NEVERMORE [Paperback]

Harold Schechter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2009

Praised by Caleb Carr for his "brilliantly detailed and above all riveting" true-crime writing, Harold Schechter brings his expertise to a marvelous work of fiction. Superbly rendering the 1830s Baltimore of Edgar Allan Poe, Schechter taps into the dark genius of that legendary author -- and follows a labyrinthine path into the heart of a most heinous crime.

Nevermore

A literary critic known for his scathing pen, Edgar Allan Poe is a young struggling writer, plagued by dreadful ruminations and horrific visions. Suddenly he is plunged into an adventure beyond his wildest fantasies -- a quest for a killer through Baltimore's highest and lowest streets and byways. A string of ghastly murders is linked by one chilling clue -- a cryptic word scrawled in blood. It is a terrifying lure that ensnares Poe in a deadly investigation. And along the way, his own macabre literary imagination is sparked as he unveils dark realities stranger than any fiction...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young Edgar Allan Poe is the neurasthenic narrator of Schechter's period crime drama, and he recounts the legendary author's brush with real-life homicide as one of Poe's own protagonists would?with morbid, scientific rapture. A struggling journalist in Baltimore in 1834, Poe trounces the autobiography of frontiersman Davy Crockett in a scathing review. Crockett seeks out Poe with a mind to learn him some manners and extract an apology. Instead, the odd couple become embroiled in a series of gruesome murders, and Poe pursues a phantasmal woman who appears fleetingly at each murder scene and is apparently linked to his mystery-shrouded past. The author of several true-crime studies (Deviant, etc.), Schechter has plenty of blood-spattered material from which to draw his descriptions. Allusions to "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Raven" (works yet to be written in 1834) suggest that Poe's literary masterpieces were based on the macabre personal experiences recounted here. Yet for all the appealing dynamic between rowdy Crockett and neurasthenic Poe, the heavily ornamented prose, while authentic to the period, is overwrought to contemporary eyes. A typical sentence reads: "So benumbed was I by exhaustion that I passed the entirety of our journey in a condition akin to that of the chronic somnambulist." One wonders if this tale might have been punchier if written from the point of view of Crockett, whose earthy banter provides comic relief. As it stands, however, this obvious homage to a C. Auguste Dupin detective yarn has plenty of suspense and nicely integrated background detail. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

True-crime specialist Schechter goes fictional with a tale that's timed just right for the 150th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's death. Poe teams up, rather improbably, with Col. David Crockett to solve a string of ugly murders whose perpetrator leaves a single clue: the word nevermore.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; Reprint edition (August 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439183031
• ISBN-13: 978-1439183038
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,601,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harold Schechter is a professor of American literature and culture. Renowned for his true-crime writing, he is the author of the nonfiction books Fatal, Fiend, Bestial, Deviant, Deranged, Depraved, and, with David Everitt, The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. He is also the author of Nevermore and The Hum Bug, the acclaimed historical novels featuring Edgar Allan Poe. He lives in New York State.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read, February 14, 2000

By 

"mcgintus" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nevermore (Mass Market Paperback)

Though the partnership of Poe and Crocket is unlikely to have ever worked, the premise is fun. The author must have had enjoyed working the numerous references to Poe's stories into the details and plot of Nevermore. As a fan of Poe, I delighted in Schechter's attempt to duplicate the stilted and often tedious writing structure used by Poe - it made the first person narrative work. The whonunnit aspect of the book is somewhat contrived and rather anti-climactic, but the read is still enjoyable.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for us younger guys too....., January 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Nevermore (Mass Market Paperback)

I suffer from an auditory processing disability which makes it rough getting through most books. My concentration and comprehension in layman's terms is just lousy. However, I found this book so fascinating that I could hardly put it down. Schechter's words describe the action in such a clear and dramatic style that you feel as though you're there watching all the action. He combines all the stuff I learned about Poe this past year in eighth grade Lit. and molds it into a creative masterpiece that even Poe, the toughest of critics would give a great review. I can hardly wait till Schechter's next book. I hear he teams Poe up with P.T. Barnum!! Cool!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars poor reviewers who missed the point!, July 3, 2001

By 

Maria Jette (excelsior, mn USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nevermore (Mass Market Paperback)

I read through the many reviews of this book, astonished at the number of people who apparently missed the point (or the several points). Like several of those who DID get it, I laughed almost continuously, as would most readers had any fondness for or familiarity with the era's writing style (ergo the use of italics, which I found hilarious, likewise the exclamation points which ended almost every chapter). I was more than impressed at the thoroughness of the author's grasp of the style, in fact, and really savored his skill in capturing the flavor of Poe.

I found the Poe characterization charming, unlike some who found him tedious-- every time he rhapsodized about his manly prowess in some "pugilistic art," he got woozy at the point of action and had to be rescued by Crockett; also, he would ramble on in high-flown style, only to have Crockett or some other normal person paraphrase it for us. I really enjoyed the endless Crockettisms, too-- along the lines of the recent election debacle's catch-phrase, "nibbled to death by a duck."

I should note that I bought this book to serve as a theatrical prop-- it was remaindered (hardcover) at a B&N, and worked perfectly as Gerald McBoing-Boing's schoolbook in a kids' show. Rather than pack it away, I read it-- and really enjoyed it, enough to want to check out the reviews..., and seeing the misinterpretations of so many readers, am now defending it!

In conclusion-- this is NOT a historical account of anything, it's not a standard mystery novel, it's not an exploration of some long-lost serial killer's psyche. It's a very funny parody of Poe, his stories, poems and writing style, VERY cleverly interwoven with a respectable murder mystery.