lkhans 's review for:

The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

5.0

fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I picked up a nice hardbound copy at a secondhand shop years ago and finally got around to reading it, this book was a lot better than I expected. I think a lot of people come to The King in Yellow via Lovecraft, and that probably sets up a lot of incorrect expectations for the book. It's not especially similar to Lovecraft's works beyond the fact that they're both early weird horror. The stories in this collection are a lot more psychological, the horror primarily comes from how the strange events effect the minds of the narrators, and not in in the "I saw a big scary monster and went insane" sort of way.