Rating: 
Summary: An American Classic. A Horror Classic.
Review: Poe's only novel reminded me of Gogol's "Dead Souls," in that, in both, the story seems to take a weird turn toward the end and shuts down rather oddly. Gogol's excuse is that he became a fire-breathing convert to Christianity midway through writing his book, and so had no use for the book's initial cynical tone (instead we get a character rant on in socio-religious mode for awhile). I don't know what Poe's excuse is, but the effect of his end-of-story turn is remarkable, and I won't spoil it for you (unlike other reviewers below - warning!). There is a vivid, dreamlike, unsettling quality to the whole book, and (with the exception of a few dull pages of sailing life detail - not unlike "Moby Dick," but with nowhere near as much page-filling excess) there is rip-roaring action from start to finish. Poe's yarn is full of incident, and every bit of it counts. So at midnight, lock the door, sit back, put your feet up, and soak up this book in the dim light of your hurricane lamp. It's, after all, one of many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore!
Rating:
Summary: An American Classic. A Horror Classic.
Review: Poe's only novel reminded me of Gogol's "Dead Souls," in that, in both, the story seems to take a weird turn toward the end and shuts down rather oddly. Gogol's excuse is that he became a fire-breathing convert to Christianity midway through writing his book, and so had no use for the book's initial cynical tone (instead we get a character rant on in socio-religious mode for awhile). I don't know what Poe's excuse is, but the effect of his end-of-story turn is remarkable, and I won't spoil it for you (unlike other reviewers below - warning!). There is a vivid, dreamlike, unsettling quality to the whole book, and (with the exception of a few dull pages of sailing life detail - not unlike "Moby Dick," but with nowhere near as much page-filling excess) there is rip-roaring action from start to finish. Poe's yarn is full of incident, and every bit of it counts. So at midnight, lock the door, sit back, put your feet up, and soak up this book in the dim light of your hurricane lamp. It's, after all, one of many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore!
Rating:
Summary: So you want to go out to the sea?
Review: This is the dark narrative of the misadventures of a young man from New England. Pym has a big illusion of going to the sea, and so, secretly, he embarks in a ship. But the ship suffers a mutiny on board, led by ruthless and cruel men. After several days of storms and hunger, there is a shipwreck. The three survivors are rescued by another ship, whose crew is in search for the South Pole. Many adventures follow, and the end of the book is really horrifying.Beyond the plot, the importance of this novel is in the anguished and hair-rising mood it conveys. The relatively realistic beginning becomes a sort of magical horror gradually. It's like some Verne novel told in a hallucinated tone, feverish, tense, absolutely Poe. It will keep you constantly in tension, without pauses nor calm episodes, crossing the border of sanity.
Rating:
Summary: A disturbing tale of shipwreck and savagery
Review: This story, Poe's only novel, is an endurance test for both reader and characters. I believe it was originally serialized, and reads like a collection of incidents rather than a complete story. However, it is a captivating tale, astounding in it's detail and casual horror. Arthur Gordon Pym was born under an unlucky star. He survives in the most inconceivable circumstances, from a drifting, overturned hulk to the frozen waters of the Antarctic. Each page turned piles more horror in his path, described with a growing clinical distance. Pym himself becomes more desensitized to each incident, until he views the irrational with a casual curiosity. The language is beautifully detailed, and some feel this story is the inspiration for "Moby Dick." Altogether, a delightfully disturbing story. One of the best I have read.
Rating:
Summary: A disturbing tale of shipwreck and savagery
Review: This story, Poe's only novel, is an endurance test for both reader and characters. I believe it was originally serialized, and reads like a collection of incidents rather than a complete story. However, it is a captivating tale, astounding in it's detail and casual horror. Arthur Gordon Pym was born under an unlucky star. He survives in the most inconceivable circumstances, from a drifting, overturned hulk to the frozen waters of the Antarctic. Each page turned piles more horror in his path, described with a growing clinical distance. Pym himself becomes more desensitized to each incident, until he views the irrational with a casual curiosity. The language is beautifully detailed, and some feel this story is the inspiration for "Moby Dick." Altogether, a delightfully disturbing story. One of the best I have read.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent adventure story
Review: when it comes to things to shudder about, poe pulls out all the stops here- being buried alive, starvation, overwhelming thirst, ritual murder, cannibalism, insanity, etc. mixing factual and fantastical elements, this rich little novel is on the surface a gothic tale of seafaring adventure. but it is so filled with haunting images of suffering and amazing, fantastic discoveries it burrows into your subconcious. the wonderfully inconclusive termination of the narrative further adds to the feeling of awe.
Rating:
Summary: eeeeee! i'll stick to land, thank you!
Review: when it comes to things to shudder about, poe pulls out all the stops here- being buried alive, starvation, overwhelming thirst, ritual murder, cannibalism, insanity, etc. mixing factual and fantastical elements, this rich little novel is on the surface a gothic tale of seafaring adventure. but it is so filled with haunting images of suffering and amazing, fantastic discoveries it burrows into your subconcious. the wonderfully inconclusive termination of the narrative further adds to the feeling of awe.
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