Tag: Short Stories Reviews

“Morella” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The tale is about the odd relations between a husband and wife. While offering few details, Edgar Allan Poe paints a morbid portrait of identity, death, and marriage.

At the beginning of this tale we are learning about how much the narrator adores his wife Morella. After sometime it turns into a philosophy part. 

This tale is a sad love story with a lot of gothic horror elements.

The story telling this tale was too basic in the end, it almost didn’t feel like the author of this tale was Edgar Allan Poe. But of course this tale needs to get its point for the chilling vibe to it.

However the topic of someone death haunting the main character which in this case is the narrator is pretty much overused. Even Edgar Allan Poe have multiple stories about the same topic, so you get super bored of it when you read about the same thing over and over again. This tale have the potential to be unique if Edgar Allan Poe had taken a different turn to it or written it somehow different. 

This story have the dark vibe to it, but it is for the most part boring. And if you looking for something good written by Edgar Allan Poe dont read this tale. Yes this book has the classic takes of Edgar Allan Poe, but it is far from his best work. 

The writing style is too simple, it almost looks like that while writing this tale Edgar Allan Poe was bored our of his mind or something similar. But of course if you love dark love stories with our happy endings you will enjoy this tale. 

I give this tale 2 / 5

“The Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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A wounded man finds shelter in an abandoned chateau in the Appenines and with his valet settles into a small apartment in a remote turret. The oddly shaped room is full of paintings, and on his pillow the man finds a small book that appears to tell their stories. One painting in particular, of a beautiful girl, holds him spellbound, and, consulting the history book, he learns the startling secret of the oval portrait’s extraordinary execution.

This table cannot be described with nothing more than a beautiful, gripping and fascinating read.

This tale definitely needs to get extra points for the symbolism which it has. The the thing where fascination turns into obsession. This tale reminds readers why they love reading.

The theme of this tale about artistic obsession is just amazing. And this tale for sure gives the reader a good creep no matter if you get scared of it or just the feeling thrill mixed with the feeling of something being out of place or wrong. 

Yes this tale have only two pages, but the whole tale is more than this. This tale manages to pack so much more than just two pages. It will definitely leave you satisfying. However the ending of it feels take it comes too early together with being a little bit too obvious. It might leave some of you unsatisfied or give you the feeling that the ending leaves the whole tale losse its impact.

But definitely this table needs to get some points for the whole idea behind it. It’s a cool idea in the end no matter how it is interpreted.

However this tale may remind you of some scar Wilde’s work and “The Picture” by Dorian Gray.

The writing style itself is very on point here, its very moody. And of course the writing style is very gothic as in any other Edgar Allan Poe’s work. But that’s why people are reading Edgar Allan Poe’s work.

This whole story is a heart rending plot filled with love, death and neglect. But it is a sweet and fun way. Though it gives a decent creep, which much horror fans will appreciate.

I give this tale 5 / 5

“Suffer The Little Children” by Stephen King Review

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Miss Sidley, an experienced, no-nonsense teacher starts to lose her bearings when she suspects one of her students, Robert, is not quite human. In a momentary reflection in her eyeglasses she thinks she may have seen Robert changing into a monster. She soon discovers that not only does Robert change, but he may not be the only one of his kind. Sidley must get rid of them before it’s too late.

This is a short story written by no other than the horror goat himself aka Stephen King. Who doesn’t love a horror story from Stephen King ?

The whole plot is wow. Because if you take the concept of school teachers and school students and write a horror story to it, a lot of insane things can happen. 

This story may make some of you wonder if your teacher from school life you had wanted at some point kill you. At least it make me a little bit wonder about that.

The ending will definitely make your jaw drop. Because it makes this story even more twisted than it already was from the beginning. But for some of you the ending might seem as too much and too fast going. But again it is a personal think which people will disagree on as every other book in the world. 

For the most part this whole story was very dark, strange but also at times very unique because of the topic it touches on. It is important to say that this story involves child murder thoughts, so be warned about this if it might trigger some of you.

This story doesn’t fail like the classic Stephen King we know from the usual books he writes. This tale is a different take on his work. But the writing style here is the classic Stephen King in this one. Which of course means very dark, easy to get into, moody and amazing. 

I give this story 2 / 5

“Ms Found in a Bottle” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The plot follows an unnamed narrator at sea who finds himself in a series of harrowing circumstances. As he nears his own disastrous death while his ship drives ever southward, he writes an “MS.”, or manuscript, telling of his adventures which he casts into the sea.

Edgar Allan Poe starts this tale with by making it very clear that the narrator in this tale has no imagination. He also points out that narrator stable, rational together with little bit boring. 

This tale is typical Edgar Allan Poe tale, which is more or less a little bit different because the action involves sea and it takes a cool and unique take to it.

