bone key reviews, department of underwhelm

[truepenny]

joonscribble, exlibris76, and rivkat are all, to varying degrees, underwhelmed by The Bone Key.

oursin, on the other hand, says very nice things.

---

On the other other hand, The Mirador made OF Blog of the Fallen's Best of 2007 Countdown, and muneraven has a lovely post about introducing people you love to things that you love and having them click. It is purest lagniappe that the primary example used is A Companion to Wolves.

Comments

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Hey, I expressed myself v favourably about The Bone Key and I am very, very picky indeed about fiction featuring archivists.

Did I ever mention the bones from the Broadwick St (Soho) plague pit that used to be hanging around my office?

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed The Bone Key a great deal, but then I like both 19th and early 20th century fiction and grew up with Lovecraft, so I was an easy sell. One problem I can see is that with each short story, you have to re-introduce KMB and his environment, and in a collection of stories, this might get to those who aren't as comfortable with such a mannered style and who have trouble making allowance for the fact that a collection of stories is not a novel, nor was meant to be.

[bishsticks.livejournal.com]

I own exlibris76 and I was only underwhelmed by it compared to your other works. It's sometimes hard for me to get really involved in short stories.

[hippoiathanatoi.livejournal.com]

I just (some 10-20 minutes ago, in fact) finished A Companion to Wolves, and I fully agree with muneraven that it isn't getting enough attention. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the writing immensely. In particular, I was very taken with the way the wolves communicated. I also ended up quite sniffly on several occasions.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

You did, and thank you! (I don't know whether I missed your comments or whether I saw them and then immediately had my brain eaten by giant space walruses or something.)


And, no, you hadn't mentioned the bones. That's just too cool.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Well, that's what the "to varying degrees" was supposed to indicate.
:)

[oursin.livejournal.com]

The person who originally acquired them did so in the assumption that they were, in fact, from victims of the Broad Street cholera epidemic (of John Snow and pump fame).

Soho: an unhealthy place to live for centuries.

Have you any idea how difficult it is to get rid of an odd couple of femurs that you have lying about your office (wrapped in a carrier bag in case the cleaners get agitated)?

[pyrrhical.livejournal.com]

*cough*

Ohsqueeyoureadexlibris76she'dlikethatnews.

*bricked*

[pyrrhical.livejournal.com]

(Yeah, totally read other comments before posting. Feel free to roll your eyes at me now. I had no idea Caroline had already posted.)

[strigine.livejournal.com]

Have you any idea how difficult it is to get rid of an odd couple of femurs that you have lying about your office (wrapped in a carrier bag in case the cleaners get agitated)?

I have to admit, this immediately made me think of The Sharing Knife. ^_^;

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

I just finished _A Gift of Wings_ (from the collection _The Queen in Winter_) and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. You established the world and the relationship so believably and quickly -- and even did a good mystery on top of that. I've recommended it to friends.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

:( I have been wanting to read The Bone Key and A Companion To Wolves since they came out, but I can never find them in stores and I always suffer more poor-person guilt on amazon. (Which is probably extremely good for my moneys.)

Someday I will get to read them...

Oooo me too

[muneraven.livejournal.com]

For some reason I wasn't expecting Bear and Monette to make me teary-eyed with this book and so was keeping my mistiness on the down-low in case, yanno, it was just hormones or something. LOL.

[april-art.livejournal.com]

I just read _A Companion to Wolves_ and LOVED it!!! I couldn't put it down. I'd read anything more set in that world, any time. (hint-hint-hint!)

Left a quick 5-star review on Amazon (nothing special--I'm not much of a review-writer, although I never let that stop me). ^__^

[gardensoil.livejournal.com]

Ah, wonderful, you used the word 'lagniappe' in a sentence. I love that word.