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curtain33 's review for:
The King in Yellow
by Robert W. Chambers
The King in Yellow has been on my list to read for years now. As an H.P. Lovecraft fan I'd heard these are highly recommended, so I picked up the Pushkin Press edition without knowing it is incomplete. Within this edition are the four stories relating to the titular King in Yellow play. These stories are fantastic and the way in which they are written and the subtle ways in which they connect to each other are genius and unsettling. Even now Robert W. Chambers' writing is enchanting and innovative. It's a wonder why someone hasn't adapted this collection into a miniseries or anthology film.
In all four stories the characters encounter the King in Yellow play and have either their minds or realities (or both) distorted. The causal way in which Chambers reveals this is uncanny and disturbing. He has a way of reflecting on madness that I think surpasses even Lovecraft. These stories seem to reward repeat reading since characters, places, events, items interlock. Each story is wonderful on its own, but there is extra merit in these little touches.
I recommend the Lanternfish Press edition edited by John Edgar Browning for completists, being that it has the additional short stories originally published with The King in Yellow (and it's the same price as Puskin Press edition). I'll review that edition at a later date once I've read the rest of the short stories.
In all four stories the characters encounter the King in Yellow play and have either their minds or realities (or both) distorted. The causal way in which Chambers reveals this is uncanny and disturbing. He has a way of reflecting on madness that I think surpasses even Lovecraft. These stories seem to reward repeat reading since characters, places, events, items interlock. Each story is wonderful on its own, but there is extra merit in these little touches.
I recommend the Lanternfish Press edition edited by John Edgar Browning for completists, being that it has the additional short stories originally published with The King in Yellow (and it's the same price as Puskin Press edition). I'll review that edition at a later date once I've read the rest of the short stories.