A review by geve_
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
3.0
This is a series of variably interconnected stories, generally involving or at least mentioning a play that, if read, drives you insane (or enlightens you?), written by the guy who strongly influenced Lovecraft. I am in.
I was a bit hesitant at the beginning of the first story, where it starts off with a historical retelling that is extremely racist, but once I got into the story, it made more sense. It was a very interesting story, and probably the best of all of them. There was a ton of weird, creepy detail in this story, and it did a good job of revealing the world, and the narrator slowly. I will say, I ended up being a touch disappointed
From here, there are a series of different stories, often revolving around girls or at most, 19 year old women falling for the narrator, who is sometimes a 20ish year old man, ok good, or occasionally a much older, even middle aged man (sigh). I was honestly surprised at just how much romance there was in this, and it was VERY 19th century, gothic style. That made the romance pretty childish and stilted (by modern standards), and at best, a little quaint, but it did make the horror aspects pretty fun.
The last few stories were really not horror at all, and I found them pretty boring.
I can def see the influence this had on Lovecraft, and I enjoyed those weird fiction/horror aspects of the stories generally. There were lots of unknowable and unexplained threads that were fun. I think this has aged fairly well, although some of the stories, as I said above, are a bit quaint. Overall, glad to have read it, and enjoyed a handful of the stories quite well.
I was a bit hesitant at the beginning of the first story, where it starts off with a historical retelling that is extremely racist, but once I got into the story, it made more sense. It was a very interesting story, and probably the best of all of them. There was a ton of weird, creepy detail in this story, and it did a good job of revealing the world, and the narrator slowly. I will say, I ended up being a touch disappointed
Spoiler
in that it turns out that the main character is just insane, likely from a brain injury from a fall from a horse, and was not even driven insane by reading the King in Yellow. With all the weird build up, that was kind of a let down of an ending. Still, the story overall was pretty great.From here, there are a series of different stories, often revolving around girls or at most, 19 year old women falling for the narrator, who is sometimes a 20ish year old man, ok good, or occasionally a much older, even middle aged man (sigh). I was honestly surprised at just how much romance there was in this, and it was VERY 19th century, gothic style. That made the romance pretty childish and stilted (by modern standards), and at best, a little quaint, but it did make the horror aspects pretty fun.
The last few stories were really not horror at all, and I found them pretty boring.
I can def see the influence this had on Lovecraft, and I enjoyed those weird fiction/horror aspects of the stories generally. There were lots of unknowable and unexplained threads that were fun. I think this has aged fairly well, although some of the stories, as I said above, are a bit quaint. Overall, glad to have read it, and enjoyed a handful of the stories quite well.