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Police!!!
"Police!!!" is a volume of xenobiology, cryptozoology, weird monsters, and strange relics from the fossil eras; things which ought never to have walked upon the face of this earth. But they have walked, and one man has seen them and told the world, only to cause a certain madness among the people.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1915
About the author
Robert W. Chambers
1,260 books489 followersRobert William Chambers was an American artist and writer.
Chambers was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute,and then entered the Art Students' League at around the age of twenty, where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was his fellow student. Chambers studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and at Académie Julian, in Paris from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early as 1889. On his return to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations to Life, Truth, and Vogue magazines. Then, for reasons unclear, he devoted his time to writing, producing his first novel, In the Quarter (written in 1887 in Munich). His most famous, and perhaps most meritorious, effort is The King in Yellow, a collection of weird short stories, connected by the theme of the fictitious drama The King in Yellow, which drives those who read it insane.
Chambers returned to the weird genre in his later short story collections The Maker of Moons and The Tree of Heaven, but neither earned him such success as The King in Yellow.
Chambers later turned to writing romantic fiction to earn a living. According to some estimates, Chambers was one of the most successful literary careers of his period, his later novels selling well and a handful achieving best-seller status. Many of his works were also serialized in magazines.
After 1924 he devoted himself solely to writing historical fiction.
Chambers for several years made Broadalbin his summer home. Some of his novels touch upon colonial life in Broadalbin and Johnstown.
On July 12, 1898, he married Elsa Vaughn Moller (1882-1939). They had a son, Robert Edward Stuart Chambers (later calling himself Robert Husted Chambers) who also gained some fame as an author.
Chambers died at his home in the village of Broadalbin, New York, on December 16th 1933.
Chambers was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute,and then entered the Art Students' League at around the age of twenty, where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was his fellow student. Chambers studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and at Académie Julian, in Paris from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early as 1889. On his return to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations to Life, Truth, and Vogue magazines. Then, for reasons unclear, he devoted his time to writing, producing his first novel, In the Quarter (written in 1887 in Munich). His most famous, and perhaps most meritorious, effort is The King in Yellow, a collection of weird short stories, connected by the theme of the fictitious drama The King in Yellow, which drives those who read it insane.
Chambers returned to the weird genre in his later short story collections The Maker of Moons and The Tree of Heaven, but neither earned him such success as The King in Yellow.
Chambers later turned to writing romantic fiction to earn a living. According to some estimates, Chambers was one of the most successful literary careers of his period, his later novels selling well and a handful achieving best-seller status. Many of his works were also serialized in magazines.
After 1924 he devoted himself solely to writing historical fiction.
Chambers for several years made Broadalbin his summer home. Some of his novels touch upon colonial life in Broadalbin and Johnstown.
On July 12, 1898, he married Elsa Vaughn Moller (1882-1939). They had a son, Robert Edward Stuart Chambers (later calling himself Robert Husted Chambers) who also gained some fame as an author.
Chambers died at his home in the village of Broadalbin, New York, on December 16th 1933.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 28, 2011
This final fantastical outing by horror great Chambers is amusing, but pale compared to his earlier works. Nestled in-between his once-popular parlor romances, 'Police!' continues the fantastical stories of Dr. Percy, ever searching the world for zoological discoveries and love, and doomed never to find either. Chambers apes Twain more than Bierce in these comical tales, and while he hits some high points, these stories are, altogether, more amusing than intriguing.
August 28, 2020
(Read in the Project Gutenberg transcription, which has very few typos.)
Funny, fluffy, and light. The young women in Chambers' stories always seem to be ridicuiously lovely and enticing and ethereal--and witty and intelligent and courageous; and the young men are stalwart and a little bumbling. It's an entertaining combination, as it's fun to see how they'll get together this time, because they always do.
The situations in the book are hyperbolic and ludicrous. Our narrator, Dr. Percy, works at the Bronx Zoo. He spouts Latin and is, he points out again and again, perfectly immune to the charms of young women because he is wedded to science. He's the kind of bold adventurer eager to plumb the depths of unexplored lakes and to discover the remnants of a tribe of cave-dwellers or the existence of people with three eyes; and, strangely, every expedition involves a pretty young woman--or twelve. Smith is a rather fun character: a little pompous, more than a little ridiculous, and extremely gullible.
There are racial and ethnic slurs which are impossible to overlook, but they won't be unexpected if you've read a lot of works from that time period. The sexism won't be unexpected, either. The young women are uniformly pretty and nurturing and susceptible; the older women are unattractive and vain and demanding. One story is built around Smith's attempts to make a female scientist look ridiculous. The stories are fun, but they're very much of their time.
The stories won't appeal to the King in Yellow fans, who seem deeply disappointed in Chambers' other works. But if you're looking for a little silliness, this book might do.
Funny, fluffy, and light. The young women in Chambers' stories always seem to be ridicuiously lovely and enticing and ethereal--and witty and intelligent and courageous; and the young men are stalwart and a little bumbling. It's an entertaining combination, as it's fun to see how they'll get together this time, because they always do.
The situations in the book are hyperbolic and ludicrous. Our narrator, Dr. Percy, works at the Bronx Zoo. He spouts Latin and is, he points out again and again, perfectly immune to the charms of young women because he is wedded to science. He's the kind of bold adventurer eager to plumb the depths of unexplored lakes and to discover the remnants of a tribe of cave-dwellers or the existence of people with three eyes; and, strangely, every expedition involves a pretty young woman--or twelve. Smith is a rather fun character: a little pompous, more than a little ridiculous, and extremely gullible.
There are racial and ethnic slurs which are impossible to overlook, but they won't be unexpected if you've read a lot of works from that time period. The sexism won't be unexpected, either. The young women are uniformly pretty and nurturing and susceptible; the older women are unattractive and vain and demanding. One story is built around Smith's attempts to make a female scientist look ridiculous. The stories are fun, but they're very much of their time.
The stories won't appeal to the King in Yellow fans, who seem deeply disappointed in Chambers' other works. But if you're looking for a little silliness, this book might do.
November 10, 2023
An entertaining but ultimately trivial collection of cryptozoological short stories. The stories are all very formulaic, but it’s a decent formula so that’s not a major complaint. One gets the impression that these tales are heavily influenced by the romance genre Chambers was increasing migrating into. They’re fun, full of humor (including some genuinely laugh out loud moments) and character, but they don’t even attempt to reach the literary heights of Chambers’ early work. Would recommend for those interested in some fun, cryptid-based stories or for those who are fans of Chambers’ writing style (which comes through very nicely), but otherwise would probably pass.
February 10, 2014
Disappointing one-joke collection from the master who wrote The King In Yellow. Low levels of imagination and uninspired style, along with sub-sitcom levels of joke predictability sink the thing deep.
November 23, 2009
Now my review/rating is for the original Police!!! And since that has 293 p. I guess it’s unfair to compare.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews