen it in a store (I ordered it through the mail) I'd expect it to be priced [lower]. And a casual perusal turned up a few errors. Most were just typos, but in one case at least there was a bigger error. The city of Castrum Mare in Tarzan and the Lost Empire is given here as "Castra" Mare, and this is repeated several times throughout the book. Don't buy this book unless (1) you're rich, or (2) you're an ERB fanatic that can't live without it. Or, of course, if the price comes down. It's definitely worth borrowing, naturally.

Four stars for content, two for the price.

MMGAWA!
For those that love the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and specifically Tarzan this is the book for you. David Ullery has done a fantastic job in compiling ERB's Tarzon novels into one beautiful book. Anyone would be proud to add this one to their collection. As mentioned in a previous review, it may be a little higher priced but jeez we are talking Edgar Rice Burroughs. Great job Ullery!!!


Edgar Allan Poe's the Pit and the Pendulum
Published in Paperback by Troll Communications (1982)
Authors: David Cutts, Edgar Allan Poe, and Monroe Eisenberg
Amazon base price: $2.95
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Pit and the Pendulum
You may find this story very scary. Not advisable for scaredies. As usaul, Poe is up to this type of mysterious stuff.


Great Tales of Horror
Published in Paperback by Bantam Classic and Loveswept (1988)
Authors: Edgar Allan Poe and David A. Sohn
Amazon base price: $1.95
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*Suspensful.. yet weird
~I think that this book was a good one. It really caught your attention at the beginning with The Tell Tale Heart and each story had its each special effect. I guess you can say that, because it was just so interesting the way he used his description with the stories. For example once Poe used a set up in the story where he told you about every sense and you could really imagine it, and then there's when you have no idea where it takes place or what it exactly looks like, but both ways he uses is intriguing and really sparks a tingle in your body. The only thing that I think really wasn't that great was I would kind of wander off when reading it only because he uses things that we aren't really focused on and basically scared of, but it does all really make sense if you can think of the time period that was taking place during Poe's years. I have to clap my hands for Poe, he really is a talented writer!


Graduates Are Special: A Tribute to Those With Futures New & Bright
Published in Hardcover by Random House Value Pub (17 April, 2001)
Author: Lucy Mead
Amazon base price: $6.99
Average review score:

one of the best critical attempts of Poe's work.
There have been more well known academic studies of Poe's work (such as Daniel Hoffman's " Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe") but this is one of the best ones and deserves to be better known. Poe is still one of America's most avant garde writers and as Gore Vidal wittily wrote "the primal fount of American literature." Ketterer's book is not a complete success (his analysis of "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Ligeia" is flawed); however his insights into Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Black Cat," and "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym," are excellent and never resort to pseudo-freudian criticism to explain the author's psyche. David Ketterer's book provides a firm understanding of Poe and his mysterious work. I recommend to all students or lovers of literature.


Twentieth Century Design (Oxford History of Art)
Published in Paperback by Oxford University Press (1997)
Author: Jonathan M. Woodham
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List price: $18.95 (that's 30% off!)
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Sickening brilliance.
I used to loathe Poe's style, whose involutions seemed to drain his work of all their professed horror, while admiring the way he smuggled hugely complex ideas into popular modes - no wonder Hitchcock adored him. Now, as I grow older, I begin to value Poe more, recognise his obsessions and fears in myself, while marvelling at a style that manages to convey hothouse exoticism with remarkable, chilling precision.

Of the three stories I read recently in this volume, Morella is the least successful, a rehash of Leonora (a dead wife is reincarnated in her daughter), but there a brilliance in Poe's dramatising of an idea that is admirable.

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar is truly disgusting and horrifying. A hynotist experiments on a dying man to see if he can prolong life after death. The cool analytic style lead contemporaries to confuse it with a medical testcase (it was published in a scientific journal), but what is most memorable is the anguish of the dead man who cannot rest.

Best of all though is the immortal Black Cat. Violent and unconsionable, the brutalities in this story are among the most grotesque in literature, both to animals and to people. Poe's style is at his most poetically sustained as he describes the most vile barbarities with his character's objectionable self-pity. What is most sublime, though, is the note of black comedy that is laced throughout, which would be foregrounded in Roger Corman's hilarious version in Tales Of Terror.

Van Leer's introduction is informative enough, but there is a note of begrudgery and a refusal to take Poe altogether seriously, that is aggravating.


