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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
The King in Yellow, a book of offputting (in a good way) short stories, is a fun read, plain and simple. As many others have said, the first half of the book (four stories) is more along the lines of what most expect going into this collection. Short stories of normal humans beset by an elusive madness, difficult to understand and seemingly impossible to cure. The source of this madness is a book, which holds the play, "The King in Yellow." Anyone foolish enough to read the tome seems to fall into an irreversible trance. Those stories felt very much akin to a turn of the century Twilight Zone and I sped through them happily.
The second half of the book seems to focus a lot more on that emotion I understand humans call 'love'. These stories are by no means bad. In fact, they are beautifully written, perhaps even more so than the previous four. Several times I found myself stopping and thanking whatever book deities there are that I got this on my Kindle, as a simple point and drag captured the language for my future perusal. The main issue with these stories was, well, they were about the mooshy stuff. Which is all well and good, but I got into reading this book for the occult references and unnatural madnesses.
I found myself wondering what it would have been like to write this. Living in an age of burgeoning progress and knowledge and still so little information about illness, mental or otherwise. People die. People break down. People change and go mad and get sick. But this book was written right at the turn. When people still believed in magical things. But they also began hailing science and technology as new gods. People still weren't sure which side would win. Throw in the uncertainty of the world at the time (at least one thing has remained the same), and you have an entrancing book about unexplainable things like madness and plays and love. It is recommended reading, and I'm fairly sure I haven't lost my mind from it, which is a bonus. I need that.
The second half of the book seems to focus a lot more on that emotion I understand humans call 'love'. These stories are by no means bad. In fact, they are beautifully written, perhaps even more so than the previous four. Several times I found myself stopping and thanking whatever book deities there are that I got this on my Kindle, as a simple point and drag captured the language for my future perusal. The main issue with these stories was, well, they were about the mooshy stuff. Which is all well and good, but I got into reading this book for the occult references and unnatural madnesses.
I found myself wondering what it would have been like to write this. Living in an age of burgeoning progress and knowledge and still so little information about illness, mental or otherwise. People die. People break down. People change and go mad and get sick. But this book was written right at the turn. When people still believed in magical things. But they also began hailing science and technology as new gods. People still weren't sure which side would win. Throw in the uncertainty of the world at the time (at least one thing has remained the same), and you have an entrancing book about unexplainable things like madness and plays and love. It is recommended reading, and I'm fairly sure I haven't lost my mind from it, which is a bonus. I need that.
Indescribable horror...
This is a short collection of four horror stories, all linked by a play called The King in Yellow which, we are told, reveals truths so awful that anyone who reads it will be driven to madness and despair. The first thing to say is that it appears that Chambers’ The King in Yellow collection usually includes ten stories. For this new edition, Pushkin Press have extracted the four that are linked and omitted the other six, which reviews tell me are mostly of a different style.
Each story is very short, so the entire volume isn’t much more than novella length. In truth, I found it a rather disappointing collection, with only one story that stood out for me. The awful truths contained in the play of The King in Yellow are not revealed to the reader, so fortunately at least I was spared from being driven insane. But this technique of telling the reader that there is something so awful it can’t be described – a technique used frequently in weird fiction – strikes me as a major cop-out.
Here's a brief idea of each of the four stories:
The Repairer of Reputations – a story told by a madman, driven mad obviously by having been foolish enough to read The King in Yellow. He is convinced he is entitled to become a King which involves him having to bump off the man he believes stands in his way. All very weird, but not really in a good way. I gave this one a generous 2½ stars.
The Mask – a sculptor, Boris, has discovered a solution that turns living things into the purest marble (including sweet little bunny rabbits – you have been warned, animal lovers!). Meantime Boris's friend, the narrator, is in love with Genevieve, Boris's wife. There's lots of gothic drama, high, exalted love, madness and despair, mixed together with some nice horror and just a touch of weirdness. Good stuff! I gave this one 5 stars.
In the Court of the Dragon – a man goes to church just after reading The King in Yellow. He becomes obsessed by the organist - a dark figure who keeps appearing wherever he goes. Is he paranoid, driven to madness by the play? Or is there a more sinister reason behind the organist's appearances? Hmm – I found this OK-ish, but nothing special, and gave it just 3 stars.
The Yellow Sign – An artist and his model seem to be sharing a common nightmare about the artist being in a coffin in a hearse. Needless to say, they've both read The King in Yellow, thus allowing evil and madness into their lives. This one has some quite good horror aspects, though, and a nice sense of creepiness to it. I gave it 3½ stars.
So a mixed bag. The question is – would I recommend it? In truth, not for the quality of the stories themselves on the whole, but I'm led to believe these are considered to have been influential on Lovecraft and others, and are often referenced by later writers, so I guess I'd recommend them to people who are interested in the development of weird fiction.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Pushkin Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This is a short collection of four horror stories, all linked by a play called The King in Yellow which, we are told, reveals truths so awful that anyone who reads it will be driven to madness and despair. The first thing to say is that it appears that Chambers’ The King in Yellow collection usually includes ten stories. For this new edition, Pushkin Press have extracted the four that are linked and omitted the other six, which reviews tell me are mostly of a different style.
Each story is very short, so the entire volume isn’t much more than novella length. In truth, I found it a rather disappointing collection, with only one story that stood out for me. The awful truths contained in the play of The King in Yellow are not revealed to the reader, so fortunately at least I was spared from being driven insane. But this technique of telling the reader that there is something so awful it can’t be described – a technique used frequently in weird fiction – strikes me as a major cop-out.
