Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

read book* *Different edition

The King in Yellow

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 1,838 ratings · 115 reviews

Δέκα από τα πιο τρομακτικά διηγήματα που συνέλαβε ποτέ ο ανθρώπινος νους – φρικιαστικά οράματα από τα βάθη της συνείδησης… αξέχαστες εξάρσεις της φαντασίας – αυτή είναι η συνταρακτική ουσία με την οποία ο Ρόμπερτ Γ. Τσέιμπερς έπλασε τον Βασιλιά με τα Κίτρινα.
Αποκαταστάσεις Υπολήψεων (The Repairer of Reputations) [1895]
Η Μάσκα (The Mask) [1895]
Στην Αυλή του Δράκοντα (In the...more

Paperback

Published by Buccaneer Books (first published 1865)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Sep 10, 2012 mark monday rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horrortime-classik, these-fragile-lives

5 Stars for the wonderful opening story "The Repairer of Reputations".

although i wonder if 'wonderful' is the correct word. after all, this is a story that opens with a bizarre, sometimes dire alterna-history leading up to a 1920s America that features public "Lethal Chambers" where the dispirited meet their final destination as on-lookers gather to contemplate this terminal disportment. and after this bit of surprising strangeness, the reader is plunged right into the mind of a classic Unrelia...more 5 Stars for the wonderful opening story "The Repairer of Reputations".

although i wonder if 'wonderful' is the correct word. after all, this is a story that opens with a bizarre, sometimes dire alterna-history leading up to a 1920s America that features public "Lethal Chambers" where the dispirited meet their final destination as on-lookers gather to contemplate this terminal disportment. and after this bit of surprising strangeness, the reader is plunged right into the mind of a classic Unreliable Narrator (the poor lad struck his head after a fall from a horse and was never quite the same again), complete with insanely grandiose ambitions and malicious thoughts of revenge and devious yet doltish plans for his enemies - who are everywhere, simply everywhere! with the added bonuses of the creepy title character, various books of ill repute, and some surreal shenanigans starring a peculiarly malevolent cat. all in all, it is a bracing and imaginative bit of darkness on the page. and, to me at least, quite wonderful. the style is so breezy, the pacing so brisk, the imagination so fertile and so oddly modern, the experience was pure pleasure. it is hard to believe that this story was written over a 100 years ago.

i also enjoyed the three tales of weird horror that followed. they did the job, and they did it right. interesting and off-kilter and pleasingly sinister - but perhaps nothing to write home about. the big take-away is the idea of a monstrous play ("The King in Yellow") that horribly impacts anyone who dares read it, and which is a key element in each of the first four stories.

here's an excerpt from said monstrous play (please don't kill yourself or anyone else after reading):

Camilla: You, sir, should unmask.
Stranger: Indeed?
Cassilda: Indeed it's time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.
Stranger: I wear no mask.
Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!

hey, take a look at this cover for an edition i wish i owned. i love it!

if you are at all familiar with this author or classic Weird Fiction in general, then you know the drill. those first four stories (along with Ambrose Bierce's "An Inhabitant of Carcosa") set the template for much Weird Fiction to come, from H.P. Lovecraft to Clark Ashton Smith to Karl Edward Wagner and beyond. the names, the places, the idea of fell books of unhealthy influence, creeping dread, hysterical romanticism, humans viewed as repulsive insects... this story-cycle's place at the beginning of it all is well-known.

it is also a well-known disappointment. only those first four could be classified as Weird Fiction. a fifth, "The Demoiselle d'Ys", is an elegant, wispy ghost story/romance - and is also quite traditional. following that is "The Prophet's Paradise" - a collection of bits of ambiguous prose poetry, or impenetrable fable, or snatches from a larger tapestry never completed, or something.

