This book of short stories has been my bedtime reading since the middle of May (of this year, for anyone wondering); while some of the stories are clunkers, enough of them are good enough so that, overall, this collection of tales having something or other to do with Edgar Allan Poe or his stories is great fun to read.

Basically to treat the stories I d in order of when they occur in the book, I d “Israfel” by Doug Allyn, “The Tell-Tale Purr” by Mary Higgins Clark, “The Cask of Castle Island” by Breandan DuBois, “Bells” by James W. Hall, “The Poe Collector” by Edward D. Hoch, “Poe, Poe, Poe” by John Lutz, “The Tell-Tale Pacemaker” by P. J. Parrish, and “Seeing the Moon” by S. J. Rozan. I’m not saying that anyone else’s list of the top stories in the collection would be or should be the same; those are just the stories that I particularly d.

I recommend this book to all lovers of Poe and his milieu; hard as it is for me to understand that someone might not know just about all that Poe wrote and all about his tortured life, I feel that one would enjoy the stories even being ignorant of Poe – it’s just more fun if you know your Poe.20132 s Americanogig144 1 follower

Collected by the organization that awards the famous ‘Edgar’ busts, MWA, this Poe-offering in honor of his 200th birthday actually pleases. The short stories I took the most joy in probably were those who took inspiration from him or wrote modern-day versions of his tales. I appreciated the understated acknowledgement opposite the saturated wink/wink-nod/nod self aware stories. So, while a few pieces left me feeling less than happy in their attempt at being clever, the others thrilled and inspired.
A few favorites were The Poe Collector, Seeing the Moon, A Nomad of the Night, Challenger, Rattle-Rattle-Rattle, Rue Morgue Noir and The Deadliest Tale of All.

If you love Poe, I truly suggest you sample this tidbit. Upon a midnight dreary if possible.


1 Anne127

A collection that is mostly very entertaining and imaginative. Great Middle of the Night Book. My favorite was the rabbi son trying to connect with his estranged father who was dying and unable to speak coherently. This seemed a good follow-up to our trip to Baltimore. Next time there we'll put flowers on his grave again. 1 Victoria256 9

I'm not usually a fan of short stories so I was pleasantly surprised by this anthology of storeis all inspired by the writings of Poe. Of course there were some stories I d better than others, some I could see the plot twist coming a mile away and a few that were down right just great.

If your a fan of Poe or you know someone who is, then I would recommend this book. 1 GailAuthor 9 books43

The only instruction the authors of this collection of superb short stories was that they must include Poe in someway, as a character, his stories, or poems. This collection is imaginative, funny, touching, and scary. Your knowledge of Poe does not have to be deep to appreciate this collection of stories.short-stories suspense1 Norman CooperAuthor 6 books59

Picked this up at the local Barnes and Noble, I enjoyed reading all of the stories within. I am looking forward to rereading this again and again. If you are a fan of Poe or just a fan of short stories, I recommend this book.1 Dakota Thompson66 1 follower

I was pretty disappointed. I thought that the stories would be more "horror" and darkly confusing Poe's stories. I didn't realize that by simply mentioning the Great Poet's name, the story was thrown in this collection.

Oh well. 1 Steven Levine42 2

The conclusion of this review is in the "s" section.


On a Raven's Wing is one of a series of anthologies issued by the Mystery Writers of America. All of the stories are written by members of that organization and the editor is a member as well. In many of the older volumes in this series, most, if not all, the stories included had been published previously; in this one, all of the twenty stories are original to this anthology.

I have pointed out in the past that even though most of these collections ostensibly have a theme in common, stories frequently are only tenuously connected to that theme. In this volume, in all of these tales, "Poe himself or his work had to be central to the story." Almost all of them follow that premise and all but one do have some clear relationship to Poe or his works. However, in a couple of these, the Poe-related material could easily have been omitted and the stories would remain much the same. The two that I think do not have Poe or his work at their hearts are "Challenger" by Daniel Stashower and "Seeing the Moon" by S. J. Rozan - both good stories that I , but somewhat outside the intended aim of the book. One story, "Emily's Time" by Dorothy Salisbury Davis, makes almost no explicit reference to Poe; it does something quite different - it presents a story that Poe might have been happy to have written, if he had lived in the Twenty-first Century.

