Customer Reviews

The Bone Key

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I do not usually write reviews. Not because I don't read. I would simply rather read than write a review. The Bone Key is the first book by Monette that I have read, and it will not be the last. This book is a shining example of great writing. It is a series of interconnected short stories about a man named Kyle Murchison Booth. Booth is shy, brilliant and, through some fault of his own, a magnet for supernatural...things. A museum archivist/curator he lived in a very safe and isolated world until a brush with necromency brought his attention to things that he had not known existed. He could have lived quite nicely, and gone back to his safe little world, if not for the fact that the "brush" also brought the attention of the things to him.
If you like your horror with a bit of a twist, I recommend this book. It does not rely on blood and gore to get its point across. It is subtle, often funny, sometimes sad, and always disturbing.

I'm not a big fan of short stories, most of the time, even by authors whose novels I love, but this collection had me hooked from the first page to the last. Monette manages to capture the feel of those wonderful ghost stories from the Victorian writers, with their romantic melancholy while sparing us the excesses of prose and also giving us a fascinating protagonist.

'Elegy to a Demon Lover' is one of the most haunting stories I think I have ever read, and the book is worth buying for that one alone, but the others are also excellent.

I love it when an author takes the time and trouble to include an introduction, or forward. Monette took the time, and what she said about literature and horror struck a chord with me. Monette names James and Lovecraft as two important influences on her desire to write fantastic fiction, noting that although she loves their use of language and crafting of story, she missed a more modern examination of the sexual and psychological aspects of characters.

The stories in The Bone Key are pure gold. Short, with as much of the stories left to the imagination as she puts into words, the language is reminiscent of the old fiction Monette says she loves. Her character, Kyle Murchison Booth, is eccentric yet sympathetic and appealing. Since he is such a shy, lone man it takes time to accumulate knowledge of the other people in his world. But slowly and surely Booth's experiences begin to build a population of interesting fringe characters -- some dead, some living. Booth's brushes with the unnatural are simultaneously creepy and thought-provoking.

If you're looking for subtle, literary stories with themes of horror (and how the most excruciating horror arises from the way people treat each other), try The Bone Key. You'll read these stories more than once!

On the cover it says: The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchison Booth. The book consists of ten short stories and the intro says the author was highly influenced by M. R. James and H. P. Lovecraft, but wished for a bit more character development.

Booth is a retiring character who works as an archivist at a museum. The setting feels quite Victorian and Gothic, but there are phones, though not much more evidence, so far, of a modern world. The first story is "Bringing Helena Back"--and if that sounds creepy, it is. These are stories reminiscent of old fashioned horror, full of eccentric characters, dark secrets, vengeful spirits. There's no warm and fuzzy ghosts back to save the living. Life can be tragic and disturbing in this world. Cursed necklaces, family secrets, common human failings that turn tragic, murder, haunting, demons... it's all here.

I love a good ghost story and it's been too long since I've read one. This collection is among the best.

Kyle Murchison Booth is a museum archivist, bookish, erudite, awkward, and painfully shy. After a reluctant experiment with necromancy, in the collection's first story, "Bringing Helena Back", he finds that he has opened the door to the world of the supernatural, beginning a series of encounters which will bring him into contact with ghosts, ghouls, demons, and the mysteries of the human soul. The stories are all excellent -- subtle, witty, atmospheric, and quietly bone-chilling -- but it's Booth himself whose presence pulls them together and makes them remarkable. He could choose to ignore the odd events around him (some of them, anyway -- some demand his attention), but he can't; his compassion for others and most of all, his deep need to know and understand compel him to investigate the mysterious happenings around him.

If I had to pick out favorite stories, I would say "The Venebretti Necklace", which has a wonderful secondary character among other virtues, or "Elegy for a Demon Lover", which brought tears to my eye, but really, they're all absorbing and a wonderful reading experience for a chilly autumn evening.

These collections of short stories are very subtle mysteries. I was not sure what to expect since I have never read anything by this author nor have I read a book with short stories before. However I was pleasantly surprised and found each story intriguing. This is not, as one other reviewer noted, a blood and guts gory book but rather an old fashioned ghost tales. The main character is written in such a way that he seems real and you find yourself understanding his emotions. I found the Wall of Clouds and Listen to the Bone to be the best tales in the book. This book is enjoyable to read and I would recommend it to others.

I loved this book. I really empathized with Booth. The poor guy is really messed up. Since it was a collection there was no resolution in the end, happy or otherwise. Kind of like eating cookies without milk. Still the stories were imaginative and Booth was a dear. I will definitely keep an eye out for more of Sarah Monette's work.

I must say, I thouroughly enjoyed this book. While only one story gave me actual chills the entire book was very entertaining. I was greatly intruiged by the main character Mr. Booth. I found myself wanting to know so much more about him! The small morsels of info that the author dropped succeded in whetting my appetite for more. I am, admittedly, a chicken when it comes to "scary" stories so this book was a good intro to the genre. be warned there is some sexy man luvin' in "Elegy for a demon lover" (one of my favorites)so if you have trouble with that please skip it and don't leave a vitriolic review. If, however, you enjoy clever stories with a mysterious and darling protagonist you'll enjoy these stories as much as I did.

Written in a deliberately Lovecraftian style as a series of short stories around a central character: Kyle Murchison Booth. The universe Booth inhabits - ostensibly early twentieth century New England - is one in which no one seems overly surprised by hauntings, personal libraries of demonology books are an everyday occurrence, and friends from school will randomly show up at your place of work and ask for your help in raising their dead spouse from the grave. The stories have a pleasant creepiness, while never quite descending into the existential horror of Lovecraft or James that she fully acknowledges she is emulating. The upside is that, although Monette keeps many of the formalities of speech you would expect of a character from those early authors, her writing style is much more friendly to the modern reader.

Originally published in separate magazines and collections non-chronological order, there is a certain amount of back-story repetition that become noticeable when the stories are read as one collection. My favorites of the collection are "The Venebretti Necklace" and "Elegy for a Demon Lover." "Venebretti" starts with a skeleton bricked into a wall, and continues as a whodunit in the vein of Poe. "Venebretti" also has my favorite of the side characters, Miss Coburn, who appears briefly in one other story as well. "Elegy" is the least creepy, as Booth ultimately has full control over the situation, but is also the saddest for the same reason. Booth's choice in the end, although the only one he could logically make, is heartbreaking and stays will you.

This is a book of short stories which can be read separately or as a novel. The protagonist is Kyle Murchison Booth who is a museum archivist. Booth as he is known is eccentric and yet loveable.

It begins with a bang. The first story is "Bringing Helena Back" and I couldn't put it down until I had finished this story. I was hooked.

Story #2 is one of my favorites: "The Venebretti Necklace" a short story reminiscent of Poe. It also introduces a new character Claudia Coburn who I hope will appear in other writings by the author.

The next story "The Bone Key" is eery and unnerving and I loved it. A must read as well are the stories "The Wall of Clouds" and "Drowning Palmer."

All the stories (10) are beautifully written, almost old fashioned, and a delight to read. I certainly hope Monette does more of these because now that I have finished I want more stories with Booth!