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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
Don't read the last three stories, they areboring and contribute absolutely nothing to the rest of the book's mythos.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
I admittedly gave up on the penultimate and final stories, the first 6 stories I think are really interesting, in fact the first 4 I read with the intention of adapting into a theatre piece and they’ve lingered in my brain since reading them. The final stories are set in 1800s France and have no connection to the first stories. Frankly I found them a bore and gave up The Street of the First Lady a couple pages in. I didn’t get round to Rue Barree.
If the collection ended on Demoiselle D’ys id give this a 4 or 5 but the final stories bring it down.
If the collection ended on Demoiselle D’ys id give this a 4 or 5 but the final stories bring it down.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Some stories are really good, others I didn't care for.
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:
N/A
1) The Repairer of Reputations: *****
2) The Mask: ****
3) In the Court of the Dragon: ***
4) The Yellow Sign: ****
5) The Demoiselle D' Ys: ****
6) The Prophets' Paradise: ****
7) The Street of the Four Winds: ****
8) The Street of the First Shell: **
9) The Street of our Lady of the Fields: ***
10) Rue Barée: **
Rounded to 3.5 stars.
I greatly enjoyed the stories up to "The Street of the Four Winds". Stories 1-4 are directly connected to the Carcosa Mythos (aka the Yellow Mythos), and therefore are loosely connected. For me these were the more interesting of the collection, as I wanted to understand the references from the True Detective (season 1) show. These stories are splendidly written; R.W. Chambers is able to evoke feelings of dread, ambiguity, supernatural unease, almost without effort. His language flows with ease, and feels very contemporary, considering when it was written (1895). While reading, I almost had the sense that someone was watching me behind my shoulder.
Stories 5-7 continue on the supernatural theme, but are not connected to the The Yellow Mythos. Still they were very enjoyable, eerie and thought-provoking. "The Prophet's Paradise" especially deserves a mention, as it is unlike anything I have read so far. This set of short scenes was so rich in imagination, and the repetitive patterns of it made me interpret it as hallucinatory musings of a sort; something one might see or experience after taking drugs.
Stories 8-10 are very different in tone and theme. Here, the supernatural elements fade away, and especially the last two I would describe as romance. I was a bit taken aback by these stories; I did not expect the end of the collection to have such a drastic change of themes, and to be honest I did not enjoy them so much. Not because they were badly written -- on the contrary. It is also noteworthy that Chambers subsequently became well known for his popular romances, in which he turned out to be prolific. It was just not what I expected from this collection, as I wanted to be in a more spooky mood, and this brought me out of it.
2) The Mask: ****
3) In the Court of the Dragon: ***
4) The Yellow Sign: ****
5) The Demoiselle D' Ys: ****
6) The Prophets' Paradise: ****
7) The Street of the Four Winds: ****
8) The Street of the First Shell: **
9) The Street of our Lady of the Fields: ***
10) Rue Barée: **
Rounded to 3.5 stars.
I greatly enjoyed the stories up to "The Street of the Four Winds". Stories 1-4 are directly connected to the Carcosa Mythos (aka the Yellow Mythos), and therefore are loosely connected. For me these were the more interesting of the collection, as I wanted to understand the references from the True Detective (season 1) show. These stories are splendidly written; R.W. Chambers is able to evoke feelings of dread, ambiguity, supernatural unease, almost without effort. His language flows with ease, and feels very contemporary, considering when it was written (1895). While reading, I almost had the sense that someone was watching me behind my shoulder.
Stories 5-7 continue on the supernatural theme, but are not connected to the The Yellow Mythos. Still they were very enjoyable, eerie and thought-provoking. "The Prophet's Paradise" especially deserves a mention, as it is unlike anything I have read so far. This set of short scenes was so rich in imagination, and the repetitive patterns of it made me interpret it as hallucinatory musings of a sort; something one might see or experience after taking drugs.
Stories 8-10 are very different in tone and theme. Here, the supernatural elements fade away, and especially the last two I would describe as romance. I was a bit taken aback by these stories; I did not expect the end of the collection to have such a drastic change of themes, and to be honest I did not enjoy them so much. Not because they were badly written -- on the contrary. It is also noteworthy that Chambers subsequently became well known for his popular romances, in which he turned out to be prolific. It was just not what I expected from this collection, as I wanted to be in a more spooky mood, and this brought me out of it.
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No