By Robert W. Chambers

Thomas and I both really enjoyed “True Detective” on HBO this spring, though Thomas’ philosophy background gave him more insight than I had. Very mild spoiler for the television show: I recently read on io9, a site I very much recommend for all your geek culture news, a very interesting argument that the story was in fact supernatural, the author’s primary proof being the many illusions to “The King in Yellow.”

The King in Yellow is an early collection of horror/fantasy short stories, published in 1895. The common element through the stories is the existence of a play titled “The King in Yellow,” set in Carcosa, which will drive mad anyone who reads past the first act. The stories are mostly about various readers, and while there are occasional excerpts, the play itself is never written out in a comprehensive whole.

The book is available for free on Kindle, and I’ve been reading it on my commute. The writing is surprisingly fresh, not feeling dated much at all, and the author does a particularly good job with an unreliable narrator, I thought.

Some of the stories are certainly grotesque, but also fairly tame by today’s standards, and I found the general tone of quiet gloom to be soothing. In fact, this gets a little spoilery, so I’m putting it after the cut: Continue reading →