This was an interesting story and it had a unique use of scientific ideas for its time.

However, the story seemed to be building towards a climax the whole time and when it ended I was left unsatisfied.

I love those days that are like journeys you never expected to go on.
Last Halloween I set myself the challenge of reading a bunch of Edgar Allan Poe stories, but 'A Descent into the Maelstrom' didn't make the list. It's sad to say that I had gone my whole life without reading anything by Poe until last year and it was not what I expected. Pitched to me by TV and media that Poe was this great horror writer, I had expected horror, the fantastical and the ghostly. But, this isn't Poe. Poe's stories remind me of a line from 'Doctor Who', of all things, "the evils that men do." Poe's stories are the horror of humans, the evil's that consume people and the darkness that lives inside us all.
I never expected to end today with 'A Descent into the Maelstrom', but like I said, today has been a journey. I was reading 'Death's End' by Cixin Liu this morning, this story by Poe was mentioned and I thought, why not, it's sitting on my bookcase, unread, why not?
This story is a contrast to the stories I read last Halloween, where the others were the horror of humans, this was the horror of nature, or even the horror of God. It makes me think of 'The Tyger' by William Blake, so pretentious, I know, but "What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?" 'A Descent into the Maelstrom' is the horror of a God that creates the beautiful and the monstrous.

I haven’t read too many Edgar Allan Poe novels in my lifetime, and this one isn’t exactly creepy. But I still found it to be an interesting read. Poe’s depiction of nature, is very detailed and vivid. Might not capture the horrors of man, but it does capture the horrors of the physical world around us.

This has got to be one of my favorite Poe stories and his descriptions of nature and the sublime was easily the best part for me. A light horror story with a natural force as the antagonist? Yes, please!

Pretty standard adventure tale, along the lines of Poe's lone novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. It has a smattering of Poe's humor along with the harrowing tale. Serviceable.

Definitely a new Poe favorite for me! The sheer visceral imagery of the tale absolutely gripped me, I’m a sucker for frame narratives, and I love stories of cleverly overcoming dire circumstances. Highly recommended!