Here's a brief idea of each of the four stories:
The Repairer of Reputations – a story told by a madman, driven mad obviously by having been foolish enough to read The King in Yellow. He is convinced he is entitled to become a King which involves him having to bump off the man he believes stands in his way. All very weird, but not really in a good way. I gave this one a generous 2½ stars.
The Mask – a sculptor, Boris, has discovered a solution that turns living things into the purest marble (including sweet little bunny rabbits – you have been warned, animal lovers!). Meantime Boris's friend, the narrator, is in love with Genevieve, Boris's wife. There's lots of gothic drama, high, exalted love, madness and despair, mixed together with some nice horror and just a touch of weirdness. Good stuff! I gave this one 5 stars.
In the Court of the Dragon – a man goes to church just after reading The King in Yellow. He becomes obsessed by the organist - a dark figure who keeps appearing wherever he goes. Is he paranoid, driven to madness by the play? Or is there a more sinister reason behind the organist's appearances? Hmm – I found this OK-ish, but nothing special, and gave it just 3 stars.
The Yellow Sign – An artist and his model seem to be sharing a common nightmare about the artist being in a coffin in a hearse. Needless to say, they've both read The King in Yellow, thus allowing evil and madness into their lives. This one has some quite good horror aspects, though, and a nice sense of creepiness to it. I gave it 3½ stars.
So a mixed bag. The question is – would I recommend it? In truth, not for the quality of the stories themselves on the whole, but I'm led to believe these are considered to have been influential on Lovecraft and others, and are often referenced by later writers, so I guess I'd recommend them to people who are interested in the development of weird fiction.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Pushkin Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At the umpteenth story where I struggled to get past the second page, I gave up. Unfortunately, the topos of the book driving people crazy is one of my favorites, but here it has little or nothing to do with it, or at least I couldn't get there.
All'ennesimo racconto in cui faticavo a superare la seconda pagina ho mollato. Purtroppo il topos del libro che fa impazzire é uno dei miei preferiti, ma qui c'entra poco o niente o quanto meno non sono riuscita ad arrivarci.
All'ennesimo racconto in cui faticavo a superare la seconda pagina ho mollato. Purtroppo il topos del libro che fa impazzire é uno dei miei preferiti, ma qui c'entra poco o niente o quanto meno non sono riuscita ad arrivarci.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
I really liked the first short story in this collection, titled “The Repairer of Reputations”. It’s a surprising mix of sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction, with evocative imagery made dubious by the unreliable narrator. It’s infused with dark humour, and these tumbling contradictions and twisted truths make for some good political satire, for example the decriminalisation of suicide being seized upon by the government, warped from a declaration of bodily autonomy into a warrant to execute those deemed undesirable. I would gladly read a novella or novel following this story’s protagonist, Hildred, and his delusional perception of the world. Good prose.
Unfortunately, the rest of this book doesn’t meet the expectations set by that first story. There are a few fairly run-of-the-mill gothic tales; decent, but nothing spectacular. The last two or three stories abandon the supernatural elements altogether, instead detailing the romantic exploits of some American artists in Paris. I have to admit I skimmed those (they were quite boring). They feel very out of place and weaken the collection as a whole.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
In order to properly review the The King in Yellow, it has to be put into context. This collection was published shortly after The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Yellow Wallpaper, and it predates the likes of H.G. Wells' landmark science fiction story, The War of the Worlds and Bram Stoker's classic, Dracula. If you've read any of these stories, you will have a good idea of what to expect in terms of prose, excitement, and terror (or lack thereof, depending on your tastes).
The stories are all loosely connected by the threads of the King in Yellow's tattered robes, but they can, for the most part, stand alone without requiring the larger world behind them. Imagine if Rod Serling introduced common plot elements and an otherworldly threat that briefly touched every episode in a single season of The Twilight Zone and you may have an idea of the vibe of The King in Yellow. And similar to The Twilight Zone, the stories contained within The King in Yellow are character-driven stories of supernatural happenings, madness, love, and hubris.
It can be all too easy to read modern, mind-bending novels from Chambers' 21st-century disciples (hi, Laird Barron!) and immediately dismiss the quaint prose and restrained horror of The King in Yellow. But while these stories won't keep you up at night, hopefully you can appreciate the subtle glimpses of lore beyond human understanding and the despair that irreparably realigns the characters' lives.
At the very least, this progenitor of cosmic horror deserves to be read for changing the course of fiction forever.
The stories are all loosely connected by the threads of the King in Yellow's tattered robes, but they can, for the most part, stand alone without requiring the larger world behind them. Imagine if Rod Serling introduced common plot elements and an otherworldly threat that briefly touched every episode in a single season of The Twilight Zone and you may have an idea of the vibe of The King in Yellow. And similar to The Twilight Zone, the stories contained within The King in Yellow are character-driven stories of supernatural happenings, madness, love, and hubris.
It can be all too easy to read modern, mind-bending novels from Chambers' 21st-century disciples (hi, Laird Barron!) and immediately dismiss the quaint prose and restrained horror of The King in Yellow. But while these stories won't keep you up at night, hopefully you can appreciate the subtle glimpses of lore beyond human understanding and the despair that irreparably realigns the characters' lives.
At the very least, this progenitor of cosmic horror deserves to be read for changing the course of fiction forever.
Loved the first and last stories, could take or leave the two in the middle. That being said, it’s very clear why this is a classic of Weird Fiction.