The book begins with two essays, "About Edgar Allan Poe," a brief biography of the author, and "About the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Awards." The awards were given that name in the 1940s and they are still given annually to honor achievements in the mystery field.

Then an "Introduction " by the editor, Stuart M. Kaminsky, follows. Kaminsky states, "I to think that the ghost of Poe, wafted by his prose or poetry, inspired the stories in this collection honoring him."

There are very short comments about each author following the story written by that author. One unusual thing about this book is that the stories appear in alphabetical order by the authors, which is not usually the case in this series of anthologies.

There are three stories here about writing screenplays. In two of these, the screenwriter is Poe himself, living and working in the present. In "Rue Morgue Noir" by Angela Zeman, Poe and his girlfriend Lenore are supporting themselves by working at a restaurant in which they are required to wear monkey costumes. This is the longest story in the book. It is intended to be humorous. I think that it is not very good.

In Paul Levine's "Development Hell" (as in "Rue Morgue Noir"), Poe is requested to totally rewrite his screenplay, making changes that would change everything.

The main character in "A Nomad of the Night" by Rupert Holmes is a young film student who has made a somewhat Poe- movie, a short (but still feature length) horror film for under seven hundred thousand dollars. A famous Roger Corman producer/director wants to buy the film. And success awaits...maybe. By far the best of these three tales.

In addition to "Development Hell" and "Rue Morgue Noir," Poe himself is a character in two other stories in this collection. "Poe, Poe, Poe" by John Lutz tells of an event-filled evening at the Dark Destiny Tavern, to which Poe happens to drop in. Customers and employees include Eddie Reagan (whose last name is sometimes "Raven"), Mary Roper (a name similar to Marie Rogêt), Dupin, Montresor Pitt (combining two Poe references), Anna B'Lee and Chester Fortuna. (I don't recognize the "Fortuna" reference, but it probably is not all that obscure.) This is much a story by a (gifted) high-school student, far from Lutz at his best.

Mr. Poe is visited by a man who knows much about him but wants to know still more in "The Deadliest Tale of All" by Peter Lovesey. His visitor, who says that his name is Rainer Nolz, says that he believes that Poe, then only forty years old, will never produce any more works of true merit. Poe denies this possibility. This story later appeared in The Mammoth Book of Best Britsh Crime, Volume 8, edited by Maxim Jakubowski.

Some of the stories take Poe stories and put them into more current settings. Two of them do variations on one of the few Poe stories I know, "The Tell-Tale Heart." Mary Higgins Clark turns this into a not very successful comic tale, "The Tell-Tale Purr." The narrator wants to frighten his grandmother to death so that he can inherit her wealth. She is afraid of cats, so if he convinces her that she is trapped and besieged by felines, surely she will die.

P. J. Parrish's version of the story is "The Tell-Tale Pacemaker." This too has an element of humor, but this narrator is consumed by a very Poe-ish madness, driving him to murder his upstairs neighbor in a retirement community. The neighbor marked for death had "the eyes of a vulture, pale blue with a film over them." And surely those eyes justify murder.

Brendan DuBois takes the well-known Poe tale "The Cask of Amontillado," another of the few Poe stories that I know well, and sets it in modern Boston, where I live. This narrator has a very good reason to bring about the death of a cruel man in "The Cask of Castle Island." This uses a situation so similar to the Poe story that the suspense that is generated is principally the reader wondering how it might differ from Poe's version.

I think that I read Poe's story "The Gold-Bug" when I was a child, but I didn't remember it. Wikipedia showed me that "The Golden Bug" by Michael A. Black had many of the same elements but the important cipher in Poe's story is not in Black's version. Black's story is set in World War II. Two American marines come to one of the Solomon Islands, known to be held by the Japanese. They are to try to find and rescue two other marines sent earlier. They find only one still alive, and that one is consumed by a desire to unearth buried pirate treasure. A story of "cannibals, a madman, and the golden bug..."

