Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign

by James Chambers (Editor), Linda D. Addison (Contributor), John Langan (Contributor)

In this anthology of weird fiction, twenty-two authors who found the Yellow Sign share their harrowing visions of worlds shaped by its influence in stories and poems inspired by Robert W. Chambers’s foundational works of weird horror. From the personal to the historic, from the macabre to the fantastic, the stories and poems gathered here illuminate new, unexpected realities shaped by the King in Yellow, under the sway of the Yellow Sign, or in the grip of madnesses inspired by their power.

Robert W. Chambers’s classic work of weird fiction, The King in Yellow (1895), contained two stories that have exercised wide influence in the genre. “The Repairer of Reputations” introduced the world to The King in Yellow, a play in two acts, banned for its reputed power to drive mad anyone who reads its complete text. Another story, “The Yellow Sign,” used the experiences of an artist and his model to elaborate on the mythos of the Yellow King, the Yellow Sign, and their danger to all who encounter them. In those tales Chambers crafted fascinating glimpses of a cosmos populated by conspiracies, government-sanctioned suicide chambers, haunted artists, premonitions of death, unreliable narrators—and dark, enigmatic occurrences tainted by the alien world of Carcosa, where the King rules in his tattered yellow mantle. In Carcosa, black stars rise and Cassilda and Camilla speak and sing. In Carcosa, eyes peer from within pallid masks to gaze across Lake Hali at the setting of twin suns.

Contents
“Introduction: Legacies of Yellow”

The Dawning
“The Dawning” Ann K. Schwader
“Robert Chambers Reads The King in Yellow” Lisa Morton
“Helioforge” John Langan
“The Inn of the Fates” Sarah Read
“The King in Yella” Kaaron Warren
“The Festival of the Pallid Mask” Darrell Schweitzer
“Hammer and Saw” Adrian Ludens
“The Yellow House” Greg Chapman

Directives for Dominion
“Directives for Dominion” Ann K. Schwader
“The Yellow Crown” Carol Gyzander
“Field Trip” Patrick Freivald
“Found and Lost” Meghan Arcuri
“Freedom for All” JG Faherty
“European Theater” Trevor Firetog
“Y2K” Todd Keisling
“The Order of Wilde” Marc L Abbott

Veiled Intentions
“Veiled Intentions” Linda D. Addison
“Suanee” Steven Van Patten
“The Exchange” Tim Waggoner
“Filthy Yellow Hope” J. Daniel Stone
“Wasp Honey” Kathleen Scheiner
“The Supreme Essence of Art” Curtis M. Lawson
“... less ... light” Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.

Cover art by Aeron Alfrey
Cover design by Dan Sauer

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Lovecraftian, Weird Fiction, Fantasy

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection

Really enjoyed
"Robert Chambers Reads The King in Yellow" by Lisa Norton
"The Yellow Crown" by Carol Gyzander
"Freedom for All" by JG Faherty
"European Theater" by Trevor Firetog

Top three stories
"Y2K" by Todd Keisling
"Suanee" by Steven Van Patten
"The Exchange" by Tim Waggoner

8/10

[Kyla Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

In any theme anthology, the reader may expect to encounter works that satisfy them and works that do not. When that theme derives from two short stories originally published in 1895, you may expect this to go double or even triple, given the dizzying ambiguity of Robert W. Chambers’ “The Repairer of Reputations” and “The Yellow Sign”.

Chambers’ weird oeuvre includes more tales than this, but these two contain most of what is known about The King in Yellow – the legendary play that drives all who read the second act mad in one way or another. By concentrating on these, the anthology avoids subsequent attempts to square the tales with the “Cthulhu mythos”, a project with shaky foundations at best. What does it provide in its stead?

First, there is poetry. Pieces by Ann K. Schwader and Linda D. Addison serve as a welcome echo of Chambers’ own poetic inclusions. Schwader’s sonnet “The Dawning” conjures a haunting vision that is all-too familiar to New Yorkers today.

