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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
4.75 stars
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I LOVE THIS. I need to reread it as soon as possible. Lowkey I might reread it tomorrow.
AND IT IS ONLY 4 SHORT STORIES!? WHAT.
*** I have a YouTube channel now! Check it out here. ***
I LOVE THIS. I need to reread it as soon as possible. Lowkey I might reread it tomorrow.
AND IT IS ONLY 4 SHORT STORIES!? WHAT.
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
As other reviewers have said, this book starts very strong with some of the finest weird horror ever written, and ends with some fairly forgettable romance stories that, to a modern reader, come off as padding more than anything.
It's possible that to a contemporary reader the opposite was true, but Chambers' reputation, for better or worse, hangs over this work. It's quite telling that nobody ever talks about "Rue Barrée" in the context of their Delta Green campaign or True Detective.
Then again, this seems like one of those books many people profess to have read, but to those who have read it, it is blindingly obvious that they haven't. We actually learn little about the King in Yellow from the stories in this book, and we get only glimpses of the play featuring him. But that helps the effect. The imagination fills in the gaps.
For people coming to this from Lovecraft or Delta Green, the first four to six stories are absolutely essential reading, while the rest are not really essential and can be skipped without missing much. Only completionists should seek to read every last story in the book. But those first few stories remain as effective as the day they were published and are must-reads for anyone who is even tangentially into weird fiction. That said, "The Street of the First Shell" is a pretty intense war romance and worth reading, in my opinion.
It's possible that to a contemporary reader the opposite was true, but Chambers' reputation, for better or worse, hangs over this work. It's quite telling that nobody ever talks about "Rue Barrée" in the context of their Delta Green campaign or True Detective.
Then again, this seems like one of those books many people profess to have read, but to those who have read it, it is blindingly obvious that they haven't. We actually learn little about the King in Yellow from the stories in this book, and we get only glimpses of the play featuring him. But that helps the effect. The imagination fills in the gaps.
For people coming to this from Lovecraft or Delta Green, the first four to six stories are absolutely essential reading, while the rest are not really essential and can be skipped without missing much. Only completionists should seek to read every last story in the book. But those first few stories remain as effective as the day they were published and are must-reads for anyone who is even tangentially into weird fiction. That said, "The Street of the First Shell" is a pretty intense war romance and worth reading, in my opinion.
The King is Yellow is one of those cornerstones of the horror genre and if that isn't how you came to the book - it might be because you watched season one of True Detective. One of the strengths of this book is its ability to eat at you and slowly drive you mad. The pacing might be a turn-off to people but if you like the horror genre you should give this one a shot.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was obviously a desperate attempt to fill the Rust Cohle shaped hole left in my heart by True Detective. The first story was promising enough, kinda gave me Allen Poe-ish vibe. But stories progressively became bad to worse until it became so boring and juvenile that I had to give up. If you are thinking of giving this a try for reasons similar to me, take my advice, don't bother.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Annotated edition strongly suggested
Reading Soundtrack:
Mizmor -Yodh
UZLAGA - DEPTHDWELLER
Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean - Obsession Destruction
Panopticon - Live Migration
Ragana - Desolations Flower
Windhand - Soma
Black Mass - Lucifer
Black Magic Craft - Dungeon Crawls|Guardians of the 7th Tower
Reading Soundtrack:
Mizmor -Yodh
UZLAGA - DEPTHDWELLER
Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean - Obsession Destruction
Panopticon - Live Migration
Ragana - Desolations Flower
Windhand - Soma
Black Mass - Lucifer
Black Magic Craft - Dungeon Crawls|Guardians of the 7th Tower
Like other recent reviewers, I heard about this book through "True Detective" (which I haven't watched). I read the first three stories, but they aren't gripping enough for me to finish the book.