the worst book i have ever read
Classic modern horror stories.
It's ok...
List price: $22.95 (that's 30% off!)
Original short SF novelAn original science fiction novel from the author of SPARROWHAWK.
Mystery and Supernatural Love StoriesRobert W. Chambers is best known for "The King in Yellow", his 1895 horror classic. He returned in 1897 with "The Mystery of Choice".
The highlights of the book are the three Dick Darrel stories; The Purple Emperpr; Pompe Funèbre; and The Messenger. Of the three, The Messenger is the best and also the only supernatural story.
Out of the remaining tails; The White Shadow & The Key to Grief - are okay but predicable; Passeur - is haunting; and A Matter of Interest - is laughable in light of modern paleontology.
The book ends with a four page poem called Eavoi. I am not much for supernatural love poems of the last century.
This is not the haunting madness of "The King of Yellow" but The Messenger, The Purple Emperor, and Passeur make it worth the money.
For more information on the life and works of Robert W. Chambers see The Chambers research Project at: www.ioc.net/~larryloc/yking001.html
List price: $19.95 (that's 30% off!)
truly weird
Few pearls in too many pagesNevertheless the disappointment is high as soon as you end the book and realize that only the first 88 pages are worth reading (that is the King in Yellow)on a total of 643.
In the remaining 555 pages ideas are scarce, character are monodimensional and there's a disturbing sense of racism.
I'll advise Cthulhu and Weird tales fan to get a book with only the Repairman of Reputation (which is indeed a marvelous story) unless they are truly collectors.
More Than You May Want To Know
no king
A Pioneer Author of the Macabrethe syrupy romance of Chambers and the thin
character development in this book. They also
entirely miss the point. This book was published
in 1895, and between Poe and Ambrose Bierce the
literature of fantasy and the macabre had not
developed greatly. This book should simply be
enjoyed for what it is -- a flawed book with
some rather sinister and chilling stories.
A better purchase would be "The King In Yellow And
Other Stories," which collect this and other works.
casting backIt is clear to see the connection between the first and the contributions of Lovecraft and King, but I wonder particularly about the inspiration behind one of the latter, "The Prophets' Paradise", and who may have picked up _that_ thread of literature in the intervening years.
A return to his roots by the author of The King In YellowThe Slayer of Souls, 1920
The Slayer of Souls, concerns a young American girl rased by the Yezidee-Mongols, a murderous cult of killers with psychic power, who want to rule the world. Because of her training in the East and her own powers, she is all that stands in the way of their evil plans. With the help of a standard issue dashing viral hero, the state department, and a female friend from her temple days they face danger and she falls in love with the hero.
Chambers before 1900 was a force to be reckened with in weird literature. By the time of this book his sugery romance style had corroded his formibable dark prose but there is still power here. This is his standard romance with all kinds of weird things thrown in. Every time you turn around some Mongol is stealing the bed sheets for his death shroud and going off to die.
This is not The King in Yellow but it is still a fun book and well worth the time if for no other reason then Robert W. Chambers wrote it. H. P. Lovecraft loved this book, maybe because he saw Chambers returning to his roots. Great ideas, good prose, written too fast most likely for a magazine sale. Could have used with a re-write.
Larry Loc
for more information on Robert W. Chambers see www.ioc.net/~larryloc/yking001.html
List price: $17.95 (that's 30% off!)
police is not obeying enough rules