“…Barely brave
enough to rise, I find a pallid mask
awaiting me.”

John Langan’s “Helioforge” and Sarah Read’s “The Inn of the Fates” are for me, the standouts among the prose. Each utterly different, they complement the originals without touching on them more than tangentially. “Helioforge” is a journey, in the great tradition of discovering oneself by discovering, in this case, a vastly different America that yet feels like home – the sheer craft of this piece is amazing. “The Inn of the Fates” is urgent and persuasive, its vision exquisite. Remembering that the sculpture above the door of the first government Lethal Chamber is called The Fates, opens up the narrative - it truly feels like a link in the chain. “Suanee” by Steve Van Patten also succeeds magnificently. Based upon another passing, if crucial, reference in “Repairer”, it reveals the view from the underside, of those forced to live with the madness of a racially defined overclass.

Kaaron Warren’s “The King in Yella” and “Wasp Honey” by Kathleen Schieiner do their own, excellent jobs of transporting the beats of “Sign” out of its privileged setting into poverty, marginality, and contemporaneity. Schieiner’s particularly holds a peculiar sense of innocence and joy. J. Daniel Stone’s “Filthy Yellow Hope” goes one step further, positing an apocalypse that has razed New York and all freedom with it. In a powerful cascade of words, the tales become a focus of hope and rebellion in a world that desperately needs to go mad.

There are clever ideas to be found throughout. In “Found and Lost”, Meghan Arcuri creates a plausible set of events leading from “Repairer” to “Sign”. Carol Gyzander’s “The Yellow Crown” flips the power dynamics implied therein, slyly pointing out that in 1895, the idea of rule by women was madness. Tim Waggoner’s “The Exchange” makes good use of the Lethal Chamber, providing a credible glimpse of such things as may be worse than death.

Then, there are the stories which I found to be solid enough takes on obsession and violence, but to which the Yellow Sign was a shaky graft. As said, the reader will find their own path.

The most substantial and challenging piece is “…less…light” by Joseph S. Pulver Snr. The title inverts James Blish’s “More Light” (1970), which charts a writer’s failure to complete reading the play. Here, an alcoholic photographer attempts to reconnect with his art, only to find his pictures reveal a bizarre new world. Here, the ambiguity is once again complete – in no small part due to his lavish prose style, advancing at times into concrete poetry and eventually into an actual script. Has Daniel Serra indeed found the means to enter Carcosa and seize the throne, or has he succumbed to a madness as thorough yet unique as Hildred Castaigne’s?

The King in Yellow holds an enduring fascination. Entire novels have been based on the mythology and scripts have been written, plays have been staged based upon Chambers’ hints. This anthology, edited by James Chambers, amply demonstrates the reason, or possibly its glorious disintegration. I am assured he is no relation, but all know the succession depends upon the will of the Tattered King.

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing King In Yellow anthology. So many of these stories are stand outs and they are all very well written. What I appreciate about this book is that each story is varied in their prose and their interpretation of the KiY, as well as the direction that their story takes. 4.5/5

[Elle]

Good collection of stories with a strong central theme; not just The King in Yellow but the historical context suggested at in Chambers's works.

[John Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best anthologies I’ve read. Each and every story is solid, built on a frightening foundation and filled with brilliant images and elegant language.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

The anthology Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign is broken into three major movements, each opened with a poem. The first act is “The Dawning” which explores the dreamlike realms and transports them to Carcosa. This act resonates with some of my favorite themes in King in Yellow responses. “The Inn of the Fates” by Sarah Read, “The King in Yella” by Kaaron Warren, and “Helioforge” by John Langan are all hazy journeys packed with mood.

The second act is “Directives for Dominion” which explores the world established in “The Repairer of Reputations.” My favorite of this act was “Y2K” by Todd Kiesling, which explores the Y2K doomsday scenario from a luxuriously unreliable viewpoint. It’s structured like a play, and does so much good dancing around The King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2.

