The Ghost of Thomas Kempe vs The Gold-Bug: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Television, Films, Motion Pictures, Children's fiction, Fiction
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
The ghost of a seventeenth-century sorcerer emerges as a poltergeist and attempts to make young James his apprentice.
vs
The Gold-Bug
“MANY years ago, I contracted an intimacy with a Mr. William Legrand.”
The discovery of a message in code on a shoreline formerly infested with pirates sends William Legrand and his friends on a hunt for buried treasure.
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Gold-Bug is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 2 for The Ghost of Thomas Kempe.
- The Gold-Bug has the widest readership — 7720 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Ghost of Thomas Kempe | The Gold-Bug | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (2096) | 3.7 (7720) |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (5) | 3.5 (2) |
Reception
| The Ghost of Thomas Kempe | The Gold-Bug | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2096 | 7720 |
| Editions | 9 | 210 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 3380 |
| Reading it now | — | 206 |
| Written reviews | — | 574 |
| Wikipedia attention | 433 | 4486 |
| Pages | 159 | 50 |