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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
This book is dark, twisted and beautiful. I suppose you could compare Chambers' style to Poe, for both revel in the tragedy and glory of passion.
This is a strange book. It is a series of loosely linked short stories which seems to shun the portmanteau label which might be applicable in other circumstances.
The early stories revolve around a story which cannot be read without the reader dying. The story regards 'The King In Yellow' of the title, and a strange collection they are. The first one describes a weird dystopia where suicide has just been legalised and the state has started to build suicide machines for the use of the populace. But the story isn't really about that...
I can't really explain it any more clearly than that. It was interesting, and I enjoyed it enough to read it all the way through. Make of that what you will.
The Wikipedia page on the book is an interesting summary of its odd content (spoiler!): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_in_Yellow
The early stories revolve around a story which cannot be read without the reader dying. The story regards 'The King In Yellow' of the title, and a strange collection they are. The first one describes a weird dystopia where suicide has just been legalised and the state has started to build suicide machines for the use of the populace. But the story isn't really about that...
I can't really explain it any more clearly than that. It was interesting, and I enjoyed it enough to read it all the way through. Make of that what you will.
The Wikipedia page on the book is an interesting summary of its odd content (spoiler!): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_in_Yellow
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Rating and reviewing short story collections are difficult for me, for if one or two of the stories are good and worth your time, but the rest fall short, how do I convey that through a star rating?
That's my issue with The King in Yellow.
The first couple of stories in this collection are good! Not amazing, but solid, with a fun eerie feeling. But as the stories progressed, they simply got worse and worse to me, and by the end I found that the majority of the stories fell flat to me. Ideas are there, and some beautiful prose (which is often enough for me), but they just didn't click for me.
Still, simply for its impact on the genre, I still feel like The King in Yellow deserves a permanent spot on my bookshelf.
That's my issue with The King in Yellow.
The first couple of stories in this collection are good! Not amazing, but solid, with a fun eerie feeling. But as the stories progressed, they simply got worse and worse to me, and by the end I found that the majority of the stories fell flat to me. Ideas are there, and some beautiful prose (which is often enough for me), but they just didn't click for me.
Still, simply for its impact on the genre, I still feel like The King in Yellow deserves a permanent spot on my bookshelf.
First half of this book: There are secret terrors in this world that only The King in Yellow can unlock for you.
The second half of this book: Ah to be in love and in France <3
I loved both halves equally.
The second half of this book: Ah to be in love and in France <3
I loved both halves equally.
I had read all the good stories from this in other volumes. The others weren't bad, per se, but they certainly weren't horror and they spent a whole lot of time romanticizing Bohemian American artists in France in the 1800s-- Robert Chambers was obviously quite fond of his time spent being an American Bohemian artist in France in the 1800s. The last few stories were such a struggle to get through because I just. didn't. care.
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes