Reviews

The King in Yellow, Deluxe Edition by Robert W. Chambers

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.25

This is hard to rate bc it is the first 4 stories that are the best. Those are all horror, unreliable narrators, and strange situations. I loved them and can't state which is my favorite. Then the second half was a lot of stories of a guy who is a painter or knows a painter in Paris, in love with some girl. It's legit the setting for like 3/4th the stories, which were all a little boring. I can't tell if they are boring on their own or it's just the shift that made it blah

savvy_reader19's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.5

fermentedsorcerer's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Unfortunately, the macabre tone and "king in yellow" motif are exchanged part way through the book for Parisian romance. The former would have been sufficient for a mysterious and thrilling experience but the major tone shift part way through obscured my enjoyment. Regardless, the first four stories are highly recommended. 

paperbackjourneys's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

poisoned_icecream's review

mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kermittfrog's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

flabslacey's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

rach_eb's review

4.0

"Weird" is the perfect word for these eerie, unsettling stories centered around a book that drives those who read it mad. I can see why this is considered a classic of the genre.

Fair warning, the first story in this edition "The Repairer of Reputations" is set in a white 1890s man's idea of a utopic USA, and the description of this setting contains, well, exactly the sort of racist, xenophobic stuff you might expect.

nick_vano's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

blossompossum's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

2.5