A review by tfc
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The canonical works that only becomes seen as transitory movers and shakers of a medium are deeply fascinating. Intercepting between Poe and Lovecraft, Chambers collection of short stories touches on the burgeoning themes of science fiction, fantasy, and cosmic horror but without committing fully to any of them, leaving a jarring if entertaining journey through various tones, concepts, and characters. 

The Repairer of Reputations, the opening story, is by far the strongest. Chambers depicts a deeply cynical world nearing the end of the century. Suicide has not only become legal but actively encouraged by the governments of the world, and a series of imperial wars in close succession has rendered down the fat of identity to its basest aspects, blinding the works characters in the tallow light. 

Oddly prescient in recent years are the themes of misogyny and reactionary conspiracy theories which reoccure through the text. Often times, the King in Yellow reads like the Twilight Zone targeted against the modern manosphere in the best way possible.