the remaining four tales (each fancifully titled after certain streets) have barely a whiff of horror about them and so have met a chilly reception over the years from Weird Fiction enthusiasts. they are all about living the lifestyle of a bohemian art student abroad in bohemian Paris' bohemian Latin Quarter. think Trilby minus Svengali. they are about romance, art, naive americans, lack of money, enticing but sometimes tragic whores, some bloodshed (at least in one story), a sad and lonely ending (in another story), some unbearable lightness of being... what it feels like to be young and artistic and ready to enjoy life in a bustling and sometimes violent big city. these stories were slim, rather quaint, rather witty, and quite vibrant. i particularly enjoyed "The Street of the First Shell", which plunges the reader into a you-are-there-now account of the milieu itself and then what it feels like to suddenly find yourself in the middle of a bloody, confusing battle full of heretofore-unexperienced chaos, terror, and death.

overall this is an unusual and surprisingly quirky collection of stories. none of them were failures, all of them were interesting, and a couple really sang.(less)

25 likes · like · see review

Apr 24, 2012 Jean-marcel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Can art drive a person insane? Could there be a book, or a film, or a piece of music that vibrates against the cortext in a certain way, or opens great gulfs of revelation so profound and so shattering that you could never be exposed to it without being changed forever? If the truth of such a piece got out, wouldn't anyone and everyone want to be exposed to it, scoffing and thinking that they, above all else, would be well equipped to handle any dangers, and yet feeling inescapably drawn to find...more Can art drive a person insane? Could there be a book, or a film, or a piece of music that vibrates against the cortext in a certain way, or opens great gulfs of revelation so profound and so shattering that you could never be exposed to it without being changed forever? If the truth of such a piece got out, wouldn't anyone and everyone want to be exposed to it, scoffing and thinking that they, above all else, would be well equipped to handle any dangers, and yet feeling inescapably drawn to find out just what it is that makes such a thing work so potently on the human psyche?

Of course, these vistas, this mind-altering vibration, could never, ever be described. They could only be experienced. And having had the experience, you would have to dissemanate it to others. You wouldn't even have to try. If you had the presence of mind to warn your friends against it, even that warning would plant the seed of gnosis, and before you could say "Tears shall dry and die in dim Carcosa", they would be turning those mouldering pages, their eyes soon wide, staring into nothingness, but seeing....what?

It's the idea of the King in Yellow that's so powerful and sticks with you long after you've finished Robert Chambers's odes to the play that nobody's ever read and remained untouched. Throughout the first four stories of this book, you'll get tantalising glimpses of the first act of the play, which is apparently harmless. The second act is what shakes everyone to their very foundation, and Chambers wisely does not give us a taste, for anything he could say would pale in comparison to what we might imagine, even if that imagining is but the faintest dark inkling.

The first story in this series, "The Repairer of Reputations", is one of my favourite short stories, rivalling, I think, the best of Poe and many other writers. It's strange and electrifying; set in New York of 1920 (twenty-five years after this book was written), and the future depicted is very odd indeed. The USA seems to have become a fascist state, and the tale begins on the eve of the opening of the first Suicide Chamber, little gas chambers to be set up all over the country where people will be permitted to cleanly destroy themselves if life becomes too difficult for them. In just a few pages, Chambers paints a sharp and eloquent picture of this altered, would-be-future new York, and it is here, among the clean streets and pristine boulevards, that our narrator resides. He's just recovered from an injury (falling from his horse, he says), and during his convalescence had little better to do than to read the now infamous The King in Yellow. He believes he's made a sterling recovery, but his friends are convinced that he's not a well man. Throughout the story he rails against comrades and family, secretly plotting to undermine the order of things with the mysterious and bizarrely freakish Mr. Wilde. Their "Reputation Repair" service is designed to make them a good deal of money...but to what end? Well, you simply have to read the story to find out. Then read it again to pick up on the little details you might have missed the first time. It's really good stuff; definitely an unsung classic of the highest order.

The next few stories also deal with the play The King in Yellow in one way or another. "The Mask" is my second favourite tale, and its romantic and tragic and haunting, and set around the time when the play first emerged into the world. You may need to read the ending twice to realise what is going on. Just remember that anyone who has claimed to have read the play has perceptions that should not wholly be trusted.

