The King in Yellow

By Robert W. Chambers.

Synopsis:
Just a collection of short stories, really.

Review:
The only reason I read this book is beacuse it's been linked with HP Lovecraft's work. It wasn't at all what I'd been expecting. For one thing, you couldn't really describe any of the stories as horror. There are supernatural elements in some, and the first few stories feature the book 'The King in Yellow' which tends to drive it's readers mad, but the overall style is that of a romance novel.

The stories themselves were all excellent, with original and varied ideas, and an underlying strain of humour. But there weren't any monsters. Not that I didn't enjoy the book; because I did, very much; but I wanted monsters and I got romance.

One more thing: it took me ages to work out what d__m was. It wasn't until I came across a h__l that it all fell into place. I think I approve of this form of censorship (well, not approve, as such... prefer over other forms, let's say), if you know what the word is that's been deemed unfit for general consumption, your brain slots it in nicely without you having to worry about it (except in my case, evidentally). But if you are one of those pure, innocent, vulnerable people who cannot cope with such things, you can skip straight over it, safe in your ignorance. Now, if only we could figure out something similar for telly...