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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
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
So if you're in the mood for some interesting supernatural Gothic stories, that somehow revolve around a mysterious book of the same name, read the first few short stories, if you want something else completely, and rather want to know about the whatever some hedonistic artists, living in the Latin quarter of Paris, are up to, read the later half of short stories.
I would probably give the first short story, The repairer of Reputations 5 Stars, and the last two The Street of Our Lady of the Fields and Rue Barreè 1 Star each. The other short stories are somewhere in-between. I'd say give the first 2-5 stories a shot if you're up to it, but definitely skip the last two
I would probably give the first short story, The repairer of Reputations 5 Stars, and the last two The Street of Our Lady of the Fields and Rue Barreè 1 Star each. The other short stories are somewhere in-between. I'd say give the first 2-5 stories a shot if you're up to it, but definitely skip the last two
Like many people, I imagine, I first heard of this book because of the first season of the HBO series True Detective, which has several references to the book, and characters, stories, and places within.
We should probably thank Nic Pizzolatto for bringing this book back into light, as Chambers was an important link in a chain of horror writing influence, which started with Bierce, who influenced Chambers. Chambers in turn influenced HP Lovecraft, and then Lovecraft went on to influence all sorts of people.
The King in Yellow is a series of stories, the first half of which are about a book/play called The King in Yellow, which makes people go crazy or die or both if they read it. The writing is incredibly effective, visceral - I had all sort of spooky dreams while I was reading it, and several people in my book club reported having creepy dreams, too.
The stories in the second half don't totally fit with the first - they're more period-piece romances about art students in Paris. They're well-written, and if that's your genre, there's plenty to like there, but it made for a strange back-end to a very spooky and dark first series of stories.
Also, for people who are generally into horror, particularly horror soundtracks, you should know that one of the musicians from Goblin (band that did the soundtracks for a lot of Dario Argento films) did the music for an audio book of one of the stories from this. I read along while I listened to it, and it was pretty great.
We should probably thank Nic Pizzolatto for bringing this book back into light, as Chambers was an important link in a chain of horror writing influence, which started with Bierce, who influenced Chambers. Chambers in turn influenced HP Lovecraft, and then Lovecraft went on to influence all sorts of people.
The King in Yellow is a series of stories, the first half of which are about a book/play called The King in Yellow, which makes people go crazy or die or both if they read it. The writing is incredibly effective, visceral - I had all sort of spooky dreams while I was reading it, and several people in my book club reported having creepy dreams, too.
The stories in the second half don't totally fit with the first - they're more period-piece romances about art students in Paris. They're well-written, and if that's your genre, there's plenty to like there, but it made for a strange back-end to a very spooky and dark first series of stories.
Also, for people who are generally into horror, particularly horror soundtracks, you should know that one of the musicians from Goblin (band that did the soundtracks for a lot of Dario Argento films) did the music for an audio book of one of the stories from this. I read along while I listened to it, and it was pretty great.
Lovecraft has been so imitated that a new reader must find his work blasé. Every second movie, book or video game is chock full of tentacles, Necronomicons and unknowable elder beings. His work is good, don't get me wrong, but it feels familiar, not weird, which is a shame because he is the Granddaddy of Weird. In this collection's best stories, I found the strangeness I missed in Lovecraft.
The first story of this collection, The Repairer of Reputations was everything I wanted Lovecraft to be. It features a disconcerting vision of a near-distant 1920s (not an alternate history as some have assumed, the story was authored in 1895). A supposedly perfect American Empire builds monolithic infrastructure, or "Government Lethal Chambers", to support mass-suicide. A twisted, little man is masterminding the overthrow of the United States of America, yet he cannot stop his monstrous cat from mauling him. The narrator declares he is sane far more than any sane person should. Chambers use of an unreliable narrator in this story is hugely experimental, as was his dystopic setting. It is creepy and obtuse and feels starkly unique. Other good stories in the collection include The Mask and The Yellow Sign both of which continue the mythos established in The Repairer of Reputations . The Yellow Sign , which features a graveyard watchmen with a face like a "coffin-grub", is particularly good. The Mask , however, is a tad soppy. The protagonist has a yawn-inducing infatuation with his mate's wife, who Chambers wrote as having the personality of wet cardboard. In general he does not write women well, but it was especially noticeable in this story.
In the second half of this collection the content takes a drastic shift from the unique and ground-breaking to the generically Gothic. Chambers must have misidentified a mushroom while foraging. Maybe under it's influence he wrote the stories that inspired the Weird Horror of subsequent generations. Afterwards, he must have sobered up and returned to his stuffy, Victorian self. Some of the more traditional tales in The King in Yellow are good. The Demoiselle D'ys is sweet enough, whilst the The Street of the First Shell is an engaging battle story. The rest, however, quite literally sent me to sleep. They're not even interesting enough for me to critique. Just skip them.
This collection includes some genuine brilliance. If I was rating Chamber's best stories individually, they would receive four or five stars. But I am not, so two stars it is.
The first story of this collection, The Repairer of Reputations was everything I wanted Lovecraft to be. It features a disconcerting vision of a near-distant 1920s (not an alternate history as some have assumed, the story was authored in 1895). A supposedly perfect American Empire builds monolithic infrastructure, or "Government Lethal Chambers", to support mass-suicide. A twisted, little man is masterminding the overthrow of the United States of America, yet he cannot stop his monstrous cat from mauling him. The narrator declares he is sane far more than any sane person should. Chambers use of an unreliable narrator in this story is hugely experimental, as was his dystopic setting. It is creepy and obtuse and feels starkly unique. Other good stories in the collection include The Mask and The Yellow Sign both of which continue the mythos established in The Repairer of Reputations . The Yellow Sign , which features a graveyard watchmen with a face like a "coffin-grub", is particularly good. The Mask , however, is a tad soppy. The protagonist has a yawn-inducing infatuation with his mate's wife, who Chambers wrote as having the personality of wet cardboard. In general he does not write women well, but it was especially noticeable in this story.
In the second half of this collection the content takes a drastic shift from the unique and ground-breaking to the generically Gothic. Chambers must have misidentified a mushroom while foraging. Maybe under it's influence he wrote the stories that inspired the Weird Horror of subsequent generations. Afterwards, he must have sobered up and returned to his stuffy, Victorian self. Some of the more traditional tales in The King in Yellow are good. The Demoiselle D'ys is sweet enough, whilst the The Street of the First Shell is an engaging battle story. The rest, however, quite literally sent me to sleep. They're not even interesting enough for me to critique. Just skip them.
This collection includes some genuine brilliance. If I was rating Chamber's best stories individually, they would receive four or five stars. But I am not, so two stars it is.
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
"Have you found The Yellow Sign?"
Although the concepts are often better than the actual execution, The King in Yellow is a fascinating and incredibly important collection of stories. Without Robert W. Chambers' influential writing, so much of my favourite horror fiction would not exist.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
challenging
mysterious
tense
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:
No
mysterious
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
Four interlinked stories that provide some mild creepiness and dread but don't quite satisfy. The first story is definitely the best one. The art is serviceable but nothing outstanding.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved the nature writing in the latter half as much as the weirdness of the first half.