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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
This was a nice read, but not quite as terrifying as I expected. You can certainly see where Lovecraft got some inspiration from and there were good horror elements to this, but not as thickly terrifying as I had hoped. Perhaps that says more about me than it does the book!
I only read the core first four stories relating to the titular king, not the the entire collection.
The King in Yellow was a book in two halves for me. The first half was what I had been led to expect, albeit with some elements of romance, whilst the second half of the book was very much focused on the romance side of storytelling. As I went through the collection, it seemed that the weird tales were gradually abandoned in favour of romance stories. In many ways I feel that each story interested me less than the last, though this is not to say they weren't well-written, with beautiful descriptions.
It's safe to say that the first story, Repairer of Reputations, was my favourite, and I'd probably say the order in which the stories occur matches my ranking of the stories.
Romance stories aren't really of interest to me; looking at those stories from a technical perspective, though, they had some amazing imagery, and though the romances seemed particularly quickly resolved, they were very sweet stories.
I particularly enjoyed the weird tales, though. It was clear to me where Lovecraft derived some of his inspiration; there were strong themes of unreliable narrators, and the use of The King in Yellow as connecting material is similar to the Necronomicon in Lovecraft's work, though it is used in a slightly different way.
It's definitely worth reading, even with the more romantic stories. As aforesaid, they are fantastically written, and may be more enjoyable if read knowing beforehand that they are romance-focused rather than being weird tales.
I will be rereading the first few stories in this collection at some point, as they were exactly what I had hoped for when I picked up this collection.
The loss of a star comes down entirely to personal preference, as I was disappointed to find that not all of the stories were connected to the titular King in Yellow.
It's safe to say that the first story, Repairer of Reputations, was my favourite, and I'd probably say the order in which the stories occur matches my ranking of the stories.
Romance stories aren't really of interest to me; looking at those stories from a technical perspective, though, they had some amazing imagery, and though the romances seemed particularly quickly resolved, they were very sweet stories.
I particularly enjoyed the weird tales, though. It was clear to me where Lovecraft derived some of his inspiration; there were strong themes of unreliable narrators, and the use of The King in Yellow as connecting material is similar to the Necronomicon in Lovecraft's work, though it is used in a slightly different way.
It's definitely worth reading, even with the more romantic stories. As aforesaid, they are fantastically written, and may be more enjoyable if read knowing beforehand that they are romance-focused rather than being weird tales.
I will be rereading the first few stories in this collection at some point, as they were exactly what I had hoped for when I picked up this collection.
The loss of a star comes down entirely to personal preference, as I was disappointed to find that not all of the stories were connected to the titular King in Yellow.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
It's not all great, but the stuff that's good is really really good.
A collection of 10 short - creepy stories. The first 4 were good and creepy, the last 6 were meh romances. To begin, Robert Chambers was a trained architect in 1880's, then he pivoted to become an artist, then an author. The King in Yellow was published in 1895. About people who had read the fictional play, The King in Yellow which presumably would drive the reader insane.
I'll admit: I didn't finish this after reading the material related to the King in Yellow. Those stories were engaging and wonderful but I lost interest after that. Mostly I just have too many other things on my plate.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Short stories that go from the very scary, think Lovecraft, to some what romantic. Lovecraft even scolded Chambers for selling out to pay the bills. Good quick read.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Having been a huge fan of weird fiction and cosmic horror for years, it was more than time for me to sit down with the infamous “King in Yellow”, by Robert W. Chambers. This book is considered quite seminal for the genre, overshadowing nearly everything else the author has written in his life, and I was starting to feel like this was a significant empty space on my shelves.
Even knowing the book’s significance and reputation, I was not quite ready for what I encountered when I cracked I open. Unreliable narrators, tales of madness and despair, alternate history, sinister atmospheres, creepy characters lurking around every page… I knew I would get all that, but I didn’t expect the ride to be this good! The book is composed of a few short stories connected by a cursed play titled “The King in Yellow”, which is said to have been banned due to it’s common side-effect of driving people who read it insane. The narrators who have read it are very clearly off their rocker, and the first four stories become increasingly surreal as they go along, which makes the book hard to put away. The other stories are more romantic, which was Chambers’ main style, and they are also quite enjoyable, though very different in tone from the first four.
The story “The Repairer of Reputation” was deliciously strange, with its eerie predictions about America and “Lethal Chambers”. I get the sense that Chambers was not really an optimist, given his bleak speculations. "The Mask" is quite a haunting little horror tale, and I loved the way he makes Paris seem terribly creepy and haunted, which is not a typical way of viewing the City of Lights!
The little breadcrumbs of the titular play scattered through the stories are fascinating, and I am not surprised that this book remains an important and influential work in the genre, with references to the King in Yellow and Carcosa to be found in numerous works paying homage to Chambers. But I think everyone who enjoys the genre will take pleasure in reading these stories. The first four are the obvious gems, but the rest of the collection is worth reading if you enjoy (like me!) pretty much anything set in fin-de-siècle Paris.
Even knowing the book’s significance and reputation, I was not quite ready for what I encountered when I cracked I open. Unreliable narrators, tales of madness and despair, alternate history, sinister atmospheres, creepy characters lurking around every page… I knew I would get all that, but I didn’t expect the ride to be this good! The book is composed of a few short stories connected by a cursed play titled “The King in Yellow”, which is said to have been banned due to it’s common side-effect of driving people who read it insane. The narrators who have read it are very clearly off their rocker, and the first four stories become increasingly surreal as they go along, which makes the book hard to put away. The other stories are more romantic, which was Chambers’ main style, and they are also quite enjoyable, though very different in tone from the first four.
The story “The Repairer of Reputation” was deliciously strange, with its eerie predictions about America and “Lethal Chambers”. I get the sense that Chambers was not really an optimist, given his bleak speculations. "The Mask" is quite a haunting little horror tale, and I loved the way he makes Paris seem terribly creepy and haunted, which is not a typical way of viewing the City of Lights!
The little breadcrumbs of the titular play scattered through the stories are fascinating, and I am not surprised that this book remains an important and influential work in the genre, with references to the King in Yellow and Carcosa to be found in numerous works paying homage to Chambers. But I think everyone who enjoys the genre will take pleasure in reading these stories. The first four are the obvious gems, but the rest of the collection is worth reading if you enjoy (like me!) pretty much anything set in fin-de-siècle Paris.
Thanks Signalis. The first half is strange and delightfully written. The second half is dull white noise.