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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
This book is not good. Do not read this book. Just watch True Detective instead.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first four stories are truly great pieces of horror writing; the tone turns towards more bohemian & romantic stories for the remainder, with some faint links back to the earlier stories.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listened to a fantastic audiobook version. Enjoyed the supernatural stories and appreciated the lovelorn shorts.
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
3.5 honestly this pains me so so much bc if I were just reviewing the first four stories it would be a perfect 5. Those first four that actually have to do with the King in Yellow (the play) were EXCELLENT, the first one the Repairer of Reputations introduced us to a fascinating world where an alternate world history unfolded and the character of the actual repairer of reputations with his violent cat was so unique and interesting (his prosthetic ears!), also the profession of repairing reputations was such a neat idea. Then ofc the descent of the narrator (or maybe not descent but rather the slow reveal) into madness was superbly paced. Very clear straight forward prose and great world building, the actual play that is alluded to is shrouded in the perfect amount of vague mystery so as to illicit shivers and shudders. The second story The Mask was also excellent and tragic. I was struck by how much some of these stories were about human relationships, love, romance etc. Coming from Lovecraft to this, that aspect was very refreshing. The ending was perfect in my opinion and this really felt like a shakespearean tragedy, def giving the end of R and J in a great way. Also the discourse about whether this new material, the science behind it, would make sculpture obsolete "in the same way photography did not help the cause of painters" was rly fascinating and relevant with all the AI art discourse going on right now. The eternal question of how advances in creative technology may impact or interact with preceding mediums, techniques and artistic traditions. The third story In the Court of the Dragon was creepy and action packed and I loved having the King in Yellow interacting with a traditional Christian church environment, having the clashing/ tension there. This one was very straightforward and "fun" and I loved the description of the discordant organ play and the organist was a v creepy "villain". The final of the four, the Yellow Sign was perhaps the least interesting of the bunch but not by much, I loved the description of the pallid color infecting the painting and I did once again appreciate the focus on the relationship between the painter and model, the awkwardness of the kiss and its implications, the disjointed feelings etc. I feel the dream was employed well here and the doughy man was definitely creepy but like I said just not as novel or interesting or striking as characters/ concepts found in the other 3 stories. Still a fun, creepy read. The rest of the stories have no connection at all to these first four and in fact couldn't be described as weird fiction or horror at all. They are mostly about the bohemian lives of art students in Paris (snooooore) and were a slog to get through tbh. The Demoiselle d'Ys was atleast a bit interesting and with a somewhat novel time-travel romance theme and I loved the descriptions of the falcons so I'm not mad at that one. The Street of the Four Winds also wasn't the worst as I did enjoy the interactions between the narrator and the cat and the ending was well done. But still these two aren't on a par with the first four stories and the rest of the stories in the book were weak imo. This book would be perfect if it were just much shorter and focused on the theme of the King in Yellow. The second half felt like they could have been published in an entirely different collection or on their own.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The first 40% is really cool and creepy. I was so excited to learn more about this banned book, but the rest of the book was extremely disappointing. Extremely boring and didn't mention the king in yellow at all after that. We just followed the lives of some French revolutionists and I still don't know why.
It’s a collection of short stories but I heard that only the first four have anything to do with the king in yellow. I started reading it because I was interested in the king in yellow, therefore I didn’t read past the first four. I will go back and finish the rest someday