Nevermore Book Review + The Raven Movie Review

Posted August 10, 2012 by shooting in Uncategorized / 12 Comments

Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore” – Book and Film Reviews

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Review by Lauren

Review Copy, All Opinions Are My Own

Official Summary: NEVERMORE is the story of Varen — a Poe-fan and goth — and Isobel — a cheerleader and unlikely heroine. When a Lit. project pairs the two together, Isobel finds herself steadily swept into Varen’s world, one that he has created in his notebook and in his mind, one where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. Isobel slowly learns that dreams can be much more powerful than she’d ever expected, and that pain and despair come in all shades. As labels of “goth” and “cheerleader” fade away, she sees more in Varen than a tall, pale outcast, and a consuming romance is braced against the ever-clearer horror that the most terrifying realities are those within our own minds.

When Isobel has a single chance to rescue Varen from the shadows of his own nightmares, will she be able to save him — and herself?

Review: It’s been awhile now since I’ve finished this novel. I meant to review it much sooner, but alas, time gets away from me. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t love this book. I took a class in college that was all about Poe and reading Nevermore after taking such a class made me appreciate it even more. That doesn’t mean you need to know a lot about Poe or his work beforehand…Creagh does a good job at introducing him through Varen’s obsession with the author and Isobel’s lack of knowledge.

Nevermore is an imaginative novel that I think a lot of people would really enjoy. There is a romance, but it feels real to me. Isobel and Varen don’t fall in love right away. Nevermore is actually a long novel but it builds up the relationship more, allowing the reader to believe what is happening. This also helps in terms of the strange happenings that Isobel begins to experience after being paired up with Varen for a school assignment.

I appreciated the roles that family and surrogate families – in Varen’s case – played in the novel. It gave the main characters more of a well-rounded nature and it shows how they became the people they are today.

I don’t want to go on and on about the novel as it’s been out for awhile, so I’m just going to say that I highly enjoyed Nevermore and I can’t wait for Enshadowed, which comes out at the end of this month.

The Raven starring John Cusack

Movie Review by Lauren

DVD out October 9, 2012

Official Summary: Baltimore, 1849. While investigating a horrific double murder, police detective Emmett Fields makes a startling discovery: the killer’s methods mirror the twisted writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Suspecting Poe at first, Fields ultimately enlists his help to stop future attacks. But in this deadly game of cat and mouse, the stakes are raised with each gruesome slaying as the pair races to catch a madman before he brings every one of Poe’s shocking stories to chilling life…and death.

Review: I, obviously, saw this movie in theaters awhile ago but I figured it would be a nice addition to my review of Nevermore, as I think fans of the book might enjoy the film too. This is not an accurate look at Poe as there were never murders that occured based off his stories (at least not when he was alive to help track down the killer!) but it’s an interesting premise and if you know anything about Poe’s work, his writings can provide some really intriguing murder and mystery.

There is a bit of gore, especially with the killing based on the short story, The Pit and the Pendulum. In the story, the man trapped doesn’t die, but in the film, he most definitely does and it’s quite a bloody sight. As far as I remember, that was the most gruesome moment. I’m not a huge gore fan, but I could handle it fine.

I saw this film with a friend that is a huge Poe fan so it was doubly enjoyable. We both highly enjoyed The Raven and I think John Cusack was a great actor to play the writer. I only saw the movie once but I’m excited for it to come out on DVD so I can view it again, and having an October release is a smart move!

12 responses to “Nevermore Book Review + The Raven Movie Review

  1. Aww, I really need to read Nevermore! Although Poe is not my favorite author, I'm so jealous that you have class specifically talking about Poe, Lauren! ๐Ÿ˜› Poe is a brilliant author. Anyway, Nevermore sounds really good! I don't think I've read any bad review about it.

    The Raven sounds like good movie! Sounds a bit too gory for me though LOL! Awesome book and movie reviews, Lauren! x)

  2. Oh so much Poe goodies! <3 I love Poe, so I'm super glad you shared these awesome reviews with us. Nevermore sounds great since it's always so nice to have a relationship that builds over time and that's probably why it felt so real for you as a reader ^_^ Haven't seen that movie yet, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!

  3. Poe is one of my favorite classical authors. I loved teaching him in high school. Now that I teach middle school, I unfortunately don't come across him in the textbooks I use.

    Thanks for reviewing the book and movie. I've seen them around, but haven't read or watched them.

  4. I've heard such good things about Nevermore! I haven't read much Poe so I can't fully appreciate but I'm sure the book will make me want to read his works. It does seem like a very imaginative novel and love the point about family.

  5. Oooh I loved Nevermore and I'm dying for Enshadowed! I wanted to see this when it came out in the movies but alas, my nose is always stuck in a book lately (or on the computer!). Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I didn't know it was coming out in October for DVD! Wonderful! Thanks for the double review. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Sam

    I've only read a small handful of Poe's work, and most of that was while I was still in school! I did really enjoy Nevermore though so I will be sure to check out The Raven. Thanks for sharing! ๐Ÿ™‚

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