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labunnywtf's review against another edition
3.0
MAN, I hated this.
I need to come to grips with the fact that story collections are not for me. I need to stop, because I am torturing myself. I blame Neil Gaiman for this one. This is all your fault, British man.
I didn't hate all of the stories. I could even see why these were picked for a collection culled by Gaiman. But some of these were so painful, I started reading tabloid magazines instead. Do you know how awful a book has to be for that?
Let's go down the list.
1. Inksplot (Title found on the copyright page) - This was a DELIGHTFUL start. REALLY set me up for failure, actually.
2. The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees - I don't think I quite followed this one. But the ideas behind it, maps and revolution, was extremely interesting.
3. The Griffin and the Minor Canon - I actually really loved this one. This Griffin is possibly my favorite of the unnatural creatures. I do think the story ran too long.
4. Ozioma the Wicked - No.
5. Sunbird - I mean, of course I'm going to love Gaiman's contribution. I have read this before, not sure which collection of his I read it in. It's been long enough that I forgot how the story ended, and it's still...delicious.
6. The Sage of Theare - WHY IS THIS SO LONG FOR GOD'S SAKE WHY IS THE STORY NOT OVER YET SCREW IT I'M SKIPPING TO THE END WELL THAT WASN'T SATISFYING AT ALL GAAAAAAAH.
7. Gabriel-Ernest - With a few edits and A LOT OF SNIPPING, this would be a fantastic ghost story.
8. The Cockatoucan; or, Great-Aunt Willoughby - Alice in Wonderland. Extremely abstract. Fun, though.
9. Moveable Beast - 7/10 for plot, 2/10 for execution. And it only gets a 2 because of her slamming the guy's head into a vat of ice cream.
10. The Flight of the Horse - A unicorn story with a gently futuristic quality. Could've been better, but in this collection, one of the betters.
11. Prismatica - WHY IS THIS SO LONG JUST GET ME TO THE END JUST GOOOOOOO wait, that's the end? All of that, and that's the end? COME ON! It does have a fable-like quality, which I normally like, but it's not done well here.
12. The Manticore, the Mermaid, and Me - UGH NO.
13. The Compleat Werewolf - Didn't even read it. Just went to the table of contents and hopped right over that chapter in the ebook. Nazis and werewolves and noir, oh my NO.
14. The Smile on the Face - The only one where I want to see more of the universe. Love this one.
15. Or All the Seas with Oysters - The most supernatural one, the creepy one, the one that would fit beautifully in a Stephen King collection. I give this story by itself 5 stars. It would normally only garner 4 stars, but in this collection, 5 all the way.
16. Come Lady Death - This is the story in this collection that most screams "Neil Gaiman Would Love This". I liked it well enough, even if I don't really consider Lady Death an unnatural creature.
After writing all this up, I feel comfortable giving this book only 3 stars. Not enough winners.
I need to come to grips with the fact that story collections are not for me. I need to stop, because I am torturing myself. I blame Neil Gaiman for this one. This is all your fault, British man.
I didn't hate all of the stories. I could even see why these were picked for a collection culled by Gaiman. But some of these were so painful, I started reading tabloid magazines instead. Do you know how awful a book has to be for that?
Let's go down the list.
1. Inksplot (Title found on the copyright page) - This was a DELIGHTFUL start. REALLY set me up for failure, actually.
2. The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees - I don't think I quite followed this one. But the ideas behind it, maps and revolution, was extremely interesting.
3. The Griffin and the Minor Canon - I actually really loved this one. This Griffin is possibly my favorite of the unnatural creatures. I do think the story ran too long.
4. Ozioma the Wicked - No.
5. Sunbird - I mean, of course I'm going to love Gaiman's contribution. I have read this before, not sure which collection of his I read it in. It's been long enough that I forgot how the story ended, and it's still...delicious.
