As usual, readers who broadly enjoy the genre and styles of stories/authors will have a higher chance of loving the collection overall. But the book would also serve as a great entry point for people wanting to try out more from the genre, particularly with the cohesive strength and interesting dichotomy that this anthology holds.
I do highly recommend The Captive for anyone who can get onboard with the premise and can stand the sometimes graphic and often violent plot.
Though her books don’t fall within my favorite niche of horror, I respect the hell out of Hailey Piper’s writing. The stories might not end up being personally beloved, but I can still recognize how effectively they will squarely hit for readers with experiences and appreciations that I just simply lack. As many people should quickly recognize, Piper’s new novel draws its title (and at least a portion of its inspiration and plot/framework) from Robert W. Chambers’ classic story of a cursed book/play The King in Yellow. That classic has been referenced countless times, from other horror writers to True Detective to The Dead Milkmen, punk band from my homeland area of Philly. Piper’s novel also owes debt to Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Inhabitant of Carcosa,” which Chambers incorporated into his work. The King in Yellow also has elements that put it into taxonomical relation to Lovecraft. And this makes perfect sense for something for a cosmic horror author like Piper to draw from. Piper’s A Game in Yellow may not have a focus on any abundance of monstrous elder Gods or eldritch horrors within it, but the existential vibe of the novel with its characters’ anxieties, depression, and bleak failures in full view entrench it in that cosmic horror vein. But Piper combines this with an intimate look at a trio of characters and their relationships with one another. And that element is blended into the narrative with strongly and responsibly written erotica.
It’s a short, sharp, biting read, and thoroughly engrossing; I highly recommend it for lovers of history, linguistics, politics, and truth.
Readers who are at all interested in how and why Rome has been an influence on cultures for 2,000 years will enjoy this well written, informative and engaging book.
In any event, if you are hoping for futuristic Romans in Space where the Empire never fell, you are getting none of that here.
