Horror Chambers, Robert W.: The King in Yellow .v1. 13 June 07

[Dr. Drib]

Robert W. Chambers' The King in Yellow greatly influenced Lovecraft's work, especially in the realm of Cosmic Terror, one that seems to have no direct "center".

This "novel" is actually a series of short stories centered around a play (or book) that, when read, drives the reader mad.

This is what Lovecraft said about the book:

"The King in Yellow, [is] a series of vaguely connected short stories having as a background a monstrous and suppressed book whose perusal brings fright, madness and spectral tragedy."

Here's what one internet reviewers writes:

"The first four stories, 'The Repairer of Reputations,' 'The Mask,' 'In the Court of the Dragon,' and 'The Yellow Sign,' concern people who have come across copies of the rare and banned play. Horrific tragedy strikes all who remain sane after reading it. The middle two tales are a classic ghost story and a poetic, mystical trifle. The last four tales harken back to Chambers's first novel, revolving around the Paris student art scene but all involve some small, eerie twist."

This is an important book in the horror genre and, as such, it has had a tremendous impact upon the development and current perception of horror writing.

I hope you enjoy it.

P.S.: (Don't let some of "prefatory" material in French -- one or two short paragraphs - turn you off of this eerie collections of stories.)

Don

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[astra]

OK.
You have persuaded me.
To download this book.

[Lobolover]

A real gem,one of the greates books ever writen.If you dont read the stories starting with "the street" and rue baréé,("rue" is also a street in french,by the way) ,which are all romantic stories,youll do fine.Its a realy powerfull book.

[Lobolover]

However-I would advise anyone AGAINST reading any of the Street stories-I have read them all myself and failed to see any "eerie twist" in any of the four .

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Just been reading about this elsewhere, decided to see if it was here, and lo and behold! Thank you!

[Dr. Drib]

You're welcome! Glad to oblige.



Don

[Prestidigitweeze]

Oh, Doctor . . .

Have you noticed there's currently a renascence of interest in The King in Yellow due to the popularity of the series, True Detective? I haven't seen said series yet, but writer friends who normally don't even admit to watching television have been gushing about it for months, quibbling about lines paraphrased from William Burroughs ("Death needs Time for what it kills to grow in") and discussing the point at which appropriation becomes theft.

Apparently, one's understanding of the series hinges on the book you've added to MR's library.

I could certainly convert the book to epub in Calibre (which I will), but since you've put so much work into your edition already, and since said edition could be overlooked by googlers in its present format, I wonder whether you might have an interest in uploading an epub and/or mobi edition.

Even so, I'm going to link to your lrf edition in the FB discussion I'm having with friends (strange that we talk there even though I see these people in real life).

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Have you noticed there's currently a renascence of interest in The King in Yellow due to the popularity of the series, True Detective?

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

It's true, salty horse: people who weren't even aware of Cioran or Ligotti -- let alone this book -- have suddenly expressed an interest in reading The King in Yellow.

I'm more interested in their choosing to read books they normally wouldn't than I am in caring about whether their motivation comes from a mainstream source. People have been reading Schopenhauer, too, as a result of TD, which I think is terrific.

Your blushing emoticon could mean that you were either brought here by an interest in True Detective yourself or are embarrassed that I mentioned the series. Either way, no worries.

Which brings us back to my reason for posting: Though Don's edition of The King in Yellow can be easily converted to ePub and mobi in Calibre, people's searches for those versions won't take them to Mobile Read and to his hard work. That seems a shame.

Sadly, I have now seen TD and find that its relegation of nihilism and pessimism to a single character who ultimately opts for "the light" doesn't do justice to the series' supposed sources. But if Nic Pizzolatto's reading list compels people to sample more classic, vintage and/or obscure writers than they normally would, then he's done something right.

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Your blushing emoticon could mean that you were either brought here by an interest in True Detective yourself or are embarrassed that I mentioned the series. Either way, no worries.

I saw the reference in True Detective, and thought I might as well read the book sometimes. You were correct in your assessment . I have merely added it to my ever growing to-read pile, though. I am not a fan of horror, but I've read a few Lovecraft stories, and have enjoyed some "New Weird" fiction.

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Which brings us back to my reason for posting: Though Don's edition of The King in Yellow can be easily converted to ePub and mobi in Calibre, people's searches for those versions won't take them to Mobile Read and to his hard work. That seems a shame.

I prefer to look for hand-crafted files in Mobileread than "gamble" on the quality of other sources such as Gutenberg. I appreciate all of the forum members' hard work.

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Sadly, I have now seen TD and find that its relegation of nihilism and pessimism to a single character who ultimately opts for "the light" doesn't do justice to the series' supposed sources. But if Nic Pizzolatto's reading list compels people to sample more classic, vintage and/or obscure writers than they normally would, then he's done something right.

Agreed on both counts.