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Title: Poe: The Darkness Within
Subtitle: The Man Who Was Edgar Allan Poe, Book 1
Author: Nathaniel Burns
Narrator: Charles Kahlenberg
Format: Unabridged
Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-30-14
Publisher: Heiken Marketing
Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 2 votes
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher's Summary:
London, 1886: When a stranger with peculiar head injuries is admitted to Bethlem Asylum, the doctors are confounded by his permanent inability to recover his memory. Without any form of identity and suffering bizarre nightmares, the stranger soon finds out that he is somehow linked to a deceased nobleman who bequeaths him a farm in the Southern African Cape Colonies. After an attempt is made on his life by a clandestine order of assassins, he flees to Cape Town.
Before long, his presence in the Cape Colonies is questioned, even feared, for the farm he had inherited has a sinister reputation already. By association, he is quickly blamed for an outbreak of brutal serial murders of which his memory loss does not absolve him.
He meets Eleonora Rudd, daughter of De Beers magnate Charles Dunnell Rudd, and a reluctant romance ensues. Unfortunately, the corrupt Cape Town Police Chief and Eleonora's fiancé uses his influence to turn the Cape Town people against the stranger who introduces himself as Poe.
Apart from Eleonora and a local gravedigger called Rowlf as allies, Poe is pursued as suspect. But when Eleonora is taken by the killer, Poe and Rowlf are forced to unearth the malevolent nature of the man who lurks in Cape Town, killing women of all creeds with bestial cruelty.
In order to save his beloved, Poe races against time and evidence to track down her captor and hopefully find her still alive. But what they discover is something worse than the fate of death.
Members Reviews:
Nothing to do with Edgar A. Poe!!
I'm not sure why the other reviews of this book insist it has something to do with the literary and historical figure Edgar Poe. It does not. The main character simply takes the famous poet's name because he can't remember his own. And there's a raven that appears throughout the story. Other than that, no Poe. The author appears to have exploited the name to sell his own inferior work.
And yes, inferior it is. This novel is nothing more than a tired rehash of cliches (consider the old fortune teller, the amnesiac, the good psychiatrist working with the bad psychiatrist, the governess and the innocent little girl), sprinkled liberally with adjectives and clunky metaphors.
The writing style is as horrific as the plot. A character is described as "badgering" when asking one question, another is labelled a "schoolmistress" when she clearly is not (and is later described as a governess/wet nurse), and many more errors. There are also several typos, such as missing punctuation and giant gaps at the end of certain pages.
For a real story involving Poe as a character, check out "Nevermore" or "Humbug" by Harold Schechter. Either novel is far superior to this drivel.
Intriguing and Fascinating
This new book from best-selling author Nathaniel Burns continues his great story-telling tradition, while adding new characters, new settings, and a new story that will fascinate the reader. This book provides historical fiction that is intelligent and will intrigue and educate you, while providing an interesting story that keeps the storyline tight and moving. I didnât want to put the book down and was eager to read on to discover what was next. The setting is depicted with rich descriptions, and the characters come alive.
