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A review by mikhailrekun
The Bone Key: The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchison Booth by Sarah Monette
5.0
As a general rule of thumb, I don't like horror writing. I'm also not the biggest fan of short stories. And I tried Monette's main Melusine novels and ended up not even getting through a third.
Yet the Kyle Murchison Booth stories are some of my favorite rereads, and I've got a signed copy sitting proudly on my shelf. Clearly, something went very, very right here.
The premise is straightforward. Take the basic dynamics of H. P. Lovecraft or M. R. James, with the nebbish antiquarian encountering terrifying things Beyond Human Ken, and update it to the 21st century. Less sexism and racism, more realistic psychology, a generally defter touch with character development.
Our protagonist is the titular Kyle Murchison Booth, generally called Booth by all and sundry. He's an odd duck, cripplingly shy and self-effacing, socially helpless, yet brilliant and perceptive, and with more courage than he thinks. Also far enough in the closet he's having tea with Mr. Tumnus. Working as the archivist at the Samual Mathers Parrington Museum (an enormous, sprawling, inchoate mass of rooms and objects), his own necromantic dabblings leave Booth like catnip to every ghostie, ghoulie, and long-leggedy beastie in the unnamed East Coast city where he dwells.
Monette does a few things particularly well in this series. First, even though the structures of the stories tend towards tell-rather-than-show, the writing is sophisticated enough and her grasp of atmosphere good enough that you find yourself engrossed by the accounts -- rather than clumsy exposition, it reads more like Booth telling you what he's found in some ominous book of lore. Second, and related, Booth is a very interesting character with a strong sense of voice. Monette balances well between having Booth be a generic hero and having him be completely uninteresting or unlikable. Booth is a guy with major issues, but he's also capable of rising to the occasion, driven by a sense of duty even as he would really prefer to hide in his office. Finally, even though the basic structure of the stories is "Booth runs into creepy thing, Booth reacts to creepy thing," Monette does a good job of keeping the stories diverse in plot and form. Sometimes Booth is merely the observer of some largely unrelated haunting, sometimes he's an investigator, sometimes he's the instigator, sometimes things end happily(ish), sometimes.... not so much.
Overall, an excellent series, and I dearly hope Monette writes more of them.
Yet the Kyle Murchison Booth stories are some of my favorite rereads, and I've got a signed copy sitting proudly on my shelf. Clearly, something went very, very right here.
The premise is straightforward. Take the basic dynamics of H. P. Lovecraft or M. R. James, with the nebbish antiquarian encountering terrifying things Beyond Human Ken, and update it to the 21st century. Less sexism and racism, more realistic psychology, a generally defter touch with character development.
Our protagonist is the titular Kyle Murchison Booth, generally called Booth by all and sundry. He's an odd duck, cripplingly shy and self-effacing, socially helpless, yet brilliant and perceptive, and with more courage than he thinks. Also far enough in the closet he's having tea with Mr. Tumnus. Working as the archivist at the Samual Mathers Parrington Museum (an enormous, sprawling, inchoate mass of rooms and objects), his own necromantic dabblings leave Booth like catnip to every ghostie, ghoulie, and long-leggedy beastie in the unnamed East Coast city where he dwells.
Monette does a few things particularly well in this series. First, even though the structures of the stories tend towards tell-rather-than-show, the writing is sophisticated enough and her grasp of atmosphere good enough that you find yourself engrossed by the accounts -- rather than clumsy exposition, it reads more like Booth telling you what he's found in some ominous book of lore. Second, and related, Booth is a very interesting character with a strong sense of voice. Monette balances well between having Booth be a generic hero and having him be completely uninteresting or unlikable. Booth is a guy with major issues, but he's also capable of rising to the occasion, driven by a sense of duty even as he would really prefer to hide in his office. Finally, even though the basic structure of the stories is "Booth runs into creepy thing, Booth reacts to creepy thing," Monette does a good job of keeping the stories diverse in plot and form. Sometimes Booth is merely the observer of some largely unrelated haunting, sometimes he's an investigator, sometimes he's the instigator, sometimes things end happily(ish), sometimes.... not so much.
Overall, an excellent series, and I dearly hope Monette writes more of them.