Attain His Hideous Heart Rendered By Dahlia Adler Conveyed As Booklet

not rating this anthology, because it ended up being so entirely not a Christina thing, and I read it under a mistaken assumption.
See, in high school, I remember really enjoying the Poe our teacher would read to us on Halloween, but apparently it was either the teacher's oratory skills or he only read a selection, because it turns out I super dislike the work of Edgar Allan Poe to the degree that even retellings of Poe don't work for me.


Admittedly, if I hadn't read the original tales, I might have enjoyed this more, because the Poe stories inevitably left me bored to tears, grumpy, and innoway in the mood for a retelling.
But since they're there and since retellings are generally more interesting if you know what choices they've made I stand by this, that's the decision I made.


So anyway, His Hideous Heart was not for me, BUT if you are into Poe, then absolutely read this, because the retellings go in some interesting directions.
You get Poe's basic ideas fleshed out and full of diversity and feminism, Poe tends to go low on detail, so it was interesting to see how people built onto his narrow framework.


It's not you, it's me, basically, Or, actually, it's not you or me, it's Poe, Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher, This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest,

I couldn't imagine a book that was more on brand for me, Edgar Allen Poe retellings, edited by a fantastic human, full of some of my favorite and most anticipated authors His Hideous Heart is made for me.
I was unbelievably lucky to get an early copy and I devoured it whole, His Hideous Heart retains the magic of anthology, while bringing new life to Edgar Allen Poe, Part of why I love anthologies, is that not only do they offer you experiences to become closer to your favorite authors, but also to discover new loves.
And what a subject. I can remember my first experiences with Edgar Allen Poe in middle school, Being absolutely transfixed by his writing, his characters, the atmosphere, Obsessed with the Gothic imagery and haunting desires,

These stories retain the eeriness, the creepiness, the same feeling of curiosity, and breathes new settings, characters, and technology.
Nothing is as it seems and it only makes me want to go reread the originals, Retellings will consistently captivate me how much you retain from the original, what themes you bring forth, and which elements you eliminate.
This anthology was like watching my wildest fantasies come true,

full review: sitelink com/revi Most of the stories in this are amazing!
I read the original Poe story included in this collection each time before reading the retelling.
It was an excellent way to experience and evaluate both Poes story and the new one,
The story that stuck with me the most is the retelling that takes place at Mardi Gras/Carnival, It felt like revenge/justice in an ironic way that I think Poe would have also loved,

This book includes both the retelling and the Poe originals,
Ive decided to read the original story/poem first before the retelling and therefore listed them below in the order I read them not the order they are listed in the book.


Metzengeragein by Poe
I remember now why Poe and I are rarely friends, While gothic and awesome his inability to show a story or even tell it without muddling it all up in wording makes me crazy.
I know its another time periods English but I can read Shakespeare better than his stuff somedays,
Heres hoping Kendare Blakes retelling brings me some semblance of the real story to light,

She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Blake
inspired by Poes story Metzengerstein
Without a doubt Blakes take on this story is by far more readable, and the use of the tapestry is clever.

Overall I still say meh to this story, I know what Poe was going for in terms of karma coming back to bite you but just didnt find either version all that compelling.


Cask of Amontillo by Poe AND
Carnival by Tiffany D, Jackson
inspired by Cask of Amontillo by Poe
Im confident Im going to hell, As I took great pleasure and even kind of laughed at the cleverness of each character that walls in the other in each story.
Jackson uses the cover of the noise of Carnival in a very clever way and gives satisfaction to anyone bullied in a merepages.

Enjoyed both these stories immensely,
After reading all of the Poe and retellings in this anthology I can confidently say this is the best set of stories of them all.
I love the revenge being so dark and despicable while also clever and concise,

The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig
inspired by The Pit and the Pendulum by Poe
Just wow.
Im slightly shivering after reading this, In my house, safe, my husband andlb pitbull terrier in the room with me, its night which might add a bit of creep factor.
Its only as I finish this story I realize how rapt it had my attention,
Certainly as a teen I did not understand the true impossibility of the decision between the pit and the pendulum.
I thought that the pit was always the better choice back then, Today I would merely say that both suck equally and as they both end in death then what real difference is there

The Purloined Letter by Poe
Sure nothing nefarious or horrific here.
Just the argument that hiding in plain site is clever, Id like to think in todays world our investigators, officers, military, etc, are trained to ensure this doesnt happen, But people tend to work based on preconceived notions far too often

A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily LloydJones
inspired by The Purloined Letter
Really liked the science fiction element of IDs being integrated into your skin.
Overall this story suffers from the same thing as Poes original its a bit boring, Maybe in its day this story was unique but now the hidden in plain sight concept has been done to death.
Just no real pizazz here for me,

The TellTale Heart by Poe
One Poes most famous short stories, In a merepages Poe manages to convince you that the killer was right, Perhaps Im too jaded by todays media consumption but this feels tame compared with shows like GoT, Witcher, and other fantasy gothic movies like Crimson Peak.

