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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I finally read Neil Gaiman!!! I always wanted to read something from him and casualy found this one in a local bookstore. Smoke and Mirrors is a collection of short stories that fuses ordinary scenarios with magic, science fiction, fantasy and everything in between, ending in superb twists.
To be completely honest, most of the stories were flat boring either by the story itself or because I felt that something was missing. I'm attributing this to the fact that this collection gathers his works from different stages of his writing career.
Having said that, there were a few which I found addictive af and I couldn't stop ruminating them even until now.
Although for me it was not the best pick to start with Gaiman's stories, I'm really interested in his science fiction side and will definitely read more of him.
To be completely honest, most of the stories were flat boring either by the story itself or because I felt that something was missing. I'm attributing this to the fact that this collection gathers his works from different stages of his writing career.
Having said that, there were a few which I found addictive af and I couldn't stop ruminating them even until now.
Although for me it was not the best pick to start with Gaiman's stories, I'm really interested in his science fiction side and will definitely read more of him.
I'm only a third of the way through this but already love it for two moments of utter, twisted delight that appeal to that side of my personality; The 102 perfect words of 'Nicholas Was...', astounding that so few words can provide such atmosphere and so many possibilities with the smallest twist of an image; and the warped but flawless description of first love in 'Troll Bridge': 'I saw her chewing gum, when I was thirteen, and I fell for her like a suicide from a bridge'. Short stories, when written as well as this, are completely bewitching.
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Neil Gaiman read these well, as usual. Some of them were funny, most of them are quite strange. If I could change one thing about the audiobook, it would be to have Gaiman read the small blurb about each story before he reads them, as opposed to lumping them together in the introduction. I only say this because I remember the back stories being funny and sparking my interest, but by the time the short was read I forgot what it was about the story that I was excited for.
dark
Some of the stories in this collection are diamonds, but many more are zirconium unfortunately. Worth reading if you're a fan, but if you've never read any Gaiman, don't start here.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated