Monette, Sarah - The Bone Key: The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchinson Booth

Kyle Murchinson Booth is the insomniac, horrifically shy, socially awkward archivist at the Samuel Mather Parrington Museum. Thanks to a semi-unwilling foray into the supernatural (detailed in the first short story), he now seems to attract all sorts of ghosts and curses. The Bone Key is a set of short stories about Booth and the things that happen to him; all were published first elsewhere save the final story.

Monette writes in the introduction that she was inspired by M.R. James and H.P. Lovecraft, both writers I haven't read, one because I haven't heard of him and the other because I avoid horror like the plague. I'm still not sure why I started this book, given my loathing of horror—I am really easily scared, as in, The Sixth Sense scared me—but I'm glad I did, despite several cases of the chills. Also, I think my long-held phobia of mirrors is back again.

Mostly I love the style of the book, and I'm glad I can read something like it without having to actually dip my toes into Lovecraft. I feel for Booth in particular, whom I think is the adolescent in all of us, and as such, "Elegy for a Demon Lover" ended up being my favorite story for the last line. Although I enjoyed getting more Booth backstory, I ended up being the most intrigued by the longer case files; the Booth-centric stories felt like they didn't have enough meat for me to sink my teeth into. As such, the two I enjoyed the most outside of "Elegy" were "The Venebretti Necklace" (which I also liked for the main female character) and "The Wall of Clouds."

In conclusion: a good read with beautiful style, and amazingly not as scary as I had dreaded (this is a plus).

Links:
- desdenova's review
- buymeaclue's review

Lee Joung-A - Chronicles of the Grim Peddler, vol. 01 (Eng. trans.)

I actually bought this in Taiwan and read half of it, but I finished it here in English. (Taiwan flips manhwa! I feel cheated.)

I bought this purely on the basis of the cover and the face that it was about fairy tales. The cover doesn't lie: the art inside is just as gorgeous, if not moreso, with beautiful Art Nouveau lines and lots of stylization. Sadly, you can't seem to preview the art or see more of the interior at the official website.

I think the premise is that the Grim Peddler (nameless) sparks fairy tales into being or narrates them or somehow controls the flow of the story, and he does this by providing seeds that grow into people. Sleeping Beauty is one of these seeds, given to a desperate queen who wants a child. He lives with a young black-haired man who is occasionally a cat (also nameless), and said man/cat tends to get shoved into stories by the Peddler to make things go as they should. Unsurprisingly, each of the retold fairy tales is very different from the ones we're used to. The ones in this volume include Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, the Little Mermaid, and an original fairy tale, which is sadly the most incomprehensible.

I don't think the manhwaga is doing anything particularly revisionist with any of the retellings, but I was rather amused by the twist on Hansel and Gretel. Also, did I mention the art was gorgeous? I'm guessing the rest of the series will be just as incomprehensible, but I may end up getting it anyway just for the pretty.

Rec me anime!

Currently I have no kdramas except Gourmet on my list, and I'm caught up with most of the shows I want to watch. Also, I'm in the mood for short episodes. So, rec me anime (but please read the qualifications first)!

• Available on Netflix


• Not too bloody


• Have cool women. I don't mind if they aren't the protagonists or if they don't physically kick ass, but I also don't want a series in which all the women or girls feel like objects.


• Not depressing


• Have an ending


• Bonus points for something funny with depth (ex. Samurai Champloo) or something that hits my gothic shoujo id buttons (ex. Vampire Knight)

I prefer series, though I may watch movies/OVAs too.

I've seen and liked:
Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gundam Wing, Gunslinger Girls, Haibane Renmei, Honey and Clover, Kare Kano (incomplete), Mushishi (incomplete), Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ouran High School Host Club, Princess Tutu, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Samurai Champloo, Vampire Knight, X, Yami no Matsuei, and nearly all the Studio Ghibli movies. And though it's not anime, I've seen Avatar too.

I've seen and disliked:
Akira, Gasaraki, Ghost in the Shell, Lain, Perfect Blue, Tenchi Muyo