Stuart Kaminsky, editor of this anthology, has another tale of this kind. "Rattle, Rattle, Rattle" is based on Poe's story "Berenice." The narrator inherits a decaying mansion from his great-uncle. There are mosaics seeming to show a strange story in which it appears that something happens to a young woman - presumably the fiancé of his now deceased great-uncle. She had died while still young, and the great-uncle had "gone quite mad." And now the narrator continually hears a rattling noise in the house.

I am not familiar with Poe's story "William Wilson," but from the summary on Wikipedia, it does not have much in common with Jon L. Breen's tale "William Allan Wilson." In Breen's story, the narrator is the author of a series of detective stories featuring "that great detective" Archer Swain. The narrator is contacted by a publisher who wants the narrator to write a collection of short stories featuring Swain, "all based on motifs by Poe." The narrator agrees to do this, although he hates that publisher - with good reason.

"Israfel" is the name of an angel who makes wonderful music in a poem by Poe. Doug Allyn's story of the same title is about a rock band whose leader, plunging ever further into madness, calls himself Israfel. The narrator, another member of the band, may need to take Israfel's place if he is unable to perform. And, in some way, the show must go on.

Madness is at the center of "Bells" by James W. Hall. A woman constantly hears what appears to be bells ringing in her home. Her husband says that he hears nothing. Every time the wife tries to record the ringing, the bells immediately stop. She consults a therapist; is she becoming insane?

Some of these stories are mystery tales, as were some of Poe's stories, such as "The Purloined Letter." Jeremiah Healy's series character tennis player turned private investigator Rory Calhoun is hired by a female mystery writer (whose last name is Poe) whose Edgar Award has been stolen in "In My Ancestor's Image." These awards are small busts of Poe. She dismisses the possibility of this theft having been carried out by someone in her household and tells Calhoun who she believes the three most ly suspects are. Calhoun investigates. A poor solution to the case severely damages an otherwise fine story.

Edward D. Hoch's story "The Poe Collector" is narrated by a man who owns a New York bookstore. He meets a man who collects works by Poe and that man shows his collection to the narrator. Shortly afterward, the collector asks the narrator to lend him ten thousand dollars so he can make a purchase; he will put up a letter handwritten by Poe as collateral. The conclusion of the story depends on a bit of knowledge about Poe, which, Hoch says, had been mentioned in a story by Ellery Queen. I was not surprised by this aspect of the story, but Hoch has another surprise in the story which I certainly did not anticipate.

David Stashower's story "Challenger" is narrated by a schoolboy whose best friend is a girl named Annabel Lee, a name she shares with a doomed girl in a poem by Poe. Annabel lives with her mother and the mother's third husband. The narrator and Annabel make pretend plans to travel in Space. But Annabel asks the boy to be not just her friend but her boyfriend. Other than the girl's name, this has nothing much to do with Poe - except that, in a very real way, this is a horror story.

"Seeing the Moon" by S. J. Rozan is another mystery story and quite a good one. It features Rozan's series character Jack Lee, a Chinese American detective in New York specializing in crimes involving Asian art. Lee's friend Molly purchases a statue, a bronze fifteenth century Buddha, at her employer's request from a dealer not known for his honesty. She has this authenticated by experts, but somehow a fake is substituted. She needs to either get the real statue or get her employer's money back. Lee comes to her aid. The issues that I have with this very good story is that it is somewhat too similar in theme to Rozan's earlier story "Double-Crossing Delancey" and that the few references to Poe could easily be replaced by another historical figure - Coleridge, for example. (By the way, I share Lee's liking for the woodblock prints of Hasui.)

"Poe, Jo, and I" is presented as a memoir by author Don Winslow. The narrator tells of his disinterest in much of his schoolwork in high school. He doesn't bother to carry out an assignment about a Poe story and tells his teacher, a woman in her last year before retirement, that he finds Poe pretentious. She begins to work with him privately. They become friends, and he goes on to a career as an author. I have no idea if any of this is true, but I would to think that it is.