While I don't think Chambers ever manages to equal the glory of the first two tales, he does come pretty close at times. "The Court of the Dragon" is a short little piece with some extremely evocative writing. "The Yellow Sign" is a little more of a standard horror, but it still makes sense in the context of the play and the maddening effects it has apparently had on the world.

From this point, things move into other territory as the concept of the play is abandoned and we get stories of mysterious love, possible time travel, war-torn France and even a very short and effective ghost story. The last of these is "The Street of the Four Winds", and it's really very good. The image of the young artist taking in this cat and trying to find out where it belongs is evoked so well that I found the story imprinted forever in my memory.

This book has had a quiet, profound influence on many things, I feel. The most obvious would be H. P. Lovecraft and his Necronomicon, but the idea of books that rend the mind is a potent one that's burrowed into the literary conscious and has even showed up in a number of movies, too. One might even say that something like Borges's "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" is a perfect extension and elucidation of this very idea. In a way reading The King in Yellow makes me sad, because it seems that Chambers, upon receiving some literary success, became rather neutered and churned out a lot of average schlock that's of little consequence, even if perhaps fun to read. If nothing else (and it is many things), The King in Yellow is proof that the best work is produced in times when there can be no room for complacency and no substitute for the fire of strange passions, and and that the contentment of a fine house and back-patting acolaides are seldom the elements that conspire to create great works.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2012 R. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

Non-text note: This particular Ace paperback edition of The King in Yellow contains an ancestor of the online pop-up ad: the cardstock paper cigarette advert embedded into the binding approx. midway, for True and Newport cigarettes. True: slashes tar in half and a taste worth smoking! (illustrated with a Sesame Street-ish big white No. 5 sitting proudly atop the phrase "mgs. of tar") ... Newport: Alive with Pleasure! (the concept of "pleasure" illustrated as a mustachio'd Bo Duke looking dude tr...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 06, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of many books I've purchased because the cover is cool and I've never heard of it or the author before. I read it concurrently with The Sketchbook of Washington Irving, which turned out to be a very appropriate pairing. From the Introduction (which I would recommend reading afterwards, as the stuffy though astute editor might turn you off from the ensuing book) I gleam that Chambers was one of a million forgettable, forgotten writers of copious crap in an olden age nobody really know...more This is one of many books I've purchased because the cover is cool and I've never heard of it or the author before. I read it concurrently with The Sketchbook of Washington Irving, which turned out to be a very appropriate pairing. From the Introduction (which I would recommend reading afterwards, as the stuffy though astute editor might turn you off from the ensuing book) I gleam that Chambers was one of a million forgettable, forgotten writers of copious crap in an olden age nobody really knows or cares anything about anymore. "The King in Yellow" stories are an anomaly of an otherwise mediocre literary career. What is baffling is that they are very awesome exceptions. I must agree with everyone, from fellow reviewers here to the gentleman in the introduction, that Chamber's greatest works are "The King in Yellow" stories from which everything else he wrote pales in comparison.

"The Yellow Sign" is the first and best example of how these stories operate. A cynical, unreliable narrator is going about his business (heeding romance, fearful visions) when he randomly picks up a copy of "The King in Yellow" and goes totally insane. It is the randomness of the inclusion of this play in the stories that makes them so frightening. There seems to be no design to the play being there, but instead of coming off as a half-assed plot point (as probably indeed it was), the ramifications are so abrupt and shocking they become truly chilling. Next to "The Yellow Sign," "The Repairer of Reputations" is another great example. It contains all sorts of neat stuff: a crazy jerk of a narrator, a strange deformed man with an angry cat, secret societies, and it all takes place randomly in a future 1920s where people go to suicide machines. The suicide machines really add nothing to the plot, nor does the story gain anything by taking place in the future: and yet, somehow all these random pieces, like the best Philip Dick story, work together.

