Traveller’s Comments (group member since Jan 14, 2015)

Traveller’s comments from the On Paths Unknown group.

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Traveller wrote: "Oh, btw, I noticed that in this and the next story, horse-carriages are still used. Would these 2 stories not be set in the future, or did Chambers really foresee people using hor..."

...and yet in many ways, that relentlessness of whoever the person the protagonist keeps seeing is, does tie in for me with the next story. I think Chambers wants to give a feeling of: "You can't escape, no matter what you try!"

(view spoiler)[ ....but did he really dream in the "usual" way? Dream? Delusion? Remember, in this one, at the start of the story, he had already read the play, even before he entered the church for the first time. ...or is this story perhaps trying to give us a "circular" feel? What came first, the chicken or the egg? Did he maybe actually really go out and run back to the church? ...and only once, or....? (hide spoiler)]

@ Kenneth: I actually found that with most of the stories- but yes, that sense of powerlessness against their fate.... it was especially horrible that he knew about the book and didn't want to read it, but...

Oh, sorry, Amy, that was actually for the next story, so let me post that separate thread for the first 4 stories now: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Okay, in this thread we can discuss ANYthing regarding the KIY mythos, excepting, I suppose, the last 3 sorry, 5 or 6 stories in the book?

The main idea here, is to pull all the threads of the stories together to arrive at some sort of synthesis of the world Chambers has created with his Yellow King mythos.

Thread for part 5 here, btw: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thread for discussion of KIY part 5, The Demoiselle d'Ys.

Ha! I think what he is doing with each story, is revealing just a little more of the "world" of the KIY, and also of the play itself, of course.

Yes, there really seems to be a lot of material there. Btw, something that I wanted to mention re Chambers' KIY, and True Detectives, and even Lovecraft. The latter 2 seems to have somehow missed the very playful quality of Chambers' work, or whatamisaying?

I mean, all the time, Chambers is playing with us, playing with our heads! I can just see that big old smile on his face.

I think that site caught on to it, though. :)

I am starting to find him rather delightfully playful. Definitely Borgesian and Lovecraftian, except that Borges and Lovecraft are probably Chambersian! :D

EDIT: Oh, btw, I noticed that in this and the next story, horse-carriages are still used. Would these 2 stories not be set in the future, or did Chambers really foresee people using horse-carriages forever, I wonder?

Nate D wrote: "Re: Boris reaching in -- I think he says that it's a matter of timing. He can only reach in safely just after the ray of light. But how would he have chance to discover this safely?!

And Traveler,..."

Chambers spent some of his student years in Paris, where he studied art : Robert was first educated at the the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute,and then entered the Art Students League of New York 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 Paris Salon as early as 1889.

Regarding the ménage à trois; well, from all accounts, Genevieve and Boris were settled as a couple; they shared a house together, and if not married, at least they were, you know, together.

(view spoiler)[ To me it seems rather obvious that Alec and Boris had initially competed for her hand, and that she had initially chosen Boris for reasons that might have to do with the mask of self-deception. See, this is how Chambers plays with us; we don't exactly know how far the self-deception reaches. Did all of them wear masks of self-deception, and/but in the case of Alec, the mask became part of himself like in the opening quote?

...and you are quite right, re the ending I was not sure which part -how much or all of it, was delusional or not. (hide spoiler)]

These people might also be guessing, but the site is interesting, nonetheless: http://kinginyellow.wikia.com/wiki/Th...

Discussion thread for part 4 here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Discussion thread for the KIY part 4, The Yellow Sign.

Hmm, so (view spoiler)[ wherever he goes, he cannot escape from the "King in Yellow" - not even in a church, which is where he went to try and escape from his yellow-ish thoughts in the first place, it seems.

Well, the "figure of 'death'" which haunts him, anyway, which I'm not sure now is actually the King in Y, is certainly one of the denizens of Caracosa, in any case. I feel as if Caracosa is starting to stand as a sort "city of Insanity" perhaps a place similar to hell. (hide spoiler)]

Look what I found! http://kinginyellow.wikia.com/wiki/Ha...

I also wondered, if, perhaps, (view spoiler)[ Genevieve might have read it. I was wondering if perhaps reading it, might have caused the fever. I mean, why the fever? What is its function in the story? Ok, an obvious plot device in the case of Alec, to obscure the rest of the story only to be gradually revealed, but why did Genevieve have a fever?
And re Jack, yes, indeed! Why did Jack not want Alec to leave the house!?!

Oh, but hang on! Earlier on, i made a note of how Alec wears self-deceit as a mask: The mask of self-deception was no longer a mask for me, it was a part of me. Night lifted it, laying bare the stifled truth below; but there was no one to see except myself, and when the day broke the mask fell back again of its own accord. Hmm, and elsewhere, there was also mention of a mask, So... maybe there's a twist on the self-deception theme? (hide spoiler)]

Btw, in case anybody forgot how to do spoiler tags:
Like this: < spoiler > spoiler text </spoiler>

The result will be: (view spoiler)[ spoiler text (hide spoiler)]

Thread for next story here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thread for discussion of In the Court of the Dragon.

Hmm, kinda nice story, but I can't help wondering what it has to do with the Yellow King? I must be missing something...
(view spoiler)[ So the petrification works, and then Alec reads the Yellow King book: so does that mean that all the petrified things coming alive again, was just an illusion because he is now insane?????? (hide spoiler)]

Nate D wrote: "I liked the bit here about how photography was ruining painting. I wonder if, in fact, the development if photography as a means of exactly capturing reality (subjectivity of all images aside) actu..."
Oh, yes, indeed - I was going to study art before my father stopped me, and I got at least far enough to know that that is certainly a valid conclusion. A lot of painting that was done before photographs came along, was for the sake of portraiture and to copy 'realistic' likenesses of scenes.

Btw, don't y'all also find it a bit... interesting that Boris can plunge his hand into the pool with no ill effects, yet anything else dropped into it becomes petrified?

Yes, I think so! I think it's a nice way for us to keep track of our "themed" reading, but it's an even nicer way to see what our pals are reading on that particular theme.

Let's find out!
Well, there you go. https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...

I assume that for books to count for this challenge, you would then have to create a shelf in your books called "Halloween" ( oh, no, wait - you can call it anything you like- the challenge allows you to choose the name) and if you put a book on that shelf, then it will count towards the challenge.

Well, now we know!