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A review by casualcostumer
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman
2.0
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.