Ellen Datlow (editor), Poe (Solaris, 2009)

This collection of nineteen stories, edited by Ellen Datlow, celebrates the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's birth. For the collection, Datlow asked a variety of authors to write something inspired by Poe -- but absolutely no pastiches. The resulting stories touch on a wide spectrum of Poe's oeuvre -- prose and poetry alike -- some of which show their roots, others of which are a bit more sly with their provenance. Preceding each entry is a brief bio of the author; following is an afterword by that author.

Although Poe isn't precisely known for his humor, the two stories that bracket the collection, Kim Newman's "Illimitable Domain" and John Langan′s "Technicolor," both make marvelous use of dry, dark humor. Newman's title is drawn from "The Masque of the Red Death," but his focus is broader, painting an amusing, yet genuinely disturbing, picture of a world where the schlocky horror films made of Poe's work (think Roger Corman and Vincent Price) take over the world -- or at least Hollywood -- taking on a surreal life of their own and making their creators' lives miserable. Langan's off-kilter literary class discussion (about the use of color in "Masque") has a wonderful dark turn to the narrative that's quite unexpected.

Standouts among the stories in between these two gems include Sharyn McCrumb's "The Mountain House," Delia Sherman's "The Red Piano," Suzy Mckee Charnas' "The Lowland Sea," and Nicholas Roye's "The Reunion."

McCrumb's story is inspired by Poe's poem "The Haunted Palace," an appreciation of the Georgia mountains and her love of NASCAR, as seen through the lens of her friend Dale Earnhardt, model for the protagonist's deceased husband. It's a story of love, loss, friendship and hope, set against the rich backdrop of north Georgia.

Sherman's "The Red Piano" is a deliciously gothic tale writ for this century, as a straight-laced scientist falls for the eccentric widower next door, only to discover that the appearance of true love can mask something much darker. Sherman draws her inspiration from Poe's tragic heroines such as Ligeia and Madeline Usher

"The Lowland Sea" is a fairly straightforward retelling of "The Masque of the Red Death," but also with a modern twist, an Ebola-like virus standing in for the Red Death and Hollywood hangers-on as the sycophants to a director in whose French estate they are holed up. The main character, Miriam, a former slave now a nanny and photographer for the director is very appealing and sympathetic, and as she's metaphorically tossed to the wolves by her rich boss, it's hard to find fault with her final, calculated act of life.

As with many of the best stories in this volume, "The Reunion," with its sense of the "Other," has a slowly building sense of dread. The hotel where the reunion takes place -- filled with identical floors -- evokes the creepy Overlook from Stephen King's The Shining as much as it does Poe.

It's also worth checking out Poe's appearance in E. Catherine Tobler" "Beyond Porch and Portal," a highly romanticized explanation for his eccentricities and brilliance. Other stories reference "The Tell Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," or less well-known titles, such as "The Domain of Arnheim," "MS Found in a Bottle" and "Descent into the Maelstrom."

Overall, the collection is quite solid, without a weak link, though some stories have stronger ties to Poe's style and substance than the others, which may make them more appealing to Poe fans. Regardless, each entry is worth a read on its own merits.

[April Gutierrez]