Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

And they all fall down.

The Fall of the House of Usher: A Graphic Novel by Edgar Allen Poe and Raul Garcia

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My 624 and a full 12 Cannonball review is actually one that is a bit lackluster. Now, I enjoy a good Edgar Allen Poe as much as the next English Major Casual Fan, but The Fall of the House of Usher: A Graphic Novel (adapted and illustrated by Raul Garcia) is not one of my favorites. However, as it is adapted into the graphic novel format, I felt it would be a better way to understand the story (The Lottery by Shirly Jackson has been […]

Murders in the Rue Morgue

Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe

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Years ago I lost a trivia round because I insisted that the “Father of the Mystery Novel” could not be Edgar Allen Poe. On what planet could that not be Arthur Conan Doyle, inventor of Sherlock Holmes!? This turned into me having more beers and ranting that it makes sense for Poe to be the father of horror, but not mystery. At the time I’d read The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, Cask of Amantillado, and Masque of the Red Death. Well, it turns […]

MS. Found in a Bottle

MS. Found in a Bottle by Edgar Allen Poe

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Bit of a stretch for me to claim this as a book read, given this is a short story. But it’s 19th century literature and you get ten words for the price of one, so it’s about the same level of effort. The story details a mariner who goes from dealing with the usual perils of the sea, followed by supernatural perils. One of my favorite details is the presence of a “simoom,” apparently a combination of a sandstorm and a hurricane. It’s hard to […]

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allen Poe

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After watching Mike Flanagan’s outstanding The Fall of the House of Usher, I felt compelled to revisit some Poe and look for references I’d missed on my watch through. I recognized the name Arthur Gordon Pym (the Usher attorney) but didn’t realize it was Poe’s only novel until looking deeper. With it being free on Audible I figured I had to give it a shot. It’s weird as hell, first of all. And gruesome. Some of the most horrific scenes in any Poe story happen here: […]

Helping you to understand the mystery/horror genius

Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaption by Gareth Hinds

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If you love graphic novels, stories by Poe, or thriller stories, (and are in your teens to adulthood) then you should try this graphic novel adaption, Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaption by Gareth Hinds. Included are a handful of Poe’s more famous and infamous stories and poems. Each are laid out in all their gory, I mean glory. Having the illustrations, which are dark, lacking in color, but filled with details, allows to see some of the images that might have not […]

Yeah but who wrote the book if….

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So a few events converged in the last few days that led me to listen to the audiobook of this singular novel by Poe. For one, I decided to use an audible credit for a complete collection of Poe that had been recently recorded by contemporary readers. Many of the previous Poe audio collections are either really short, really old, really bad, or some combination. This one had some familiar voices and a recent production. So good. It seemed to indicate that it was only […]



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