This tale makes you question if the narrator in this one goes crazy or if all this is real. I think that all likes a little bit thinking about stuff like that in books.

The plot its fun to read and for the most importantly it is a quick read. But it is also dense and complex. This story is more similar to Jules Verne work than to Edgar Allan Poe work. So if you are just starting your journey with Edgar Allan Poe then go for some other work. Because this tale would work better if you have read one or two stories written by Edgar Allan Poe but it wont be bad if you start here. The plot here is filled with gloomy, supernatural horror. But it has an oddly beautiful and captivating take to it, which Edgar Allan Poe is known for doing in some of his work.

The character development here is very good. Because we can see the clear changing process of the narrator as the tale goes on. It is important to say that the narrator shares the fate of the crew, their “destiny,” though he never really felt part of it.

This tale is however not a horror tale but rather a psychological tales of consternation. It makes you question things. 

The plot more or less is a sea adventure with a psychological take on it. But this tale gets the extra points for the way Edgar Allan Poe describes the ocean. 

The writing style is very gothic and moody which every horror and thriller fan will appreciate. 

I give this tale 2 / 5

“The Reploids” by Stephen King Review

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A mysterious man named Edward Paladin shows up in place of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, but all is not what it seems. A subsequent investigation by detectives Richard Cheyney and Pete Jacoby finds strange items in his possession, hinting that he may not be from our reality.

To be honest this story might be the most gruesome Stephen King story ever. There is a lots of rapes and weird stuff. Which may be very triggering for some readers. So be warned about these parts of these stories.

This story have a lots of compelling elements kindly said, and the whole police investigation which takes place in this story is very strange and confusing.

To be fully honest with everyone this story feels like nothing but a rough first draft. I’m not trashing the whole story, Stephen King or anyone else here. I’m just saying what impressions this story gave me. 

There are some parts of this story which is hard to understand, and there were a lots of parts where i need to google stuff which was in this story. 

The ending itself is bad, like really bad. The whole story feels like it is ending in mid story and it feels like it should be more to it than it actually was.

The whole story is sort of too graphic when at least comes to me and my opinion.

I give this story 2 / 5

“I Am the Doorway” by Stephen King Review

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The story relates a disabled former astronaut’s account of the terrifying change he undergoes after being exposed to an extraterrestrial mutagen, during a space mission to Venus 

Stephen King does a good job at these short stories but as a die hard Stephen King fan I need to say that he does a much better at the longer novels he writes than the short stories. 

Every time Stephen King writes a sci-fi its either hit or miss and nothing in between these two. I personally don’t am a big fan of Sci-fi genre so maybe thats why this story didn’t work with me. But I still think that it was a good read, and it wont hurt to read it. 

The whole story is told in the first-person narration which definitely sets the tone the story much more. And the fact that this story involves a cosmic space entity and reading it from the first-person narration is very interesting. It isn’t that scary as you might think it is but there definitely something eerie to it.

Descriptions in this story are so good that it makes you see the whole picture in your mind or at least it did that for me. 

The whole story wasn’t the greatest short story I’ve read but it was a good one. It is definitely worth reading, because the plot is good, descriptions are good as well as details and most characters. 

There aren’t a lots of characters in this one, but it is good. As we know quality matters not quantity. So the story needs to get points for doing that.

I give this story 3 /5

“The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The poem serves as an allegory about a king “in the olden time long ago” who is afraid of evil forces that threaten him and his palace, foreshadowing impending doom. The poem takes a marked change in tone towards the second to last stanza.

The plot is great as always when it comes to work of Edgar Allan Poe. However there are some plot holes in poem. I mean I don’t expect a poem to be written as a book but come on. How did the inhabitants of the palace die? Murder ? Sickness ? Were are the answers ? 

You will enjoy it, and you will enjoy even more the second time when you read it. If you are like me, you will appreciated it a lot.

The ending is memorable and great. The ending have definitely a creepy vibe to it, which every horror fan will appreciated. 

It is very short as a poem should be, the language is surprisingly easy. I said “surprisingly” because you know it was written in 1839 and since then the English language have changed a lot. 

This poem is disturbing, as you may have guessed. But it is what makes it fun in the Edgar Allan Poe’s work. However now on days it is a typical haunted house story in a poem format

The poem is creepy in every possibly beautiful way. At least it was for me. 

The writing style was something to talk about. It was amazing when it comes to the fact that this was a poem. 

It is important to say that this poem is an excellent example of Edgar Allan Poe’s masterful use of allegory. And it really shows how a brilliant writer Edgar Allan Poe was, but it also shows why Edgar Allan Poe is so huge legend in the storytelling field now.

