Robert W. Chambers (1865–1933)

Rating: 3.5* of five

Like The King in Yellow, this is a collection of weird short stories, this time connected by the character of a scientist who, in the fashion of the times, goes on hunts to retrieve sample organisms previously only rumored to (still) exist.

Very much in the mode of its day, the breathless excitement of taking ownership via description and study of wild things resonates very differently now. It is notable that Chambers, whose later career was writing mostly romantic show more fiction, grafts a romance onto the last story that has an unfulfilled unreturned love in it.

Wildside Press offers a trade paper edition for $15.95, or you can opt for a free Kindle edition. show less

The four central Jauniste stories seem relatively simple upon finishing, but on second look (third...) each reveals cross-references to other(s); knowing nods to offstage characters or events; more side characters than are recalled upon finishing the first time. In short: misleadingly simple. A surprising level of detail can be uncovered on re-reads, from facts & names "hidden in plain sight", to plot tangents, suggestive character memories, or confessions.

The title figure is similarly show more enigmatic. Playtext or personage, the King in Yellow never receives extended description or clear definition, yet what little is revealed seems to exert a gravitational pull. That pull is to be observed first operating on characters, which kindles curiosity and then allows a metatextual force to begin working on the reader.

What of those twin suns and many moons? How could they rise in front of the towers of Carcosa? Are the Phantom of Truth and the Pallid Mask one and the same? Do the stars truly shine black? So many questions, so little in the way of answers.

That such oblique storytelling could be so compelling is perhaps counterintuitive. Yet I keep reading.

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My Pushkin Press edition includes only the central four "King in Yellow" stories, inexplicably omitting the six "Other Stories" included in most editions, as well as the indispensable epigraph, "Cassilda's Song". At minimum two omitted stories make reference to the Yellow Mythos, however glancingly:

● THE DEMOISELLE D'YS: Jeanne D'ys is a cryptic pun, and one of her falconers is named Hastur
● THE PROPHETS' PARADISE mentions a Phantom, a white mask, a song & seeking "her" show less

nice Lovecraftian atmospheric writing with the first few short stories. dark and somewhat twisted if a bit claustrophobic in style and prose. but the later stories evolved into 19th century romance and i found it hard to follow or keep my mind on what was going on. the writing was not bad, it was just dated and was not holding my attention since it was full of brash young soldiers and bold women who would not settle for mediocrity… at least, that’s the kind of rubbish my mind show more recalls.

once again, i’m wondering if i’ve missed something. perhaps the brilliance of the much longer last story was hidden in its mundanity much like the fellow who shows Somerset Maugham’s protagonist in the Razor’s Edge that washing dishes IS a religious act.

maybe i’ll try again another day. show less

This book is chiefly known for its opening quartet of stories of eldritch horrors and macabre dystopias. Some works contain only those four, which may well satisfy the majority of readers who (like myself) are drawn to it due to the thread it weaves through the works of others, most famously H.P. Lovecraft. However that does the author a disservice. Chambers collected these stories together and intended them to be read as a complete work.

Doing that, you appreciate the arc he takes from the show more futurist dystopia of The Repairer of Reputations, with its claustrophobic feeling of paranoia, through the subsequent alchemical and supernatural tales, onto the fifth story, a folkloric fairytale, a short set of Gibran-like (though simultaneously unlike) prose poems, and so gradually into the historical world of everyday reality, with its wars and romance, comedy and pathos. An expert writer who deserves recognition for more than horror. show less