Review Detail

The perfect gift for any Poe fan, Gareth Hinds breathes life—and gory death—into some of the greatest works of Edgar Allen Poe, American master of horror. These stunning illustrations guide the reader into the twisted realm of the classic horror genre with the familiar stories of The Pit and The Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart and, of course, The Raven. The inclusion of some lesser known stories, such as The Masque of the Red Death and The Cask of Amontillado was a pleasant, yet also extremely horrifying surprise I quite enjoyed.
Each story begins with the Poe Checklist, an assortment of icons, noting the themes the reader will encounter in the coming story. For the Cask of Amontillado the reader can expect to find themes of confinement, darkness, complete lack of guilty conscience, insanity, murder and premature burial—to name a few of Poe’s favorite motifs.
Hinds’ illustrations manage to capture the gothic style and ambience of Poe’s stories in perfect detail, not shying away from the gruesome and morbid. Fans of Poe will appreciate the dedication to the genre and new readers will surely become new fans of both Poe and Hinds.