This homage to Edgar Allan Poe and his masterful short story, "The Masque of the Red Death", definitely has all the imagery down pat! From the ravens, to the ruined castle, to the utterly macabre animated corpses, to the addled Professor Fichtenburg, the visuals are strong and eminently suited to the genre. It is very easy to imagine the Gothic and often grotesque scenes. Likewise, the action scenes are fast-paced, clear, and full of lively energy. The conflicts set up in the story make for a solid story framework. The plot progresses quite smoothly with each of these conflicts and builds, the tone and characterization are clear-and the dialogue is terrific! The overall pacing of the plot is consistent, smooth, and nicely developed. The structure is typical for the Gothic horror genre. The plot progression is linear, and the chapters move forward in a logical way. The opening is engaging and introduces Ravenword in an appealing way. The juxtaposition of the modern dialogue and characters with the old-fashioned Gothic castle setting is particularly satisfying. The first few chapters provide the reader with all the need-to-know information about the characters, conflict, and premise. The ending offers effective closure and resolution. The story is written in third-person omniscient point of view. We learn, view, hear, and understand everything as the Ravenword characters do. This sets up the feeling of suspense very well, as the reader is just as baffled as Ravenword by the strange goings-on and, like them, wants to uncover the mystery. The characters are described and developed consistently, and each character has a purpose in the plot. Characters are consistent, well-developed, and effective throughout. Parson is funny, strong-willed, and emotional. He delivers the most biting (and humorous) insults, but he retains a high likability factor. Agnot, too, is a well-drawn, strong character, one who is easily visualized right from the beginning. Both Billy and Grayson are mysteriously presented (pleasingly so). The dialogue itself is great. It offers a nice distinction, in its slang and modernity, from the prose of the narrative. As mentioned before, the reader will enjoy the juxtaposition of this modern-sounding dialogue and characters with the Gothic setting.

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death", Prince Prospero isolates himself and his wealthy guests to avoid a deadly plague. Despite his efforts to escape death, it invades his masked ball, proving that no one can escape fate.

Rick James played with Neil Young, self-produced his first album (later picked up by Motown), crossed rock and funk to come up with one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s, became one of the biggest pop stars of the era, turned a young white woman named Teena Marie into an R&B superstar, displayed an outrageously sex- and drug-filled lifestyle, was tried and found guilty of assaulting and imprisoning a young woman, went on to record new music that was compared to the Beatles' White Album, and ended his life as a punch line for Dave Chappelle. James attempted to tell his own story—in two different books—but left out many incidents that reflected badly on his character. Now, based on court records, newspaper archives, and extensive interviews with dozens of family members, band members, friends, and lovers, here is the definitive biography of Motown's most controversial superstar.

For over a century, the works of Edgar Allan Poe have sparked the imaginations and sent shivers up the spines of horror-lovers of all ages. While most people know the story or "The Tell-tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" and many can recite "The Raven" from memory, there are many great stories and poems by Poe that remain "forgotten lore." This book collects many of the lesser known tales and poems from the great mind of Edgar Allan Poe and combines them with wonderful illustrations from many of today's up-and-coming illustrators: Jason Keith Phillips, Dan Gorman, Tyler Sowles, Joshua Werner, Diana Busby, Jeff Sornig, Darcey Young, Summer Ketchum, and Aaron Trendy.