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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
For once, I have to say, "HP Lovecraft was right."
The first 4 stories are very interesting horror stories, proto-cosmic horror even, and then the rest of the stories are just tedious romances. Even the 4th horror story in the collection leans too far into the tedious romance side of things. After yet another American man jaunting abroad fell in love with yet another French teenage girl, I just had to delete the audiobook from my phone.
The first 4 stories are very interesting horror stories, proto-cosmic horror even, and then the rest of the stories are just tedious romances. Even the 4th horror story in the collection leans too far into the tedious romance side of things. After yet another American man jaunting abroad fell in love with yet another French teenage girl, I just had to delete the audiobook from my phone.
I enjoyed this book much more than the rating might indicate, but I feel that I should take the whole book into account. The first ~75% of this book is the absolute best weird fiction I’ve ever read, and I can see why it’s legacy is so pervasive. I find it far better than lovecraft from a character and writing perspective. The characters never felt like hollow mechanisms through which the reader experiences the horror as they do often do in lovecraft’s work. The integration of the story into real places also tends to elevate it, and make it feel like the King in Yellow might lift from the page and haunt me. But honestly the last 3 stories were incredibly boring and didn’t have really anything to do with the Yellow King, which is what brings the score down.
I just read the four creepy stories that influenced Lovecraft. Good historical basis to have and all that. Suitably creepy tales about people who go insane after reading something.
A weird collection of stories. I really enjoyed "The Demoiselle d'Ys" and the general premise, particularly in the first story, "The Repairer of Reputations". It was rather disappointing though that the second half of the book was not connected to The King in Yellow at all.
If you're reading this for the horror vibe that influenced Lovecraft and season 1 of True Detective, the first story is best. This stops being a horror collection, inexplicably, about halfway through. I checked to make sure I hadn't flipped to some other kindle book by mistake. There are some really cool ideas when Chambers sticks to horror.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Some of the short stories were more interesting than others - yellow mark was one of my favourites. I definitely preferred those that related to the yellow king
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism
Minor: Ableism, Religious bigotry, Alcohol
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
I picked this up to read more into the titular figure, The King In Yellow, a.k.a. Hastur. I remembered the name being associated with Lovecraftian weird fiction and have been wanting to read this for a while; I was not aware that this book was a collection of short stories, and only a few have anything to do with said cosmic deity. It’s frustrating, to say the least. I really enjoyed the first few tales and their unique take on the signature themes of madness and humanity so prevalent in Cosmic Horror, but was driven to read the latter half of the collection by the sheer desire to get to my next book.
Beautifully produced version of Chambers' classic "The King in Yellow". Limited edition release to go along w/ the Things That Go Bump in the Night gallery exhibition at Gallery Provocateur in Chicago, IL in fall 2011. Features fantastic cover art (front and back) by G. Edwin Taylor.