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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I always enjoy reading Neil Gaiman's work. I especially enjoyed "The Grail" which I first heard on "Selected Shorts." Many of the stories had strong erotic content (which I hadn't expected, but which was well done). I enjoy the way Gaiman twists fairy tales and horror and forces a re-examination of tales we think we know so well.
I've had Neil Gaiman recommended to me from about 52,106 quarters, so I picked this up. The stories are wonderfully varied and just as eerie as you would expect.
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nothing quite like Neil Gaiman reading erotica to you…
There was a bunch of stories I really liked, and a few I thought were just okay. I listened on audiobook and I think it would be better to read. Sometimes I missed the title of a new short story and would get real confused about what was happening.
There was a bunch of stories I really liked, and a few I thought were just okay. I listened on audiobook and I think it would be better to read. Sometimes I missed the title of a new short story and would get real confused about what was happening.
I really loved this collection of short stories. The best one had to be the poem about Santa. Ho. Ho. Ho.
I love most of what Gaiman does and these short stories are no different. Again, obviously, some are stronger than others but a lot of strange twists to the end.
I'm sorry, Mr. Gaiman. I keep trying to read your books, but I don't like any of them. All of my friends think you're amazing. They've gone to events where you've read your work. But I just can't figure out what the big deal is.
Okay, I'll stop that now.
These short stories were nothing spectacular. Most of them had no real point. Yes, they were innovative and had bizarre twists and all that. They just weren't written well. Also, I will admit that I skipped everything that was written in verse. I loathe verse. Blame my high school English teachers for that.
None of the characters have emotions or react to anything. None. "I'm a troll!" "Oh, okay." "I'm an angel!" "Oh, okay."
Everything is taken in stride. This was evident in Coraline and The Graveyard Book, too. And most of the stories really don't make sense. Not that I think they should make sense, but there should be some kind of explanation for why things happened. If there isn't, that's okay, but then at least make the characters someone who I can relate to on some level. I felt so detached from everything.
I did like The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories, but again - no resolution, no explanation. It just happened. The main character barely reacted to anything in the story at all. There was no reason for most of what happened. I kept expecting everything to tie up at the end, but nothing did at all. Snow, Glass, Apples was interesting, too, but again, it just didn't seem to go all the way.
Oh, and the SEX! Seriously, WTF is up with all this unnecessary sex everywhere? This is one reason why I don't read a lot of adult fiction - the completely unnecessary, and sometimes inappropriate, sex. (And when I say that, I mean that it's not critical to the story. For instance, it was a necessary part of Tastings.) I don't understand - do authors think it makes their work better? Does it make them feel more like adults?
I doubt I'll ever read a Neil Gaiman book again. My friends keep saying, "oh, his other stuff is much better!" I've read a lot of books from a lot of authors. Their work is generally pretty similar. I can't imagine Gaiman's other work is vastly different from what I've already read.
Okay, I'll stop that now.
These short stories were nothing spectacular. Most of them had no real point. Yes, they were innovative and had bizarre twists and all that. They just weren't written well. Also, I will admit that I skipped everything that was written in verse. I loathe verse. Blame my high school English teachers for that.
None of the characters have emotions or react to anything. None. "I'm a troll!" "Oh, okay." "I'm an angel!" "Oh, okay."
Everything is taken in stride. This was evident in Coraline and The Graveyard Book, too. And most of the stories really don't make sense. Not that I think they should make sense, but there should be some kind of explanation for why things happened. If there isn't, that's okay, but then at least make the characters someone who I can relate to on some level. I felt so detached from everything.
I did like The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories, but again - no resolution, no explanation. It just happened. The main character barely reacted to anything in the story at all. There was no reason for most of what happened. I kept expecting everything to tie up at the end, but nothing did at all. Snow, Glass, Apples was interesting, too, but again, it just didn't seem to go all the way.
Oh, and the SEX! Seriously, WTF is up with all this unnecessary sex everywhere? This is one reason why I don't read a lot of adult fiction - the completely unnecessary, and sometimes inappropriate, sex. (And when I say that, I mean that it's not critical to the story. For instance, it was a necessary part of Tastings.) I don't understand - do authors think it makes their work better? Does it make them feel more like adults?
I doubt I'll ever read a Neil Gaiman book again. My friends keep saying, "oh, his other stuff is much better!" I've read a lot of books from a lot of authors. Their work is generally pretty similar. I can't imagine Gaiman's other work is vastly different from what I've already read.
I listened to this book bc Neil read it himself. His voice is perfect to listen to. The stories were fun, funny, sultry, sad, magical, mundane, everything you could want in short stories and all the mystery of Neil Gaiman.
I love short stories. I love Neil Gaiman's writing. Does it follow, then, that I love Neil Gaiman short stories?
Some of them, yes.
Smoke and Mirrors covers a lot of ground: humor, erotica, whimsy and horror. Included are several poems, some flash fiction pieces, and a number of conventional short stories. The tone, regardless of what mood or emotion a given story is going for, tends toward the straightforward. Unadorned, no-nonsense, but clear and effective.
Gaiman's favorite trick is to flip a well-known fable or fairy tale upside down -- to reveal events seen from a different character's perspective, or to modernize a traditional character or scenario.
"Murder Mysteries," a long story retelling interactions between angels going back to the very formation of the universe and the human sphere, may be the most ambitious and interesting thing here. "Snow, Glass, Apples" is likewise richly told and well written.
"Shoggoth's Old Peculiar," which visits a variation on Lovecraft's fictional town of Innsmouth, and "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale," about a guy who turns to an assassination service to help him deal with his frustrations, are particularly funny.
Many of other pieces were comparatively slight, though. In my recent review of Joe Hill's collection "Twentieth Century Ghosts," I said the book might have been improved by eliminating the weakest 1/3 of the material, and I'd say the same thing here. A shorter book, but a much stronger one, would result. I give the collection as a whole 4 stars, but there's quite a bit of 5-star material here, as well as some individual stories I'd give 3 or even 2 stars.
Overall a hit-and-miss collection, yet it contains some very worthwhile stories fans of Gaiman won't want to miss.
Some of them, yes.
Smoke and Mirrors covers a lot of ground: humor, erotica, whimsy and horror. Included are several poems, some flash fiction pieces, and a number of conventional short stories. The tone, regardless of what mood or emotion a given story is going for, tends toward the straightforward. Unadorned, no-nonsense, but clear and effective.
Gaiman's favorite trick is to flip a well-known fable or fairy tale upside down -- to reveal events seen from a different character's perspective, or to modernize a traditional character or scenario.
"Murder Mysteries," a long story retelling interactions between angels going back to the very formation of the universe and the human sphere, may be the most ambitious and interesting thing here. "Snow, Glass, Apples" is likewise richly told and well written.
"Shoggoth's Old Peculiar," which visits a variation on Lovecraft's fictional town of Innsmouth, and "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale," about a guy who turns to an assassination service to help him deal with his frustrations, are particularly funny.
Many of other pieces were comparatively slight, though. In my recent review of Joe Hill's collection "Twentieth Century Ghosts," I said the book might have been improved by eliminating the weakest 1/3 of the material, and I'd say the same thing here. A shorter book, but a much stronger one, would result. I give the collection as a whole 4 stars, but there's quite a bit of 5-star material here, as well as some individual stories I'd give 3 or even 2 stars.
Overall a hit-and-miss collection, yet it contains some very worthwhile stories fans of Gaiman won't want to miss.
The short stories are a little creepier than his usual writing. Not my cup of tea, though a few struck a good balance for me.