And of course the last line of this story inspired the title of this anthology,

Happy Days Sweetheart by Stephanie Luehn
inspired by The TellTale Heart
Not a lot to say here but the completetwist in the end is great.
Loved it!

The Raven by Poe
I have no doubt the best part of this poem is the cadence with which Poe constructs his rhymes.
It flows off the tongue even when said in your mind and out loud and makes you want to continue even if the Nevermore has you wanting to end.

A classic and truly deserved of being loved, nevermore,

The Raven remix by Amanda Lovelace
inspired by The Raven by Poe
Very very clever.
Right up the last word, Redacted to select only certain words or letters, Lovelace brilliantly changes the tone of the story using only Poes words that were already on the page,

HopFrog by Poe
I cant help but wonder how bullied, belittled, or abused Poe was in his relatively short life.
Whether for being: unattractive, often poor or unintelligent remains to be seen, But I surmise as so many of his stories enact revenge,
It may also be he saw injustices of the world and felt empathy and rage because of them, Either way he clearly understood the need to get even,

Channeling by Marilee Nijkamp
inspired by Hopfrog by Poe
Excellent use of the fae and their history of stealing or saving unwanted deformed children.


The Oval Portrait by Poe
Feels like a bit of a Dorian Grey homage with the use of the painting.
I dont even know which came first! How embarrassing, Lol.
I gotta say paintings can be both beautiful and haunting, Really liked this one.

The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles
inspired by Poes Oval Portrait
Very clever to incorporate the Poe story into an Instagram modern day based one.
Enjoyed how the death of the girlfriend felt very Poe on it own even without the creepy Instagram/phone activity added in.
The creepiness of the phone doing things just heightened the overall gothic, supernatural, and disturbing feel,

The Masque of Red Death by Poe
A bit too flowery and lengthy in its descriptions for me but the overall message to avoid greed is powerful.


Red by Hillary Monahan
inspired by Poes Masque of Red Death
Pretty much the exact same story.
The setting is changed but the descriptions of the rooms, the chimes of the clock, almost all the details are identical.
It didnt feel different enough for me,

Ligeia by Poe
OMG boring, Overly descriptive, takes too long for something interesting to happen, and just not that shocking or big a reveal, The worst Poe one in the collection so far for me,

Lygia by Dahlia Adler
inspired by Ligeia by Poe
Love the lesbians but just as the original story is too romantic and overdone for my tastes so is this one.
I cant fault the author as what they had to work with was already brutal, Proof that I love gothic works but without the horror, historical setting,

etc only the romance, its not for me.


The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe
A little bit anticlimactic as Ive read many retellings including Silvia MorenaGarcias amazing novel, Mexican Gothic.
That said, it is a clever story and adaptable in many ways, I love the biology used, Be it the mess incest makes of lineage, or the fungus that ultimately shadows everyone and thing in the House of Usher.
Im glad to have finally read the original,

The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde
inspired by The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe
Wow!! Brilliant!!
There is no doubt in my mind that Mexican Gothic is still the penultimate retelling of House of Usher.
However, Wildes short story treatment is just as smart and sharp and in a totally different way, I cant say anymore for fear of giving away the idea but lets just say its a doozy!"

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Poe
Poe wrote an entire story basically about statistical probability with large numbers aka: mathematical/scientific proof coincidences dont exist.

The beginning was painful but the last half flew by as the murders motive, perpetrator, etc, were being revealed. Its absurd and yet falls into place eloquently, Poe really was a very sharp, astute man,

The Murders in the Rue Apartwlle, Boracay by Rin Chupeco
inspired by The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Poe
One of my most anticipated stories of the book! The trans representation is excellent here as I would expect from Chupeco however the overall story doesnt quite follow Poes story the way most of our others have.
I dont mind a different ending but it just didnt feel quite right, Super disappointing as I usually enjoy Chupeco's works, .