|
|
I LOVE this author. Her horror tales are chilling and this is no exception. The Edgar Allan Poe short story: 'The Fall of the House of Usher' is one of my favourites and this book is a semi-sequel to it. It begins in 1849 when the author Edgar Poe is visited by a woman named Pamela whose child has been stolen from her by Madeline Usher. Moved by Pamela's loss and unnerved that the woman he immortalised in his story is real he agrees to help her. This leads into a conflict with the infamous Ushers and their dark and twisted secrets. But he also meets Madeline and learns just why her brother was led to seal her alive in a stone crypt.
This is a dark tale that mixes fact, fiction and tells a horrifying tale. Madeline who in Poe's tale was never allowed to utter one word is given a voice here and we see she is no passive victim but a terrifying, powerful woman who is the product of a family who use unnatural means to keep their bloodline 'pure'. Poe makes the mistake of falling in love with Pamela only to become the subject of Madeline's vengeance.
An excellent, beautifully written tale which wonderfully reinterprets Poe's classic tale. Read it at once.
P-Con VI March 27th/28th/29th 2009
 |
 |
bravenet.com