The conclusion of this review is in the "s" section.anthology mwa-anthologies mysteries-thrillers ...more Robert P. Hoffman345 1 followerRead

1. Israfel. Excellent story that has characters that matter, a story that advances to a wonderful ending
2. The Golden Bug. A well constructed story in which two characters meet someone who is close to being the Kurtz character in Heart of Darkness. Thye have to struggle with madness and with choices as to how to act.
3. William Allen Wilson. A story that begins with the author and his agent and brings the author back to a mystery (well to others, probably not to the author) who then uses the short stories to cause the publisher to be aware of the imminent revealation of the publisher's secrets.
4. The Tell Tale Purr. A perfect short story that has a wonderful set of scenes that created an expectation of one ending for the story but then the author plausibly and brilliantly came up with a more satisfying ending.
5. Nevermore. The best story in the collection because it every paragraph advances the story, it is one where you have to read to the end to understand what happened, everything is brilliantly done and the ending is stunning.
6. Emily's Time. A story that wonderfully subverts its initial premise as an older man marries a much younger woman which seems as though there may be an idyllic ending.
7. The Cask of Castle Island. A bland story that has an ending that is entirely predictable. And one where if you ended reading it halfway through you would know what was going to happen and the rest of the story added little to the story.
8. Bells. A brilliant story that does such a good job of retelling the story of the telltale heart. A great plot development and the ending is excellent showing someone who has descended into madness.
9. In My Ancestor's Image. An okay story with a plot twist that is not that well done.
10. The Poe Collector. A run of the mill story that has no real surprises and no energy.
11. A Nomad of the Night. A well done story in which there is an unexpected by well constructed twist and someone who seems as though they are being taken advantage of is instead in a deadly way taking advantage of others. Also, a good illustration of the dangers of making up stories that others believe.
12. Rattle, Rattle Rattle. There is not much suspense here, it is a story with quite a predictable ending and one that most readers could have come up with a good sense of the ending without finishing the story.
13. Development Hell. A clever story using Poe's words to tell a story of a modern day Poe writer dealing with someone who wants to make a movie based on his book. A great example of how to write a lighthearted and breezy story.
14. The Deadliest Tale of All. A great story in which there are two revelations, both well done, neither forced, both credible. The writing is sharp, the dialogue well done, and the ending a rather sad one.
15. Poe, Poe, Poe. The author does a great job of using the names of characters and lines from Poe's work to tell a gruesome story with a wonderful imaginative ending.
16. The Tell Tale Pacemaker. A decent attempt to tell an updated version of one of Poe's stories and there is a fun plot development.
17. Seeing the Moon. A great story that has so many wonderful characters and a story that steadily builds to a satisfying conclusion. One of the best stories in the collection.
18. Challenger. An excellent story that starts on one level (two children trying to do the impossible) and then ends on a much different and insightful level.
19. Poe, Jo and I. A great account by Don Winslow of how a high school teacher changed his life and the role played by Poe's works.
20. Rue Morgue Noir. I could not get into this story. It stretched on far too long and was trying to wade through oatmeal.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review Martha143 3

I enjoyed this book. The stories I most enjoyed were ones that incorporated Poe in some form but didn't retell one of his stories.
A few of my favorites are:
Israfel by Doug Allen
The Golden Bug by Michael A. Black
William Allan Wilson by Jon L. Breen
Emily's Time by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
Bells by James W. Hall
Development Hell by Paul Levine
Seeing the Moon by S. J. Rozan
Poe, Jo, and I by Don Winslowedgar-allan-poe fiction short-stories Monica Laurette183 10

So this is a collection of works all centered around Poe. I loved the stories more that just used him as inspiration and not the ones that used him as a character. I just felt they were all just using the name and wasn’t actually him because each ‘Edgar’ had different personalities.