"The Mask" is another story with a similar twisted, meandering edge to it, though here Chambers is shifting to his more comfortable romantic topics, a conceit which will befuddle or amuse you in the following stories in the collection, depending on your tastes. Nonetheless it is still a good story, and worth reading.

Too often, Chambers other stories fall into the "delusional dream" scenario- they are fine to widdle away the time, but disappointing after the stories that preceded them. What they lack is the great risk-taking and adventurous delving into unanswerable delirium that the best stories have up the wazoo. They can also, as is the case with "A Pleasant Evening," seem more like the pastoral narratives of a, well, pleasant evening walk around New York City, with a supernatural element thrown in to make it all a bit more enticing.

I did, however, much enjoy two "lesser" works in this collection: "The Maker of Moons" and "The Messenger." Both read like swell old horror movies you might catch on the tube at 2 am on a Saturday night, rife with cardboard heroes, occult agents and ancient curses. They are really fun adventure stories to read. I am really into stuff that reminds me of The Shadow, Fu Manchu, secret occult societies, crime, mad monks and wizards and etcetera. Stories where any ancient supernatural phenomena can be taken out with one good blast from a very modern shotgun. In other words, good pulpy goodness.

Oddly, this collection ends with three stories that are much more lighthearted than anything that came before, and center on a young pup working for a Zoological society and all the wacky misadventures he goes on discovering "extinct" animals and his various botched romantic conquests. They are reasonably entertaining, and yet they were still very slow going for me- the only thing of interest I gleamed from them was that Darwin's journals are used to support the existence of many crazy animals. If these journals are real, I guess Darwin (like Freud, a supposed symbol of scientific rationalism) had his wacky side I never knew about.

The last story of these three was entirely too silly for me, and leaves an odd taste of bad comedy wafting around a book that when first opened exhumed such chilly vapors. I was happy to read all of it, but I might for once recommend reading only the first several or so stories in this collection if you want to get poorly departed and forgotten Chambers' bestest stuff.(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2010 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, horror

I read this short volume of "interrelated" stories some time ago, but wanted to go over it again before I rated or reviewed it. The "book" is built around the existence of a fictional play, "The King in Yellow". In the opening story, The Repairer of Reputations" (which can be seen not only as horror but also as a sort of alternate history, though in it's own time of writing it was placed 25 years in the future), we are told that the book is universally reviled, condemned, and censored. It "appar...more

like · see review

Feb 12, 2009 Simon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english, fiction

The first four stories are macabre in tone, centering on characters that are often artists or decadents, and involve a fictional two-act play of the same title as the book, a play that is as accursed to those who possess it as the Necronomicon would later be. The first story "The Repairer of Reputations", is set in an imagined future 1920s America (and as such the book can be considered to fall into the Sci-Fi genre). The next three are set in Paris at the same time.

The color yellow signifies th...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2012 Oscar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: antología-recopilación, clásicos, literatura-fantástica, míos, terror, weird-fiction

‘El Rey de Amarillo. Relatos macabros y terroríficos’ es una recopilación que recoge cuentos de tres libros de Robert W. Chambers (The King in Yellow, The Maker of Moons y The Mystery of Choice), siendo los pertenecientes a ‘El Rey de Amarillo’ los mejores. Estos fueron precursores del llamado horror cósmico y los Mitos de Cthulhu, e influyeron en parte en la obra de H.P. Lovecraft. Si los personajes de Lovecraft enloquecen al leer el Necronomicón, los de Chambers lo hacen al adentrarse en las p...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 07, 2012 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The King in Yellow is an oldie but a goodie. It was written by a fellow named Robert W. Chambers and was originally published in 1985. Chambers has the distinction of having been one of those rare classic writers who was actually successful during his lifetime. And he didn’t kill himself or turn to substance abuse to prop himself up under the weight of his own genius. I know, right? That’s the anomaly of anomalies in classic literature. Of course, he mostly wrote romantic fiction to pay the bill...more The King in Yellow is an oldie but a goodie. It was written by a fellow named Robert W. Chambers and was originally published in 1985. Chambers has the distinction of having been one of those rare classic writers who was actually successful during his lifetime. And he didn’t kill himself or turn to substance abuse to prop himself up under the weight of his own genius. I know, right? That’s the anomaly of anomalies in classic literature. Of course, he mostly wrote romantic fiction to pay the bills, but still. The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories divided into two parts. The first part is composed of a series of weird and macabre tales, and the second is a handful of Victorian romances. A weird combo to say the least. That’s what I thought, and that’s why I was happy to find that my copy left out the romance stuff and included only the horror. Not that I mind romance in judicious doses, it’s just that Victorian romance is about as entertaining as full body laser tattoo removal.

