drkottke 's review for:

The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

3.0

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I read this for its connections to HBO's True Detective, and the first batch of stories were 4-5 star experiences. Exquisitely creepy tales of madness and ghosts. The remaining stories that don't connect with the mythology of Carcosa or "The King in Yellow" concern expatriate aesthetes in love and war in Paris, and for me were snoozers. But definitely read the first half if you want to peel back some layers of True Detective and see its roots in a long tradition of American horror.