6. The Sage of Theare - WHY IS THIS SO LONG FOR GOD'S SAKE WHY IS THE STORY NOT OVER YET SCREW IT I'M SKIPPING TO THE END WELL THAT WASN'T SATISFYING AT ALL GAAAAAAAH.
7. Gabriel-Ernest - With a few edits and A LOT OF SNIPPING, this would be a fantastic ghost story.
8. The Cockatoucan; or, Great-Aunt Willoughby - Alice in Wonderland. Extremely abstract. Fun, though.
9. Moveable Beast - 7/10 for plot, 2/10 for execution. And it only gets a 2 because of her slamming the guy's head into a vat of ice cream.
10. The Flight of the Horse - A unicorn story with a gently futuristic quality. Could've been better, but in this collection, one of the betters.
11. Prismatica - WHY IS THIS SO LONG JUST GET ME TO THE END JUST GOOOOOOO wait, that's the end? All of that, and that's the end? COME ON! It does have a fable-like quality, which I normally like, but it's not done well here.
12. The Manticore, the Mermaid, and Me - UGH NO.
13. The Compleat Werewolf - Didn't even read it. Just went to the table of contents and hopped right over that chapter in the ebook. Nazis and werewolves and noir, oh my NO.
14. The Smile on the Face - The only one where I want to see more of the universe. Love this one.
15. Or All the Seas with Oysters - The most supernatural one, the creepy one, the one that would fit beautifully in a Stephen King collection. I give this story by itself 5 stars. It would normally only garner 4 stars, but in this collection, 5 all the way.
16. Come Lady Death - This is the story in this collection that most screams "Neil Gaiman Would Love This". I liked it well enough, even if I don't really consider Lady Death an unnatural creature.
After writing all this up, I feel comfortable giving this book only 3 stars. Not enough winners.
lenore13's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
finalgirlfall's review against another edition
3.0
i remember being rather unimpressed with most of the works collected here, but it was still an interesting read.
hindlejack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sandygx260's review against another edition
5.0
What an enchanting collection of stories. There's something for everyone here—from the lighthearted to the terrifying.
ericathrone's review against another edition
DNF. Some of the stories are good but the whole collection is weird. Really hit or miss.
crispy98's review against another edition
2022- A refreshingly light read despite its high page count. Each short story quickly create an established universe to hook you in. This is a great example of reading for just sheer enjoyment- these stories are eclectic and self contained story but the book leaves you overall with a great, simple appreciation.
In general I don’t like to rate books as each have their own merits but for a short story collection I wanted to make a story tier list. All our worth the read but there definitely is disparity in substance and world creation:
A tier- The Griffin, The Cockatoucan, Prismatica, The Compleat Werewolf, Come Lady Death
B tier- The Cartographer Wasps, Sunbird, The Flight of The Horse, The Smile on The Face
C tier- Ozoima The Wicked, The Sage of Theare, Or All The Seas
D tier- (—••—), Gabriel Ernest, Moveable Beast, The Manticore
In general I don’t like to rate books as each have their own merits but for a short story collection I wanted to make a story tier list. All our worth the read but there definitely is disparity in substance and world creation:
A tier- The Griffin, The Cockatoucan, Prismatica, The Compleat Werewolf, Come Lady Death
B tier- The Cartographer Wasps, Sunbird, The Flight of The Horse, The Smile on The Face
C tier- Ozoima The Wicked, The Sage of Theare, Or All The Seas
D tier- (—••—), Gabriel Ernest, Moveable Beast, The Manticore
lenore13's review against another edition
4.0
Popsugar Challenge 5: "Un libro con criaturas míticas"
thearthoewiththesocks's review against another edition
4.0
My favourite story was the first one that I can’t put the title into words and….the last one ironically. Diana Wayne Jones was in this one too and that was cool. The one about the weird bike was neat. So was the one about the girl who could speak to snakes. I liked lots of these stories.
pizzamyheart's review against another edition
3.0
There were some great stories in this collection but the majority were either average or mediocre. Overall it wasn't that impressive