So yeah, The King in Yellow. It’s one of those transitional works that straddles the line between two eras—one foot in the gothic horror genre, and the other in early modern horror. It derives its title from a fictional play of the same name that contains such mind-bending thruths that the mere reading of it drives its readers to insanity. Sound familiar? It should. The “mind-shattering book” device was a favorite of H.P. Lovecraft (Necronomicon, anyone?), and has been used over and over by other horror writers since then—and movies like The Ring borrow heavily from the same idea. The tales are largely unconnected except for their references to this fictional play. Chambers never divulges the whole text (though a guy by the name of Thom Ryng wrote his own interpretation of the play), but he does “quote” from excerpts. Here’s one example:

Along the shore the cloud waves break
The twin suns sink beneath the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle thorugh the skies
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa

Song of my soul, my voice is dead;
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa

Pretty sweet, ain’t it? Creepy as hell, too. That’s another one of the things Chambers pioneered in horror fiction—the use of ambiguities to enhance the dread. He throws out names like “Carcosa” and “Hastur” as well as strange terms like “twin suns” and “black stars,” made all the creepier because he never explains what they are and lets the reader ponder the possibilities themselves. Lovecraft borrowed this technique, and so have other authors throughout the history of the genre. And speaking of that, Lovecraft also borrowed the term Hastur—which Chambers had previously lifted from Ambrose Bierce’s “Haita the Shepherd.” Interesting, huh? You can use that little tidbit to impress people at parties.

As for the stories themselves, they run the gamut from dystopian science fiction (“The Repairer of Reputations”) to zombies (“The Yellow Sign”) to time-travelling romance (“The Demoiselle d’Ys). They’re delightfully macabre, and I enjoyed them immensely. An understated aura of foreboding pervades the stories, keeping you enthralled even if it generally takes the tales a little while to develop. My only real complaint is that the book was so short—only five tales. Of course, there would have been more if the romances were still in there, but we already covered that before, didn’t we?

I love this kind of stuff. It should come as no surprise that I enjoyed the book, but not everyone likes horror, let along turn of the century “weird” fiction. Chambers was a man ahead of his time, and for that reason I give The King in Yellow four out of five stars. That being said, please be aware that your mileage may vary.

http://readabookonce.blogspot.com/201...(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first story in this collection, The Repairer of Reputations, is flat out awesome - sinister and inspired. The next three are almost as eerie and imaginative and join the first as a set of interconnected tales linked by a mysterious play called "The King In Yellow," which, once read inevitably slides the reader into madness, merging their perception of our reality with the desolate and frightening one described by the play. Throughout the stories there are a few short, creepy, excerpts, but b...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 09, 2011 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first four short stories? Fantastic. The third one of four - 'In the Court of the Dragon' - was probably my favorite piece of late-19th century horror fiction, well served and set up by the two stories that came before.

After the four short stories came some very quick ... vignettes? Ultra-short stories? Only a few lines each, but effective and interesting. An example:

THE GREEN ROOM

The Clown turned his powdered face to the mirror.
"If to be fair is to be beautiful," he said, "who can compare...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 24, 2009 Tyler Hayes rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My favorite of these collected stories are by far the first four, which all center around the play "The King in Yellow", a mysterious and apparently horrific work of dramaturgy that is the trigger, or at least a sort of roadsign, for various nameless horrors. Chambers' horror is very effective, subtle, creepy stuff, never as overt or gory as later writers; I'd even argue these stories in places surpass one of his best-known fans, H.P. Lovecraft.

The rest of the collection, I'll admit, confused me...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 08, 2008 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: lovers of psychological horror; students of the genre

Shelves: horror, reread, project-gutenberg

(Read via Project Gutenberg, not this edition.)

Chambers, along with Lovecraft, is one of the grandpappies of the contemporary horror genre, and these are his masterwork: a series of connected short stories and novellas about a mysterious play (also called The King In Yellow) that drives a reader mad. The play itself is never more than vaguely described; the stories are about the effects it has on the minds of those who read it, and their subsequent actions.

This is precisely the type of horror I...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 06, 2013 Helmut Barro rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very mixed compilation

So, you've probably read some Lovecraft stuff and got attracted by the reference to "The King in Yellow". You're looking for something remotely similar to Lovecraft. There is good news and bad news.

Good news first. There are four tales in this book who may be regarded as somewhat "Lovecraftian" (although they're older than Lovecraft's writing), and they make up for about the first half of the book. They're really amazing and have an weird feeling to them - a bit more subtle...more

like · see review

Jun 03, 2012 D.M. Dutcher rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, overrated, short-stories, weird

The free kindle version I read had several of his King in Yellow stories, and some other forgettable ones. The King in Yellow stories are various tales about people who encounter a mysterious book which contains a play called "The King in Yellow." This play makes people insane, or draws supernatural entities to them. and has a habit of just popping up everywhere.

Unfortunately the stories just aren't that good as horror, and it took H.P. Lovecraft to expand upon the concepts enough to make them...more

like · see review

Feb 26, 2012 Ronald rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the first things I did with my ereader was to download free, public domain works. _The King in Yellow_ was one of them.

This is a curious collection of stories. In the universe of these stories, there is a two act play, titled _The King in Yellow_ which has been denounced and even banned for its deleterious effect on those who read it. Sometimes a few lines of the play are given. The play is a curious mixture of science fiction and the 19th century Decadent movement.

So in one story, one c...more

like · see review

Apr 19, 2010 Matthew rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A fascinating introduction to this compilation of short stories (originally published in 1970, reprinted in 2004). E.F. Bleiler, the S.T. Joshi of his time (minus the Howard hate and the political doggerel), begins The King in Yellow and Other Horror Stories with a less than complimentary overview of Robert W. Chambers' literary legacy, stating outright that nearly everything written by Chambers was trash aimed at the lowest common denominator reader (in most cases, housewives without a proper e...more

like · see review

May 11, 2011 Jim Phillips rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Classics are classics for a reason. All of Chamber's stories herein are of comparable, and excellent, quality. If you have any interest in early weird fiction, or Victorian suspense, or just plain good writing you owe it to yourself to jump in. I'll single out "The Repairer of Reputations" and "The Street of the First Shell" for special notice, as my favorites. "The Street of Our Lady of the Fields" is just as good as the rest, but I found it a less compelling read.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 15, 2012 Mark McLaughlin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The stories in THE KING IN YELLOW are beautiful and wicked, and are required reading for true horror enthusiasts. THE KING IN YELLOW is also the title of a book within this book: in these stories, anyone who reads the fictional book of the same name goes mad. This concept is what inspired H.P. Lovecraft to come up with the concept of the NECRONOMICON -- a book that drives the reader insane.

The stories are in this collection are told in a somewhat leisurely fashion, but stick with them. They're...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Catherine Siemann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: victorians

The first four stories, the "King in Yellow" sequence, are absolutely creepy and inventive; the notion of the play that drives everyone (or just selected souls?) who reads it insane is a fascinating concept, and I loved getting glimpses of the play and of the effect it had on people throughout the stories. I particularly found myself intrigued by the alternative future-past NYC of the first and fourth stories, as well, although . Unlike many of the other readers, though, I enjoyed some of the ot...more

like · see review

Oct 25, 2011 Wayne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A totally fascinating horror/fantasy volume from 1895. This is the cover of the edition I first bought at a used book store:

The King In Yellow 1965 Ace Books Cover

Read it!

1 like · like · see review

Mar 20, 2013 Sistermagpie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural

I'd never heard of this writer or book, but came across it on a list of the best horror writers. So glad I did! I wasn't as fond of the later stories in the collection, which take place in Paris and are more romantic in nature, that wasn't so much because those stories were bad as it was that I loved the early stories so much.

It's a great conceit--a certain play, The King In Yellow, has a very bad effect on many people who read it, sucking them into its story and so into madness. I'd just recen...more

like · see review

Jan 18, 2013 Randolph Carter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, strange-stories

Outside of Poe and Lovecraft, "The Yellow Sign" may be the most influential horror story ever written. It is the bridge between Gothic, Decadent, and Modern in horror. Unfortunately Chambers killed a lot of other trees. One of the most popular authors of his time, he is almost forgotten except for the slim little volume known as "The King In Yellow." He wrote mainly unreadable sappy romances and unadventurous adventures. Lovecraft agonized over Chamber's wastage of his talent.

The Yellow Sign is...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2013 James rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Chambers is the forgotten member of the pantheon of weird fiction, whose story The Repairer of Reputations, was praised by Lovecraft. That and The Mask, The Court of the Dragon and The Yellow Sign all fit together in a loose mythology concerning the dreaded play The King in Yellow and the bizarre events the follow it. The remaining stories are a mixed collection that range from passable ghost stories to clichéd romance. Lovecraft was right in calling Chambers a fallen titan since it's clear that...more

like · see review

Dec 20, 2012 Manny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This collection of short stories starts out brilliantly, like some fever-dream cousin of Lovecraft, but then meanders through a number of character-romances before petering out. It gets 3 stars only because the horror stories are so amazing.

If you are considering reading the whole collection or just the short-story "The King in Yellow," I recommend the latter without question (unless you really love this era of overwritten prose).

I read the whole collection because hoping there would be a payoff...more

like · see review

Aug 23, 2012 Kasey Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, short-stories, mental-illness

As other reviewers have noted, this book of short stories is really split down the middle in terms of subject matter.

The first few stories -- the King in Yellow cycle -- are excellent on the whole. If you got here through Lovecraft (as I did) you will leave satisfied. They are not exactly gothic horror but they definitely have gothic elements. Neither are they quite as surreal and metaphysical as Lovecraft, although you can see the germ his inspiration in Chambers' stories.

The middle of the boo...more As other reviewers have noted, this book of short stories is really split down the middle in terms of subject matter.

The first few stories -- the King in Yellow cycle -- are excellent on the whole. If you got here through Lovecraft (as I did) you will leave satisfied. They are not exactly gothic horror but they definitely have gothic elements. Neither are they quite as surreal and metaphysical as Lovecraft, although you can see the germ his inspiration in Chambers' stories.

The middle of the book contains two spooky and sweet ghost stories that are well worth reading. There are also a series of bizarre little bits of poem and prose which read like dream fragments.

The last section of the book is completely disjointed from everything preceding it. The stories largely describe the bohemian lifestyles of American ex-patriot art students living in France. Unfortunately, this was too much of a palate change for me, and I did not like this part as much as I may have if separate from the beginning of The King in Yellow.

I wish I could read the play, The King in Yellow. I love the excerpts that Chambers intersperses through his early stories.