Still in Print: Journey of a Writer, Teacher, Journalist (David C. Cook Foundation Monographs)
Published in Paperback by David C Cook Foundation (1986)
Author: Roland Edgar Wolseley
Amazon base price: $9.95
Average review score:

Perhaps an open mind is the best bedmate
I read and enjoyed this book, though at times I felt I was having my hand held as I wandered blind through the world of writing. Seeing as this is a book for those interested in writing and learning how to write better, I would have chosen a style that is directed slightly higher than the lowest common denominator. I must admit at time I felt overwhelmed and appreciated the tone, but for the most part I found myself skimming over the "See Jane Dance, Dance Jane Dance" sections to get a broader look at the material. Overall, a good book.


The Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe
Published in Audio Cassette by Dove Books Audio (1995)
Authors: Edgar Allan Poe, David Warner, and Christopher Cazenove
Amazon base price: $10.95
Average review score:

A disappointment save Cazenove
Gregory Hines and Joel Gray present horrible readings of two of Poe's best poems. Gregory Hines sounds like a used car salesman when reading "Annabel Lee," and Joel Gray sounds like a spastic nut when reading "The Bells." Did they ever listen to themselves? Christopher Cazenove represents the best reader and the savior of this otherwise fiasco. Although he left out the last stanza, his reading of "Ulalume-A Ballad" is by far the best reading I've heard of this powerful poem. Michael York's reading of "The Raven" is ok, but he lacks correct interpretation with the "wispered word, 'Lenore?'" The only other reader to read this phrase like a question is Edward Blake. For some reason many of the poems have background music. Did the producers of this collection really think that these poems lacked something? Perhaps this collection going out of print was an act of mercy.

Should have been better
Like the first reviewer, I thought Gregory Hines absolutely ruined "Annabel Lee" for me, which is--or now, was--also one of MY favorite Poe poems. What's next, "Gregory Hines Tapdances 'A Cask of Amontillado'"? Stick to you day-job, Greg! Michael York and David Warner are much beter readers than Hines, though when York reads "I shrieked..." it hardly sounds like a shriek. Their readings are good, but not great. By far the two less-famous (to me, anyway) readers on the tape, Roger Rees and Christopher Cazenove, are giants compatred to the other three. Rees' reading of "The Conqueror Worm" alone is worth the price of this tape. Obviously Rees and Cazenove are experienced Shakespeare-trained actors who love--and know how to utilize to startling results--the English language. I would pay almost anything for a new version of this tape read by Rees and Cazenove alone, or possibly by them and other accomplished Shakepearean actors (Patrick Stewart? Ralph Fiennes? Simon Russell Beale?). It's just not enough, to effectively read aloud poems or prose written by a master, to be famous (Hines) or even British and famous (York and Warner); you have to be GOOD! Anyway, overall this tape's worth buying.

Good but not great.
If "Annabel Lee" is your favorite Poe poem, be warned that it is read by Gregory Hines, and the AudioFile review is being generous when it says that his readings lack drama and force. Though it is one of my favorite poems, or, more precisely, because it is one of my favorite poems, I fast forward through it everytime I listen to the tape, lest his reading impare my ability to enjoy the poem in the future.

This is somewhat compensated for by Michael York's exellent rendering of "The Raven" and David Warner's various readings which wonderfully capture Poe's mood and spirit.

Overall, still worth the price. I don't regret having purchased it and I'm still enjoying it a month later. If only "Annabel Lee" had been assigned to Mr. York or Mr. Warner!


Beyond Thirty (Bison Frontiers of Imagination Series)
Published in Paperback by Bison Bks Corp (2002)
Authors: Edgar Rice Burroughs, David Brin, and Phillip R. Burger
Amazon base price: $9.95
Average review score:

Interesting future history
This is one of the most interesting and unusual of Burroughs' stories. Written shortly after World War I, "Beyond Thirty" follows the assumption that the war in Europe ultimately results in the destruction of European civilization and the complete isolation of the American continents for nearly two hundred years following. Everything between 172 degrees and 30 degrees West longitude is American territory; everything outside these lines is no-man's land. The story begins when an aerial patrol boat is sabotaged and its captain forces a landing near the forbidden 30th longitude line and takes the survivors across into Europe and no-man's land. On the whole, "Beyond Thirty" is a very good adventure story, but could have greatly benefitted from more thorough treatment of its subject. The first few chapters are marvelously detailed in their description of the post-war history, and the adventures toward the middle of the story are typically Burroughsian, with beautiful heroines, strong heroes and low villains. Unfortunately, the latter third seems rushed and most of the plot resolutions appear contrived as a result. "Beyond Thirty" is a good read, and can be rather amusing to the modern reader.


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