His Hideous Heart

 Book 21 of my 2024 Reading Challenge

read from February 27 - March 1

His Hideous Heart

My Opinion

4 stars

This book has multiple authors reimagining works by Edgar Allan Poe.  An unusual aspect that I really appreciate is it has Poe's original works as the second half of the book if the reader wants to read those as well.

As always when reading books with multiple authors, I'll include a small opinion on individual stories below.  I've also decided to begin by reading the inspiration story by Poe first to lay a groundwork of comparison.

My favorites were "Night-Tide" and "The Glittering Death".  Although there were some I didn't enjoy a ton there were no complete duds in the inspired stories (I can't say the same for Poe's) so that was a plus too.

She Rode a Horse of Fire (inspired by the original tale "Metzengerstein")

Poe's original story didn't keep my interest so the new story was already starting behind the eight ball for me.

I can see the similarities and thought the new story updated circumstances well, including making the object a car instead of a horse.  It kept my interest more than Poe's story but I still wasn't super invested.

It's Carnival! (inspired by the original tale "The Cask of Amontillado")

Short and to the point, there was enough time to convey the motives and create distaste for the victim.

It held true to the emotions of Poe's story but had a current twist in method.

Night-Tide (inspired by the original tale "Annabel Lee")

LOVE!!!  This was a beautiful story, stark and emotional.

It greatly expanded Poe's poem and made the story between two girls but kept the same longing and romance.

The Glittering Death (inspired by "The Pit and the Pendulum")

"The Pit and the Pendulum" is the most memorable story by Poe that I've read and I have a visceral reaction every time I read it.  Somehow this inspired story generated an even stronger reaction.  It was terrific.

My jaw hurts from the tension I was holding reading Poe's story followed by this one.

A Drop of Stolen Ink (inspired by " The Purloined Letter")

Even without the knowledge of the inspiration, this was a fully realized story.  I'd read a million more of their adventures.

Although it took the original story's "hidden in plain sight", everything else was updated and unique.  I really liked it.

Happy Days, Sweetheart (inspired by "The Tell-Tale Heart")

The author was able to take inspiration from arguably one of the most famous stories and still surprise with a twist.  I know I was supposed to root against her but I couldn't.

The Raven (Remix) (inspired by "The Raven")

I understand the concept behind it but in practicality it was difficult to read when individual letters were left uncovered to form words.  My eye naturally wanted to scan and it took immense concentration to not only find the letters but figure out what they were spelling.

Since this took the original text and repurposed it by blocking out many words, I'm guessing this will be the closest to the actual story behind each author's inspiration.

Changeling (inspired by "Hop-Frog")

Poe's original story was outdated and offensive so I was already on edge when I started the inspired story.  It wasn't offensive and made enough changes to make it palatable but I was still uncomfortable.  I had trouble keeping the voices straight.

The Oval Filter (inspired by "The Oval Portrait")

The inspired story was really compelling which was a relief because I thought Poe's story was a dud.

It was the perfect length and kept things moving enough that the reader was unsettled but also didn't muddy the waters with extra characters or events.

Red (inspired by "The Masque of the Red Death")

It was fine.  I understand what the red death symbolized in Poe's story but not in the inspired one.

Lygia (inspired by "Ligeia")

Poe's story was boooooring but the inspired story was much better.  I felt awful for Roberta though.

The Fall of the Bank of Usher (inspired by "The Fall of the House of Usher")

It felt especially long because I wasn't super interested in the plot.  I don't fully understand what happened but am glad they both made it out.

I wasn't interested in Poe's original story either.

The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay (inspired by "The Murders in the Rue Morgue")

An interesting spin and update on Poe's original story.  I'm glad the narrator wasn't harmed physically or emotionally.