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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like a lot of the ideas in several of the stories, but the execution all over the place
Most notably, the world building in The Repairer of Reputations is frantic and sporadic, and so little of it seems to contribute to what the story is going for. The final street-themed stories are all fairly dull and meandering romance stories
Meanwhile, The Demoiselle D’Ys is nearly perfectly constructed. The Mask and The Yellow Sign are standout horror stories from the period
My suggestion is to read through The Prophets’ Paradise, then drop it, and you’ll have a better time than I did
Most notably, the world building in The Repairer of Reputations is frantic and sporadic, and so little of it seems to contribute to what the story is going for. The final street-themed stories are all fairly dull and meandering romance stories
Meanwhile, The Demoiselle D’Ys is nearly perfectly constructed. The Mask and The Yellow Sign are standout horror stories from the period
My suggestion is to read through The Prophets’ Paradise, then drop it, and you’ll have a better time than I did
dark
slow-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
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
The first story is fantastic, with a clear focus on the King in Yellow.
The first half of the stories, even, are variously strong -- surrealist horror, tonally macabre, curious and haunting.
The rest is an aimless, uninspired slog.
The first half of the stories, even, are variously strong -- surrealist horror, tonally macabre, curious and haunting.
The rest is an aimless, uninspired slog.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The King in Yellow is A quilted maggot cloth of stories.
Chambers writes with spectral clarity and instills an otherness, a weird aura of sorts, throughout all four of this anthology's tales. One of the strengths of this collection is the constant presence of art, art making and ever present aura of objects.
These stories are at times horrific and sad but always unique with a sly, memorable sense of humour.
Strongly recommended to anyone that enjoys stories within stories, a la The Manuscript found in Saragossa, Arabian Nights etc.
Chambers writes with spectral clarity and instills an otherness, a weird aura of sorts, throughout all four of this anthology's tales. One of the strengths of this collection is the constant presence of art, art making and ever present aura of objects.
These stories are at times horrific and sad but always unique with a sly, memorable sense of humour.
Strongly recommended to anyone that enjoys stories within stories, a la The Manuscript found in Saragossa, Arabian Nights etc.
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
This is weird. I mean it was written in the 1800s.. The language is flowery at times but fine.. But it's a series of stories that start our all spooky and haunting, then suddenly it's about chasing skirts, proposing marriage and who is having babies? Bachelors chasing women of the night, all the streets have convents, and nothing is proper.. Except maybe showing women with gifts of flowers. What happened to this author to go from dark and spooky philosophical tales of terror.. To love stories?!
So weird
So weird
https://disorderlydaydreams.blog/2022/09/20/book-review-the-king-in-yellow/
It's a ruinous play that brings nothing but despair and misery to anyone who reads the second act. The King in Yellow flits along in the shadows, finding its unsuspecting victims, driving them to insanity as they read the pages within.
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers is a small book which contains four tales within its cursed binding. Since it’s release in 1895, it has gathered a devout following and inspired such talented writers as HP Lovecraft. It is filled with the macabre, the weird, and the unsettling.
The four tales of the mysterious are:
The Repairer of Reputations – A man recently released from an insane asylum consults with the “repairer of reputations”. Both are obsessed with the play “The King in Yellow”, and both happen to be insane from reading it.
The Mask – A sculptor discovers a new way to turn organic things into stone-like statues. After discovering “The King in Yellow” though, things go wrong and the unthinkable and unbelievable occurs.
In the Court of the Dragon – A church attendee who has been reading “The King in Yellow” becomes suspicious of the church organist. He is sure that he’s after his soul and linked to the odd play.
The Yellow Sign – An artist and his model have strange dreams featuring a man who seems to be stalking them. After reading “The King in Yellow” both fall in to disaster and insanity with no happy outcome for either.
The King in Yellow was a great, weird read. I give it 4 out of 5 rating, only marked down because I wish there had been more (the stories seemed too short). I highly recommend if you are into Lovecraftian tales and will read these again.
It's a ruinous play that brings nothing but despair and misery to anyone who reads the second act. The King in Yellow flits along in the shadows, finding its unsuspecting victims, driving them to insanity as they read the pages within.
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers is a small book which contains four tales within its cursed binding. Since it’s release in 1895, it has gathered a devout following and inspired such talented writers as HP Lovecraft. It is filled with the macabre, the weird, and the unsettling.
The four tales of the mysterious are:
The Repairer of Reputations – A man recently released from an insane asylum consults with the “repairer of reputations”. Both are obsessed with the play “The King in Yellow”, and both happen to be insane from reading it.
The Mask – A sculptor discovers a new way to turn organic things into stone-like statues. After discovering “The King in Yellow” though, things go wrong and the unthinkable and unbelievable occurs.
In the Court of the Dragon – A church attendee who has been reading “The King in Yellow” becomes suspicious of the church organist. He is sure that he’s after his soul and linked to the odd play.
The Yellow Sign – An artist and his model have strange dreams featuring a man who seems to be stalking them. After reading “The King in Yellow” both fall in to disaster and insanity with no happy outcome for either.
The King in Yellow was a great, weird read. I give it 4 out of 5 rating, only marked down because I wish there had been more (the stories seemed too short). I highly recommend if you are into Lovecraftian tales and will read these again.
adventurous
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:
Complicated