The rhythm of this poem fits very well with the story which is told in it. 

This poem also have a lots of references to mythology which I at least appreciated.

However this poem might sound like a scene of heaven being taken over by something demonic. 

I give this poem 5 / 5

“Graveyard Shift” by Stephen King Review

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A young drifter named Hall has been working at a decrepit textile mill in a small town in Maine when his boss, a cruel taskmaster, recruits him and others to assist with a massive cleaning effort. The basement of the old mill has been abandoned for decades, and over the years, a monumental infestation of rats has taken hold.

If you don’t like rates, then maybe don’t pick up this story because it involves a lots of rates in it. 

This short story is pretty much a creepy read which takes place in an old mill. This story isn’t that unique, because in the end it is a basic horror story which isn’t that good as most novels written by Stephen King.

This story is enjoyable to read, but I would recommend to read it off you didn’t read all novels by Stephen King. Because in the end this story is nothing more than modern interpretation of “The Rats in the Walls” but written by Stephen King instead of H. P. Lovecraft.

This story really shows that some authors should stick with the longer novels and don’t write short stories and unfortunately Stephen King is one of them. Because the whole story lacks context to it and more depth into it, the whole story is sort of like a skeleton of a story without organs, meat, muscle, nerves etc. 

This whole story isn’t necessarily creepy and intense, but it still is a horror story in that it’s about things you don’t ever want to experience. Just as mutated rats. It’s more unpleasant than anything else.

The whole story is pretty too basic, all it is for the most part is people cleaning an old, abandoned basement and then something happens and shit foes down hill.

The ending could be much better than it actually was, but too late to change it now. The whole ending is more or less feels like squeamish than terrified. It implies what happens next to the men, which was a great ending but so horrid.

I give this story 3 / 5

“Bon-Bon” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The whole story follows Pierre Bon-Bon, who believes himself a profound philosopher, and his encounter with the Devil.

This story is one of the best comic stories written by Edgar Allan Poe. Its important to mention that this story are featuring a verbal interchange between the Devil and a restaurateur who is the main character named Pierre Bon-Bon renowned for his omelets who also believes himself a profound philosopher.

One of the parts of this story is that it satirizes a whole list of classical philosophers including Plato and Aristotle, all of which the Devil has claimed to have eaten their souls.

This story is quite far from the typical and good stories written Edgar Allan Poe, which means that some people might not like it. 

The main character which of course is Pierre Bon-Bon is somehow interesting. Pierre Bon-Bon is equal parts carnal and intellectual. 

The descriptions and details in this story are pretty good. They are so good that they might freak you out because of how good they are. 

This concept of this story is interesting, however Edgar Allan Poe writing style makes it almost interminable to get through. This story really shows that Edgar Allan Poe has a tendency to ramble throughout his writing, needlessly prolonging the dull parts, which in turn leaves hardly any time for the more entertaining aspects within the book.

However this story doesn’t fail to turn the expression “food for thoughts” into “thoughts for food”. However the whole story is another  Edgar Allan Poe story where the Devil makes a grand appearance. 

The narratorial voice was excellent. The plot was comical, which was the intent. But these things are the basic things which makes a story / book good. We need much more to give a story / book 5 stars or even 4. 

I give this story 3 / 5

“Never Bet the Devil Your Head” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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This story is a clear attack on transcendentalism, which the narrator calls a “disease” afflicting Toby Dammit. The narrator, in fact, sends the bill for Dammit’s funeral expenses to the transcendentalists, who refuse to pay because of their disbelief in evil.

Let me start this review by saying that the main character’s name is the most brilliant name Ive ever heard in my entire life. The main character is named Toby Dammit, the name have blown me away its so good.

The whole story is written in response to the criticism that Edgar Allan Poe was facing regarding his work at the time of writing this story. So this story comes across more or less as “F You” to the people who were trashing him at the time.

In this story Edgar Allan Poe disapproved of transcendentalism together with giving us his believes about all fiction and that it should have a moral in it. Which of corse will not work for some of you.

This story is far from Edgar Allan Poe’s best work but it is still a relatively good, quick and enjoyable read which will give you some Edgar Allan Poe vibe in it.

However the plot might be boring or less interesting for some people because the whole story is about Toby Dammit fighting the devil inside of his head which can more or less translate to Toby Dammit fighting the negativity, overthinking and pessimistic thoughts in his head. However this story is written by Edgar Allan Poe, and nothing is that simple when it comes to Edgar Allan Poe.

I need to give this story points for having some funny moments in it which will make some people laugh. The funny moments are funny because of the sarcasm in it.

The points needs also to be given to this book for showing us that the the GOAT of gothic genre can also be funny and not just the grim and depressed dude. 

I give this story 3 / 5