This volume of collected Edgar Allan Poe works includes:

THE UNPARALLELED ADVENTURES OF ONE HANS PFAAL - An extremely long-winded science fiction tale about travelling to the moon in a balloon. Like most of the science fiction from this era, the overall focus is on the mechanics of the science-based adventure taking place rather than the adventure itself.

THE GOLD-BUG - A treasure hunt story. Poe briefly plays with the concept of coincidence or synchronicity, but quickly abandons that for spending the second half of the story explaining the deductions behind the treasure hunt, including ten pages (!) explaining how one of the characters solved a cryptogram. Also, the "negro dialect" used in the writing of the black man-servant Jupiter's dialogue is, to say the least, very unfortunate.

FOUR BEASTS IN ONE - The narrator takes the reader on a tour of ancient Syria and witnesses a strange ritual involving a Syrian emperor dressed up as a weird hybrid animal being praised for his savagery. Weird, but probably the most interesting story in this collection.

THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE - I have actually covered this short story extensively in my book Performed by Lugosi, now available through Amazon.

THE MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET - A sequel to The Murders in the Rue Morgue, in which the master sleuth Dupin solves the month-old murder of a young woman almost exclusively through newspaper coverage of the investigation. The vast bulk of the short story involves Dupin critiquing and deconstructing the various newspaper articles in great detail. Far less interesting and sensational than Rue Morgue.

THE BALLOON-HOAX - Another long-winded and meticulously detailed story about balloon travel, this time without the moon as a destination.

MS. FOUND IN A BOTTLE - An epistolary "ghost ship" story told via a message found in a bottle that kind of meanders around aimlessly in between nautical descriptions.

THE OVAL PORTRAIT - My favorite in the collection, not because it is more of a horror/thriller style story rather than science fiction or police procedural, but because it is short and to the point without losing any impact due to its brevity or lack of meticulous cataloging. Basically a ghost story about a girl who was painted to death. Not the Tell-Tale heart, but definitely more in the vein of what Poe is widely renowned for, rather than the Jules Verne-esque tales that make up the majority of this collection. ( )

I'm reading the story of Pfaall. I had no idea that Poe had written science fiction about a trip to the moon. Amazing.

***

Finished Pfaall, which turns out to be an amusing story, as well as, according to the Spouse, proto-scifi. Started the Gold Bug, and was pretty much appalled by the slave's dialect. Set outside Charleston, the white characters of course don't have any dialect. Yeesh. But then I put it down for the night and didn't read again for the rest of the weekend. I blame the heat. Even with air conditioning, apparently I am good for nothing but watching TV and being cranky at excessive temperatures.

I'm reading the story of Pfaall. I had no idea that Poe had written science fiction about a trip to the moon. Amazing.

***

Finished Pfaall, which turns out to be an amusing story, as well as, according to the Spouse, proto-scifi. Started the Gold Bug, and was pretty much appalled by the slave's dialect. Set outside Charleston, the white characters of course don't have any dialect. Yeesh. But then I put it down for the night and didn't read again for the rest of the weekend. I blame the heat. Even with air conditioning, apparently I am good for nothing but watching TV and being cranky at excessive temperatures.

I'm reading the story of Pfaall. I had no idea that Poe had written science fiction about a trip to the moon. Amazing.***Finished Pfaall, which turns out to be an amusing story, as well as, according to the Spouse, proto-scifi. Started the Gold Bug, and was pretty much appalled by the slave's dialect. Set outside Charleston, the white characters of course don't have any dialect. Yeesh. But then I put it down for the night and didn't read again for the rest of the weekend. I blame the heat. Even with air conditioning, apparently I am good for nothing but watching TV and being cranky at excessive temperatures.

The set of 10 books begins with introductions and some essays printed early on, and some poetry as well. The Raaven appears here. What can I say but his style is of his age and his language is delicious. ( )