Words Below
(view spoiler)(less)

like · see review

Aug 29, 2012 Jose Solis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Colección de historias que en cierta medida podrían ser consideradas como precursoras de los mitos de Cthulhu. Aunque sólo las primeras cuatro (The repairer of reputations, The mask, In the Court of the Dragon, The Yellow Sign) se podrían clasificar como horror...

Las demás historias me tomaron por sorpresa, estaba yo esperando el mismo tipo de horror ambiguo, inmencionable del Rey en Amarillo y su perniciosa influencia a través de la obra teatral epónima (publicada, jamás representada) que condu...more

like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Kevin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I suppose this book is already notorious to most of my friends as the inspiration for Lovecraft and the Chthulhu mythos. I didn't know this and was all but unaware of the work until I started listening to the audiobook. Its association with the weird genre was a pleasant surprise for me. What also surprised me is its connection with Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series. Many Darkover character and place names are mirrored in this book. A little Wikipedia research reveals this book in turn use...more

like · see review

Jul 18, 2012 Naomi Clark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's so hard for me to rate this book. The first five stories, loosely connected by the mysterious and sinister play "The King in Yellow," are amazing. Haunting, twisted, and deeply imaginative, these are stories I'll read over and over, and find something new each time. As a massive fan of Lovecraft, it was great to read works that had influenced him, and as a short story fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Chambers' style and prose.

The rest of the collection just wasn't my cup of tea, and I skimmed most...more

like · see review

Jan 06, 2013 Sesana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, classics, short-stories

A classic of weird horror, The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories. Well, the first four stories are weird horror classics. Related only by the existence and influence of the play The King in Yellow, the second act of which will inevitably drive mad any who read it, they're a set of nicely atmospheric set. What will really linger in your mind is the concept of the play, which we never get more than brief glimpses of. I'd say this is probably what makes the reputation of the book.

Thes...more

like · see review

May 19, 2013 Hesper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-fiction, 19th-century, creative-pursuits, call-of-the-weird

Not that I mind reading about art students and their lovers in 19th century Paris, but I'd much rather get frissons out of reading about the unsettling effects contact with The King in Yellow has upon people.

That's what what the first four stories are about, and they are a creepy delight. "The Repairer of Reputations" and "The Yellow Sign," in particular, stand out.

With the exception of "The Demoiselle d'Ys" (a conventional supernatural romance) and "The Prophets' Paradise" (an odd assortment...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Classic Horror Lo...: The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers Spoilers	28	50	24. Oktober, 03:35 Uhr

combine
Other Editions (61)

More editions...

Genres

Horror

179 users

Fantasy

28 users

Short Stories

23 users

Classics

21 users

Fantasy > Weird Fiction

12 users

Gothic

8 users

Lovecraftian > Cthulhu Mythos

8 users

Anthologies > Collections

6 users

Literature

5 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Robert W. Chambers

Robert William Chambers was an American artist and writer.

Robert was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute,and then entered the Art Students' League at around the age of twenty, where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was his fellow student. Chambers studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and at Académie Julian, in Paris from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early...more

More about Robert W. Chambers...

Books by Robert W. Chambers

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The King in Yellow

2 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The King in Yellow

“It is well known how the book spread like an infectious disease, from city to city, from continent to continent, barred out here, confiscated there, denounced by press and pulpit, censured even by the most advanced of literary anarchists. No definite principles had been violated in those wicked pages, no doctrine promulgated, no convictions outraged. It could not be judged by any known standard, yet, although it was acknowledged that the supreme note of art had been struck in "The King in Yellow," all felt that human nature could not bear the strain nor thrive on words in which the essence of purest poison lurked. The very banality and innocence of the first act only allowed the blow to fall afterwards with more awful effect.” — 4 people liked it

“Ah," she said, "to come is easy and takes hours; to go is different—and may take centuries.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The King in Yellow
avg rating	preview: The King in Yellow Goodreads rating: 3.91 (1838 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/970026.The_King_in_Yellow?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1179893207l/970026.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/970026.The_King_in_Yellow?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers[/url]

The King in Yellow

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website