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ec_newman's review against another edition
3.0
My immediate thoughts below (in reverse order). One story I didn't read because it made me uncomfortable and not in a way that I felt like I needed to be uncomfortable (some literature is made for that). So, yeah. Not my favorite, but I'm glad I read it.
--
"Snow, Glass, Apples - I just kept thinking of Angela Carter's Bloody Chamber, this story has that feel."
"Murder Mysteries - a quick look online for interpretations tells me that my not completely understanding this one puts me firmly with everyone else."
"Babycakes - A Modest Proposal II"
"Desert Wind - good little story to be based on a song I've never heard."
"When We Went To See The End of the World - made me sad. Of course it did. Poor Dawnie."
"The Sea Change - I adore the imagery."
"Mouse - this just made me angry and I'm not sure that was the point."
"Vampire Sestina - it's a sestina! A bout vampires!"
"The Sweeper of Dreams. - more in love with the idea than the actual story."
"Cold Colors - sometimes I just can't follow Gaiman's thoughts. I like his words though, and that inability to understand but enjoy word choice makes me think of Dylan Thomas."
"The moorcock story - ehhh"
"We can get them for you wholesale - more human than anything."
"Bay Wolf - I see the connection with Gaiman's Beowulf."
"Only the End of the world again - uh. Ok."
"Virus - seems like a 'technology is consuming' warning."
"Shoggoth's Old Peculiar - yessssssss"
"Daughter of Owls - creepy but well done. And those jerks got what they deserved."
"Changes - fascinating and icky"
"Queen of Knives - creepy but kinda knew where it was going."
"The White Road - reminds me of Angela Carter."
"The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories - yes, that is exactly what Los Angeles is like and the people who work in the industry."
"don't ask jack - seems too short. Like there's a missing piece."
"Troll Bridge - uh, weird. Not unlikable, but not like 'yay!' either."
"The Price - I don't even like cats, I liked this one."
"Nicholas was...- Santa Claus. Gaiman would make it like that."
"The introduction was just as delightful as his stories. Chivalry was fun, I like Gaiman's oft-used device of the mundane and fantastical co-existing."
--
"Snow, Glass, Apples - I just kept thinking of Angela Carter's Bloody Chamber, this story has that feel."
"Murder Mysteries - a quick look online for interpretations tells me that my not completely understanding this one puts me firmly with everyone else."
"Babycakes - A Modest Proposal II"
"Desert Wind - good little story to be based on a song I've never heard."
"When We Went To See The End of the World - made me sad. Of course it did. Poor Dawnie."
"The Sea Change - I adore the imagery."
"Mouse - this just made me angry and I'm not sure that was the point."
"Vampire Sestina - it's a sestina! A bout vampires!"
"The Sweeper of Dreams. - more in love with the idea than the actual story."
"Cold Colors - sometimes I just can't follow Gaiman's thoughts. I like his words though, and that inability to understand but enjoy word choice makes me think of Dylan Thomas."
"The moorcock story - ehhh"
"We can get them for you wholesale - more human than anything."
"Bay Wolf - I see the connection with Gaiman's Beowulf."
"Only the End of the world again - uh. Ok."
"Virus - seems like a 'technology is consuming' warning."
"Shoggoth's Old Peculiar - yessssssss"
"Daughter of Owls - creepy but well done. And those jerks got what they deserved."
"Changes - fascinating and icky"
"Queen of Knives - creepy but kinda knew where it was going."
"The White Road - reminds me of Angela Carter."
"The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories - yes, that is exactly what Los Angeles is like and the people who work in the industry."
"don't ask jack - seems too short. Like there's a missing piece."
"Troll Bridge - uh, weird. Not unlikable, but not like 'yay!' either."
"The Price - I don't even like cats, I liked this one."
"Nicholas was...- Santa Claus. Gaiman would make it like that."
"The introduction was just as delightful as his stories. Chivalry was fun, I like Gaiman's oft-used device of the mundane and fantastical co-existing."
actuallythesun's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
mbenzz's review against another edition
2.0
I love Neil Gaiman, but this was a strange collection of stories. Most of them left me confused and unsatisfied. Of all the Neil Gaiman books I've read (which is most of them), this is definitely my least favorite.
smithjasont01's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
"Witches astride ghetto blasters crowd the moon, then land on the heath their naked flanks aglisten."
The last of Gaiman's short story collections that I had to read and in my opinion the weakest. It wasn't until a good way into the second half of the collection before I found one I really enjoyed and in total only had four that stood out to me. My favorite being Murder Mysteries as I felt it was the most complete story.
This collection was themed around the dark and macabre. Quite a few reference or add to the Lovecraft mythos, with characters trying to resurrect the old gods in different ways. Many however felt like he had an idea but didn't really know where to take it, with plenty just ending or trailing off.
The first one I enjoyed was a short tale about a man looking to hire a hitman but wanting to get the best deal possible and inso doing setting off the apocalypse. The absurdity of the hitman saying "Yes but if you go with the deluxe package we can get that price down to 5 bucks a person, but you will just need 10,000 people you want killed."
My favorite, Murder Mysteries, was about a murder taking place among angels and the angel Raguel sent to investigate and submit God's vengeance on the killer. He plays with the concepts of love, death, and jealousy amongst angels and we see events that would start to set Lucifer down his path all while God watches his will play out.
Snow, glass, and apples as well as The Sweeper of dreams were the others that I enjoyed.
Overall an okay collection with a few standout stories
The last of Gaiman's short story collections that I had to read and in my opinion the weakest. It wasn't until a good way into the second half of the collection before I found one I really enjoyed and in total only had four that stood out to me. My favorite being Murder Mysteries as I felt it was the most complete story.
This collection was themed around the dark and macabre. Quite a few reference or add to the Lovecraft mythos, with characters trying to resurrect the old gods in different ways. Many however felt like he had an idea but didn't really know where to take it, with plenty just ending or trailing off.
The first one I enjoyed was a short tale about a man looking to hire a hitman but wanting to get the best deal possible and inso doing setting off the apocalypse. The absurdity of the hitman saying "Yes but if you go with the deluxe package we can get that price down to 5 bucks a person, but you will just need 10,000 people you want killed."
My favorite, Murder Mysteries, was about a murder taking place among angels and the angel Raguel sent to investigate and submit God's vengeance on the killer. He plays with the concepts of love, death, and jealousy amongst angels and we see events that would start to set Lucifer down his path all while God watches his will play out.
Snow, glass, and apples as well as The Sweeper of dreams were the others that I enjoyed.
Overall an okay collection with a few standout stories
lijura's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
sylvivresavie's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
3.25
The problem with collections of this sort is how uneven they tend to be, but there are moments when Gaiman's talent shines; moments, even, of brilliance. Still, it is largely merely "pretty good" with the occasional outright misfire. I loved Neverwhere and Coraline when I was young, and this collection, while it did not bowl me over, has convinced me that I should revisit Gaiman as a novelist now, in my 30s.
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
One of my co-worker's loaned me this short story collection after I loaned him Wicked-- due to the fact that this book contained 1 or 2 short stories that were also "twisted" versions of familiar childhood stories. It was the first time I had read anything by Gaiman and I really enjoyed the stories in this collection.
sabrinatheghost's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
emmalinegc's review against another edition
4.0
This is great! There's a wide selection of topics, but overall the feel of the book is a little dark. There are really great stories mixed in with so-so ones.