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crispymango's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
devermismysteris's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
justcallmek's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A very interesting read if you're interested in the early development of cosmic horror pre-Lovecraft, or you just want to read unsettling short stories. The premise of having a mysterious and banned play at the centre of each short story (or most of them) is very intriguing and it's a shame Robert W. Chambers didn't return to write more stories for this universe he created. I enjoyed the descriptive prose and the oppressive and tense atmosphere throughout the book.
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Suicide, Body horror, Violence, and Blood
itshaldun's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Keep in mind that I only read the first half of the book which contains the loosely tied short-stories based around a book of a play called “The King in Yellow”, so vile and profane that it renders those who read it for too long completely mad. The stories are very ominous, contain the earliest elements of eldritch horror ever written. The Book has a big part in why the color yellow might be associated with madness (see True Detective Season 1, Elden Ring)
The tone of the latter half of the book is a lot more lighthearted and contains love stories so I didn’t read it, because I’m incapable of feeling love and there is only darkness in my heart.
The tone of the latter half of the book is a lot more lighthearted and contains love stories so I didn’t read it, because I’m incapable of feeling love and there is only darkness in my heart.
mxmorganic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
parshu_ram's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
callmeromo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
"Let us not ridicule fools; their madness lasts longer than ours... That's the difference."
Wow. I see why this is a prolific work in the weird fiction genre. It is certainly very weird and at times I felt uneasy reading this book. Chambers does a great job of creating an atmosphere and making you sink into it. The characters are somewhat believable, not very relatable of course some this work is so old, but nonetheless well done. It's crazy to see the 4th wall broken in a book this old and it actually worked so well. The stories in this book were all weird and the ending was so sudden. Creeped me out for sure. All in all, it's very well done and I would recommend it to fans of fiction and especially those of weird fiction! It loses a bit for the more boring start for me.
Wow. I see why this is a prolific work in the weird fiction genre. It is certainly very weird and at times I felt uneasy reading this book. Chambers does a great job of creating an atmosphere and making you sink into it. The characters are somewhat believable, not very relatable of course some this work is so old, but nonetheless well done. It's crazy to see the 4th wall broken in a book this old and it actually worked so well. The stories in this book were all weird and the ending was so sudden. Creeped me out for sure. All in all, it's very well done and I would recommend it to fans of fiction and especially those of weird fiction! It loses a bit for the more boring start for me.
rordaz3's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0