CAMILLA: You, sir, should unmask.
STRANGER: Indeed?
CASSILDA: Indeed it’s time. We all have laid aside disguise but you.
STRANGER: I wear no mask.
CAMILLA: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!

The final act is “Veiled Intentions” which follows the madness induced by The Yellow Sign. “Veiled Intentions” by Linda D. Addison opens this Act to let us know that The Unraveling is upon us. The world is coming apart and madness will take us all. “Filthy Yellow Hope” by J. Daniel Stone stands out as an anarchistic battlecry to tear down the system for nihilistic artists and outsiders. There’s no better way to honor his legacy than to close out this book with Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.’s novella that is a fever dream expansion of the infamous play.

[Tomasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Major disappointment, actually. Very poorly edited, both in selecting the stories and cleaning up the copy (the Joe Pulver novelette is almost unreadable, in parts). Not much invention on show, either. Oh well.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Kaaron Warren's The King in Yella

[Phillip Doerner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good stuff in here, most is absolutely abysmal though. Probably 2.5/5

[Harry Lissemore-Secker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another AMAZING anthology in the king in yellow mythos, this one had some really unique takes. To pull a couple of favourites; Helioforge had a finale that played with some really interesting concepts, Y2K was paced out in a way that was very enjoyable to read and I loved the bittersweet energy of filthy yellow hope it very much felt apart from the others. A great set for followers of the yellow sign and initiates alike.

[Sem · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had to bail 2/3 of the way through. Perhaps The King in Yellow can't bear the weight of an anthology - and I have yet to find a standout collection - or perhaps this was just another of the many poor anthologies littering the speculative fiction genre. John Langan's 'Helioforge' was compelling and there were two or three other stories that I quite liked ('Robert Chambers Reads the King in Yellow', 'The Yellow Crown', 'The Supreme Essence of Art') but as the days dragged on, and the stories failed to differentiate themselves, and I went from thinking 'that wasn't too bad' to 'why am I still reading this' to 'I'm tired of Lethal Chambers' I knew it was time to go. I hate not finishing a book.

[J.R. Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this very much. I would give a higher rating if the editor at caught some minor mistakes (spelling error in a couple of stories) and the last story had been two separate, shorter tales.

The last one I understand was published after the author's death and had multiple people review it and make changes to make it publication ready. It was a work of love, and I imagine it has a very special and personal meaning, which I can appreciate and made me value it as well.

It's a good story. However it should have been kept shorter and more focused in order to be at it's best.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the stories, though the last one was pretty disappointing - if you want to end on a high note, maybe read that one in a different order. Definitely a good idea to re-read The King in Yellow first to get the most out of this!

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of different takes on worlds under the sway of "The King In Yellow." Some of the stories didn't do much for me, but quite a few were excellent and haunting. I think anyone interested in the oeuvre would enjoy the book.

[Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[Alicia Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories inspired by The Yellow King. Favorites: John Langan's "Helioforge," Sarah Read's "The Inn of the Fates," and Tim Waggoner's "The Exchange.”

[Jeremiah Dylan Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find my full review here - http://www.jeremiahdylancook.com/unde...

[Theofilos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection!

[Dolores]

I could not get into this book and decided to shelf it. I might read it in the future.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a couple exceptions, a master class in sort of missing the point

[Benjamin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh

There are a few alright stories in this collection, and the authors seem to know what they are doing, but good God...
It feels like nothing is really happening a quarter of the time, and the rest is just vague and incoherent nonsense for the rest of it.
I get that Lovecraftian horror, especially relating to Hastur is supposed to be strange, hard to explain, and maddening, but the collections in this story seem to mistake being vague and incoherent for the traits listed above.
It's disappointing because the authors in this collection are good, and Hastur is an exciting character to base stories around, but it just kind of fell flat here.