Reviews with content warning for Death - The King in Yellow

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

11 reviews

askhualrak's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.5

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tacochelle's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

The first 4 stories and the poem are solid eldritch/cosmic horror, all centered around a cursed play of the same title. Other than mentions from the characters and quotes at the start of each story, you don't actually know what the play is about. You only see how it drives the readers to madness. It also takes place in this alternate 1920s America, which was the future when the stories were written. It was really interesting. The latter ones are all romance, nothing to do with the first half of the book, which I didn't know going into it. The time travel one was neat. The last 3 are interconnected and well written, but the whole time, I was just waiting for the eldritch horror to come in.

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woweewhoa's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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jetpackdracula's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

3.5

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suneaters's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

It’s so hard to rate this since it’s a collection of short stories. I loved some while I found others tedious to get through even with the beautiful writing of Chambers.

Repairer of Reputations was probably the strongest story and likely my favorite. The ending is haunting as you slowly put the pieces together about our "mad" (but don't call him that, he doesn't like it) narrator Hildred Castaigne and his strange relationship with his cousin Louis and the odd Mr. Wilde. The setting becomes eerie as well with the titular reputation repairing and the suicide chambers as Chambers masterfully writes of a trembling man going inside one.

The Mask is also a spooky tale of Boris, Alec, and Genevieve with a

relatively happy

ending. It's still very eerie and contains mystical science discovered by Alec that turns living beings into stone.

After Genevieve reads The King in Yellow and jumps into the pool containing the substance, Alec destroys it and his notes so that it could never be recreated before committing suicide. Yet, soon the fish and rabbit that turn into stone come back to life and it ends with Genevieve waking up.

It has a lot of interesting ideas and atmospherically uncanny science that leads to disaster

(for Alec at least)

In the Court of the Dragon is far spookier and ends with

the titular King in Yellow whispering menacingly to our narrator. He has been pursued by a sinister church organist though for what purpose he does not know until the end when the man follows him home and goes after his soul. We can assume his soul has been taken by the organist who is a minion of the King in Yellow, which now forces the narrator to do his bidding.

And now I heard his voice, rising, swelling, thundering through the flaring light, and as I fell, the radiance increasing, increasing, poured over me in waves of flame. Then I sank into the depths, and I heard the King in Yellow whispering to my soul: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" (66).

The Yellow Sign is probably the scariest story of the bunch and keep getting creepier all the while. The churchyard watchman is the creepiest character in the book and I don't recall him saying a word! The part about his thumb and his overall terrifying appearance adds to the fear the narrator Scott begins to spiral, especially as he and Tessie read The King in Yellow. The tale ends

abruptly as we assume the narrator dies like Tessie as we learn the watchman is a corpse that has been dead for months.

The Demoiselle d'Ys is a time travel love story that is honestly quite tragic. It technically ends well for our narrator is he is not lost forever in the moors or trapped in the past, but his love is forever gone from him and him from her. The entire story grows more tense as we realize Jeanne and the others are all from the past and we begin to wonder if the protagonist Philip will be trapped at her home forever. Even as he escapes, it remains tragic as Jeanne is now deceased having "died in her youth for love of Philip, a stranger" (106).

The Prophets' Paradise is the last spooky/eerie type story that is less connected that the others. It functions as a series of prose poems that evoke unease as well as the madness of The King in Yellow with its repetition. It isn't as intriguing as the earlier tales and this was the last one that truly interested me deeply.

Perhaps I would have appreciated the last four tales if I wasn't searching for and expecting a horror tale with eerie elements. They're more bohemian and romantic. The Street of the Four Winds has a bit of a horror-ish vibe with Severn and his conversation with the cat. Rue Barrée has the more sardonic tone that is reminiscent of the first tale, but it was a bit of a chore to get through the various artists and romantic plots. The last few tales blurred together (probably not helped by similar plots, tones, settings, and even the same recurring characters).

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jaedia's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

The King in Yellow is an early collection of short stories that explore a fictional play called The King in Yellow that brings misfortune and madness upon those who read its cursed second act. Its Weird tales inspired the likes of H.P. Lovecraft and something about it has always fascinated me. So I finally got my hands on a copy and found it actually more accessible than Lovecraft's writing, but perhaps a little underwhelmed overall. That said, I am fascinated still to explore what it has inspired, whether this particular lore has expanded with other authors. We shall see!

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melancholymegs's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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bi_n_large's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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moogle_exe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

As a recommendation on BookTok; I do not regret my decision to purchase this book. Robert W. Chambers has certainly inspired H.P Lovecraft and it is evident in his work. The main difference is that Robert W. Chambers’ work was very romantic in feel and tone. The stories were easier to comprehend and understand, whilst still being enjoyable; I loved the settings they took place in and the characters felt interesting for the brief period they appeared in. It’s an easy read, softer than Lovecrafts works, but if you’re up for something similar to Lovecraft - this book is for you.

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midnightcomets's review

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I thought this was full of horror stories. I was misinformed. Maybe in another time, I would have loved and enjoyed the stories, but I came here to read about eldritch horror and only four out of the nine stories contained that element. It still is an enjoyable book though!

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