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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
Four stars for the classic, pre-Lovecraft Lovecraft. No comment on the back half of the book.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
medium-paced
The first two in particular were excellent. The final two felt a little redundant, though still very entertaining. Thwarted love always makes for a great accompaniment to creeping horror. And sociologically it's interesting to think about how conspiracies etc. weaving their way into fiction like this is maybe a reflection of entry into mass society (like in the Dr. Mabuse films but also Kafka in a more bureaucratic way).
Maybe the most unexpected element was the strange bit of world building in the first story ('The Repairer of Reputations') about the state building suicide chambers - a very weird and interesting touch which barely features in the plot.
Maybe the most unexpected element was the strange bit of world building in the first story ('The Repairer of Reputations') about the state building suicide chambers - a very weird and interesting touch which barely features in the plot.
From the cool mythos to an inexplicable genre change midway through, this book was way cooler than I was expecting.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not that I mind reading about art students and their lovers in 19th century Paris, but I'd much rather get frissons out of reading about the unsettling effects contact with The King in Yellow has upon people.
That's what what the first four stories are about, and they are a creepy delight. "The Repairer of Reputations" and "The Yellow Sign," in particular, stand out.
With the exception of "The Demoiselle d'Ys" (a conventional supernatural romance) and "The Prophets' Paradise" (an odd assortment of dreamlike vignettes), everything else is an ode to bohemian life. A deftly written ode, but tonally very different from the first four stories, giving the impression of two separate and never-finished collections being stuck together for the sake of publishing.
I'm not complaining, but I wish I'd have had a heads-up, just so I didn't torture myself through the second half with the expectation that something Yellow would show up and put a merciful end to all that endless bohemianing.*
*It's not a verb, but it should be in this instance.
That's what what the first four stories are about, and they are a creepy delight. "The Repairer of Reputations" and "The Yellow Sign," in particular, stand out.
With the exception of "The Demoiselle d'Ys" (a conventional supernatural romance) and "The Prophets' Paradise" (an odd assortment of dreamlike vignettes), everything else is an ode to bohemian life. A deftly written ode, but tonally very different from the first four stories, giving the impression of two separate and never-finished collections being stuck together for the sake of publishing.
I'm not complaining, but I wish I'd have had a heads-up, just so I didn't torture myself through the second half with the expectation that something Yellow would show up and put a merciful end to all that endless bohemianing.*
*It's not a verb, but it should be in this instance.
An extremely uneven collection.
The first 4 stories, linked by the theme of a play entitled The King in Yellow, are simply brilliant, with "The Repairer of Reputations" being the most well-thought through and rounded up one - absolutely amazing. All of the 4 stories evolve around a cursed book and the city "where black stars hang under the heavens."
The 5th Story, The Demoiselle D' Ys is a lovely, lazily paced story with the tones that sort of let you guess the twist almost from the beginning (hence 4 stars) - but I still found it quite satisfying, and particularly relished in the falconry-related vocabulary.
The rest... well. Hardly any supernatural, not much else really happens , boooooring.
However, even though the average of the below ratings for the individual pieces comes closer to 3,
I'm still rating the collection as 4 stars - simply because the first 4 stories are just SO GOOD.
The Repairer of Reputations: 5 - the best one of the collection!
The Mask: 5
In the Court of the Dragon: 5
The Yellow Sign: 5
The Demoiselle D' Ys: 4
The Prophets' Paradise: 1
The Street of the Four Winds: 1
The Street of the First Shell: 3
The Street of our Lady of the Fields: 1
Rue Barée: 1
Dedfinitely recommend picking up just for the first 4 stories. The rest you can skip, really.
The first 4 stories, linked by the theme of a play entitled The King in Yellow, are simply brilliant, with "The Repairer of Reputations" being the most well-thought through and rounded up one - absolutely amazing. All of the 4 stories evolve around a cursed book and the city "where black stars hang under the heavens."
The 5th Story, The Demoiselle D' Ys is a lovely, lazily paced story with the tones that sort of let you guess the twist almost from the beginning (hence 4 stars) - but I still found it quite satisfying, and particularly relished in the falconry-related vocabulary.
The rest... well. Hardly any supernatural, not much else really happens , boooooring.
However, even though the average of the below ratings for the individual pieces comes closer to 3,
I'm still rating the collection as 4 stars - simply because the first 4 stories are just SO GOOD.
The Repairer of Reputations: 5 - the best one of the collection!
The Mask: 5
In the Court of the Dragon: 5
The Yellow Sign: 5
The Demoiselle D' Ys: 4
The Prophets' Paradise: 1
The Street of the Four Winds: 1
The Street of the First Shell: 3
The Street of our Lady of the Fields: 1
Rue Barée: 1
Dedfinitely recommend picking up just for the first 4 stories. The rest you can skip, really.
This the new Penguin Weird Fiction edition (with amazing cover artwork by Kate Dehler) wisely omits the stories from the original collection that aren’t linked by that famous cosmic horror vibe. Although, weirdly, The Demoiselle D'Ys is included, but I’m pleased that it is. Despite not really fitting the paranoid horror of the other tales it remains a beautifully sad and ethereal story.