THE KING IN YELLOW

Giving voice to the brash American, the cultured Englishman, and the elusive Frenchwoman, narrator Peter Noble deftly captures the energetic yet foreboding atmosphere of these 10 horror/fantasy/dark romance stories, first published in 1895. A contemporary of H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle, prolific pulp fiction writer Robert W. Chambers brought a decidedly American tone to his "weird" and supernatural tales. Noble delivers the languid decadence and primal dread Chambers was aiming for, which is especially apparent in his play "The King In Yellow." The story was said to drive any man who heard it insane, and it figures prominently in four of the short stories. No longer a household name, Chambers deserves a fresh listen. B.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2019]