charliecat's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the first couple stories, and even that one nonsensical chapter.
Slight spoilers -
However the whole book ended up feeling like a ruse for me to read the author's unfinished novella about gaudy parisian students. I did enjoy those chapters, as dense as they were, but I didn't like feeling tricked into reading them. I spent the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop, excited to see where the King in Yellow would come in, but nothing happened.
3 Stars for how enjoyable the first chapters were, but the last part had me fighting to not give it anything less.
Slight spoilers -
However the whole book ended up feeling like a ruse for me to read the author's unfinished novella about gaudy parisian students. I did enjoy those chapters, as dense as they were, but I didn't like feeling tricked into reading them. I spent the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop, excited to see where the King in Yellow would come in, but nothing happened.
3 Stars for how enjoyable the first chapters were, but the last part had me fighting to not give it anything less.
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
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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.
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.