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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
The King in Yellow is generally celebrated as a precursor to Lovecraft's work, the inspiration for his unique brand of cosmic horror. This small collection of short stories is indeed memorable, though only for the concept of horror within rather than their execution. Chambers writes with a very basic prose, and three of his four short stories have incredibly simple plot lines and story beats (The Repairer of Reputations being the lone quality story of the group). There's something unfair about looking back on horror written in the late 1800s and offering that criticism, but the modern reader will find the plotting and writing rather trite at this point.
Where these stories shine is in their proto-cosmic horror, the titular play inflicting insanity or unbearable psychological torment on whoever reads it, and death or worse swiftly follows them. Chambers' descriptions of a horrible other world yawning out to them, of the king himself paying a visit, or the feelings of dread or insanity conjured are gripping, and the cosmic horror blueprint is plain to see. While it is enjoyable to read these moments, they are brief and fleeting, much in line with the collection as a whole which is hardly 150 pages long.
On the whole The King in Yellow is a quick read with a small handful of well done moments that are enjoyable to witness as something of a horror lineage into the 20th century. Don't expect anything on a level even near Lovecraft himself, whose work blows these stories out of the water in plotting, prose, and exploration of cosmic horror as a genre itself. For those interested in seeing his roots, these short stories are a decent enough curiosity.
Where these stories shine is in their proto-cosmic horror, the titular play inflicting insanity or unbearable psychological torment on whoever reads it, and death or worse swiftly follows them. Chambers' descriptions of a horrible other world yawning out to them, of the king himself paying a visit, or the feelings of dread or insanity conjured are gripping, and the cosmic horror blueprint is plain to see. While it is enjoyable to read these moments, they are brief and fleeting, much in line with the collection as a whole which is hardly 150 pages long.
On the whole The King in Yellow is a quick read with a small handful of well done moments that are enjoyable to witness as something of a horror lineage into the 20th century. Don't expect anything on a level even near Lovecraft himself, whose work blows these stories out of the water in plotting, prose, and exploration of cosmic horror as a genre itself. For those interested in seeing his roots, these short stories are a decent enough curiosity.
challenging
slow-paced
I'm not going to rate this one because I'm honestly not sure how much of my negative reaction is caused by the narration rather than the book itself. For the most part, I just really did not understand the point of most of the stories. I like the first half alright. There were linking themes between the stories and I could see the connections. The second half lost me completely. And most of the stories were rather unsatisfactory, although I'd guess that was the point.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An eerie, weird, and somewhat opaque collection of short stories by an author who was largely influential to H.P. Lovecraft. I loved the stories that directly addressed The King in Yellow, a play supposedly so deranged and terrifying that it drives anyone who reads it to madness. The first story, "Repairer of Reputations," is by far the best. I felt like I was reading something directly out of Lovecraft. I loved all the creepy references to the play, including the towers of lost Carcosa, the Pallid Mask, the Phantom of Truth... it was all so spooky.
Unfortunately, as the stories progress, the references to the play dwindle into nothingness. During the latter half of the book, the stories seem to revolve around the same group of artists in the Latin Quarter of Paris (at which one point a war breaks out and the city is put under siege, which does feel awfully prescient for a book written in the late 1800s). Then it becomes mostly about love and pining, and I struggled to understand if several of the women were the same person (a "Sylvia" gets name-dropped a lot). I found those stories rather repetitive and not really adding to the mythos of the earlier tales. Maybe I missed some connection I was supposed to make, but these bored me and I yearned for the clever creepiness of the first half.
Still, I can understand why this book was so big an inspiration for later authors. The ideas surrounding The King in Yellow play are fantastic and incite the imagination to no end — especially since they are so lightly referenced. Even now I feel the pull to learn more about lost Carcosa and the black stars that shine above the shores of Hali...
Unfortunately, as the stories progress, the references to the play dwindle into nothingness. During the latter half of the book, the stories seem to revolve around the same group of artists in the Latin Quarter of Paris (at which one point a war breaks out and the city is put under siege, which does feel awfully prescient for a book written in the late 1800s). Then it becomes mostly about love and pining, and I struggled to understand if several of the women were the same person (a "Sylvia" gets name-dropped a lot). I found those stories rather repetitive and not really adding to the mythos of the earlier tales. Maybe I missed some connection I was supposed to make, but these bored me and I yearned for the clever creepiness of the first half.
Still, I can understand why this book was so big an inspiration for later authors. The ideas surrounding The King in Yellow play are fantastic and incite the imagination to no end — especially since they are so lightly referenced. Even now I feel the pull to learn more about lost Carcosa and the black stars that shine above the shores of Hali...
challenging
dark
slow-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:
Complicated
This collection of short stories influenced HP Lovecraft. The stories are intertwined and connected by a fictional play named The King In Yellow, which drives its readers mad. The first half of the collection all mention the play at some point and show how it effects the readers. The second half of the stories, while being interconnected to each other, don't seem to be related to The King In Yellow at all.
I greatly enjoyed the first half, the second half felt mediocre compared to it. I wish that it was broken up into two short story collections because they just did not complement each other.
I greatly enjoyed the first half, the second half felt mediocre compared to it. I wish that it was broken up into two short story collections because they just did not complement each other.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read the first four horror stories for fun, and then decided to buy the book to read the romance stories at my own pace and to then visit the horror stories with the intent to annotate. I Can see why the in verse characters where so bewitched by the king in yellow, the subtle nods to the play and the entity just add to a readers own curiosity.
Fun! Really enjoyed the concept of a 'cursed text', told through multiple stories that had their own twist on it. I didn't even realize I was getting into the Halloween spirit but I guess something in my mind knew. Listened thru Librivox.
Surprisingly readable and pretty much exactly what I want from 1800s weird horror.
dark
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