The following review is not a criticism of Mark Twain’s writing, but rather the anthology itself.

The title of this collection by Mark Twain is somewhat misleading. If you are expecting, as I was, stories that are akin to Poe, you won’t find that in this volume. To me, the vast majority of the stories are neither macabre or all that mysterious.
This isn’t to say that the tales aren’t enjoyable, and it was nice to see stories I hadn’t read or even knew existed. Be aware that a good deal of material has been taken from novels such as The Prince and the Pauper, and A Connecticut Yankee, and also travel books such as Roughing It and Life on the Mississippi, and not just short stories. Additionally, the AI generated illustrations were, to me, jarring as they didn’t seem to fit the style and age of the stories.

Disappointing.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of the book.

A four-star read, but I had to take away a star for the messy formatting which made my copy very difficult to read. Most of these short stories I'd never read or even heard of before. I loved learning the stories behind them. There's no question Twain was an exceptional author and these display his talent in a darker light which I so enjoyed.

An interesting collection of stories by Twain. The stories are unlike his known works, but still retain his wit and humor. A good read for fans of Mark Twain.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Every typical Mark Twain and yet not at all! Those of us familiar with this great man's writing will recognize the word usuage, the sentence structures, the sarcastic wit and the humor so that we know we are reading Twain even while marveling at how dark some of these stories really are. I've loved Twain all my life, one of my favorite authors for those very things I listed above, but some of these stories, taken out of context, show a much darker side to the man. Each story has a history, some lifted from published works, some previously unpublished, some autobiographical in origin, others straight fiction, but all carry the same vein - a macabre, mysterious, dark, twisted at times, sense to the writing. While I can't say that I enjoyed anthem all, I so appreciate what I was reading and can understand that not everything the author saw and experienced was of a positive nature. And knowing the backstory to some characters, such as Huck Finn's father, made those books all the more cherished and clear. So loved reading something new from one of my all-time favorite authors, you just don't find this style of prose today and I have missed it!

4,5 stars.
I am glad this collection exists now. I have come across some of Twains more macabre or mysterious stories in the past, but not in an edited collection such as this one, This is a great idea.

The stories are engaging. Twain’s usual writing with a unique touch.

While I liked some of the AI-generated images in the book, I do not think they were a good fit for such an important writer’s book. It would have been great to have a human artist do the illustrations or at least a combination between AI and human artwork.

It is totally different from the Twain books I've read so far and I loved it. It's refreshing to see a different side to an already amazing author.
These were wonderful stores

This title is an unexpected delight. I enjoyed Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as a child, but can’t say I’ve read anything else by Twain since. This collection is a revelation and shows a completely different aspect to his writing. Rasmussen’s introduction sets the background and explains that the selection of tales is roughly split into themes and each tale is a standalone. It’s an outstanding selection of the mysterious and macabre and I’m truly surprised that Twain has not gained a reputation like MR James as an author of creepy horror stories. I’ve visited New Orleans and travelled up the Mississippi at night and it’s very easy to step back in time and imagine some of the settings in these stories. They’re vivid and some quite gory! There are some amazing illustrations throughout, aided by AI that really bring the creepiness alive. Definitely a book to peruse around Halloween and it’s one to dip into. I’ll be looking for the paper version on publication; it’s an exceptional read and one I want on my shelf rather than the electronic version. I hope it leads to a resurgence of interest in his writing. Absolutely brilliant.