Also I didnÂ’t love enough of the stories to keep the book on my shelves, but I have my reading notes if I ever want to try and find one of the ones I did .collections Will Nelson214

Many of these stories were funny or perfectly chilling, in keeping with the tone of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories -- I especially loved the one about a Jewish son speaking with his father about their shared past. But there were a couple stinkers that just seemed impressed with their own cleverness, and that's why I can't give the anthology as a whole five stars. Lili NaghdiAuthor 1 book252

Being a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, I enjoyed reading this book. I'd recommend it. Leslie 86 1 follower

d some stories but some rated "meh". Good opportunity to read authors that I didn't know. Feel that I want to reread some Poe stories and poems. Janet183 8

I really enjoyed this collection of New Tales in Honor of Edgar Allan Poe. It starts off with a great, crisply written story, Israfel. No spoilers here. I must admit to not having read a whole lot of Poe stories, but those I have have found successful children here. I almost didn't want to finish the last story because then it would be the end of this great collection. The few less memorable stories were outweighed handily by the majority. I also happily discovered a number of authors new to me. Many thanks to Coby for the recommendation. Lindsay160 39

For the last few months, this has been my "emergency book". It's the one I keep in my bag for the train, waiting rooms, etc. and hasn't been all that high on my list of priorities until about a week ago.

almost all collections, some of the stories are pretty bland, some are pretty good, and a few select little tidbits are fantastic. I am a huge fan of Poe's work, so when I saw this for less than $1 at my library's last book sale, I couldn't resist. Who doesn't need a book of quick reads for when they're on the go?

Again, the whole collection is nothing that I would rave about, but some of the stories are definitely worth the read. The Cask of Castle Island by Brendan DuBois was a definite fave, as I can see Castle Island in South Boston from my window. Add in Whitey Bulger's recent arrest and it was a perfect Boston read! Bells, by James W. Hall, was another I found to be exceptionally good. S.J. Rozan's Challenger could have been omitted entirely and no one would have missed it.

On the whole, more good than bad and I would have given it 2.5 stars, had I been given the option.

Paula98

I received this book as a birthday gift fromj my beloved husband, Robert. He found it on Amazon and ordered it for me since I have the privilege to teach Poe to my 11th graders. I keep the volume on my nightstand and read a story here and there before bed. So far, I've read a story by Mary Higgins Clark that is a parody of "The Tell Tale Heart." "Nevermore," was a decent story but I didn't quite care for "Poe, Jo and I." Overall, I having a "night-stand book" at the ready and what better subject matter than Poe stories. I am grateful to have this book. I have not read all the stories but I intend to over time. Feritgrrl14 1 follower

Typical anthology in that the collection is uneven: a few great stories, a larger number that are entertaining but not memorable, some "meh" and a few stinkers (I haven't yet forgiven the second story for barbecuing a pig on a spigot rather than a spit. I kept picturing someone trying to turn the water on and getting burned or covered in grease). Another quibble- too many stories with the same premise ( Hollywood deal making). I gave the book 3 stars, but only b/c there was no way of registering half a star- my review would give this a 2.5 rating. Jennifer461

Anyone who knows me knows I love Poe, so I was really excited to see this collection of new mysteries by authors who have been influenced by him. Unfortunately, I had to return the book before I got to read all of the stories. Several were very clever, though. I especially enjoyed the one by Rupert Holmes. My favorite Poe short story is probably "The Tell-tale Heart" and I'm always tickled by variations on it. Margi490

Some good stories, The Cask of Castle Island, Bells, Israfel, The Gold Bug and The Poe Collector. And, some rather blah ones as well. I thought there were a few cute plays with Poe's name and such as well. Is an interesting read for fans of Poe; a lighter side to the writer with these retellings and short stories based on Poe. Mike9

Overall good anthology of Poe-inspired short stories. A tribute to Poe's 200th birthday from the Mystery Writers of America.blog- Anne13

While not all the stories are winners, the book is fun for Poe lovers and worth the read. Katie J Schwartz404 22

Most of the stories were not as creepy as I'd hoped...anthologies black-and-white ghost-stories ...more Tom Hicks221 Read

Excellent stories. A great tribute to EAP. Also learned some things about him I never knew. Well worth the read. Very interesting stories, some with a twist. I recommend it. Suzanne237

all anthologies, a mixed bag. But if you Poe, there's sure to be something here to your tastes. David F.Author 6 books18

An excellent collection of stories inspired by Poe. Ann233

I Poe's original stories more. Jennifer94

This is a great anthology; though there are a few stories that are slightly disappointing if you hold them to Poe's tales. I think William Allan Wilson was my favorite. Barbara988 23

Excellent short story compilation from modern day authors inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Becky31

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