The Gold-Bug: Simplified For Modern Readers (Accelerated Reader AR Quiz No. 8621)

The story was a fun read. Knocked it out in 30 minutes. There's something shady about this particular printing though. There is no information about the publisher whatsoever. Literally the only writing in this entire book (aside from the story itself) is "Made in the USA Columbia, SC 20 May 2018" on the back page. That's it. Also, by "illustrations" they must mean the perfectly random black and white renderings of historical paintings randomly sprinkled into the book. They are all different, they have truly nothing whatsoever to do with the story, and they only exist in the first 1/3rd of the book. After that, all text. Don't buy this printing. Something real fishy going on here.

The above may be stating the obvious - the author being Poe. It isn't news that he was a fine writer. But I confess I got much more than I expected in this brief story. Poe created very interesting characters here, particularly the black servant. His voice resonated in my ear as I read. The solution of the cypher was fascinating. I see how Poe achieved his fame. As an aside, I notice today's date, October 7, is the same date as Poe's death. Hmm

Ok ok I will say the N word is used in this book making it a little cringe worthy, however one must remember the era in which it was written. Fabulous story. I had never read a Poe story thinking they were lame. Boy was I wrong! The ending is the best part especially if you are a Forrest Fenn treasure hunter! I cannot wait to get my hands on more Poe literature!

Great condition, great story.

Good reading, Good Writing, Quik reading, Excellent Value, Interesting subject. would recomend for school reading. short but interesting must read.

This is the first Poe story I ever read. It means even more to me now that I live in Charleston, the setting for this story.

I didn’t like this story and could not be bothered to work out the allegory. The style of writing didn’t thrill me.

An intriguing story and a good demonstration of frequency analysis. The only distraction is the dated language. Reading this has made me look for more puzzle stories.

The story is short and quickly read. It feels like an exciting prologue but with no follow up. I was surprised to finish it so quick but it was thoroughly enjoyed.