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kandicez 's review for:
Trigger Warning
by Neil Gaiman
2016 - (with a few edits upon reread)
Introduction - 5 stars
I love anything Gaiman has to say. He is always very eloquent and you can tell the honesty of his feelings by the way he expresses himself. Here, there added benefit of hearing this in Gaiman’s own voice. I’ve compared his voice to buttered velvet before and am fully aware of how nasty that sounds. But think...velvet! So smooth and luxurious. And butter. The ultimate decadence. Anyway, moving on.
Making a Chair - 3 stars
This was an interesting little tale. Not great, but an okay start.
A Lunar Labyrinth - 2 stars
The Thing about Cassandra - 5 stars
This was a terrific story! Gaiman weaves the perfect ouroboros of a tale. We are left wondering who made who up. I could read this a few times and not grow tired of it. In this one instance I was sorry to have checked this out of the library instead of buying his books like I usually do.
Down to a Sunless Sea - 2 stars
"The truth is a cave in the Black Mountains ..." - 3 stars
I really wish I could have heard this with the accompanying music.
My Last Landlady - 2 stars
Adventure Story - 2 stars
Orange - 5 stars
This was great! It reminded me of something you would find in Isaac Asimov’s Sci-fi or in the back pages of Playboy. It was fun and interesting and despite dissolving into a bit of silliness, I still loved it.
A Calendar of Tales - 5 stars
These reminded me of Stephen King’s idea of doing a calendar, but that project turning into The Cycle of the Werewolf. These seemed to run away with Gaiman a bit and grow a little longer than he meant them to be, but they were fun on the whole.
The Case of Death and Honey - 4 stars
I’m a sucker for anything Sherlock and something that gives him seeming immorality? I’m in!
The Man who Forgot Ray Bradbury - 4 stars
This was melancholy and sad. I know some people with Alzheimer’s and this just made it very, very personal. I think people new to the disease would do well to read this.
Jerusalem - 2 stars
Click-Clack the Rattlebag - 4 stars
I loved the framework of this story. Someone is telling a child a bedtime story. Said child thinks they are brave, but are they?
An Invocation of Incuriosity - 2 stars
"And weep, like Alexander" - 2 stars
Nothing O'clock - 4 stars
Diamonds and Pearls: a Fairy Tale - 2 stars
I just didn’t care for this. So little that I barely remember anything about it.
The Return of the Thin White Duke - 5 stars
I love Bowie, and like most of the world was very, very said to lose him last year. Having said that, this was such a beautiful homage. Already, because of Lucifer in Sandman, we know Gaiman must love Bowie too, but here he enforces and symbolizes that admiration with a pure fan-fiction portrait of what Bowie could have been.
Feminine Endings - 5 stars
I can’t explain why, but this really touched me.
Observing the Formalities - 2 stars
The Sleeper and the Spindle - 3 stars
2016 - There was simply nothing about this that I liked. That is so unusual with me for Gaiman. I feel almost guilty because I audioed this and I would find myself thinking of other things during this story and didn’t care enough to rewind. I just wanted it to be over.
2023 - Upon relisten I enjoyed this more than the first time.
Witch Work - 2 stars
In Relig Odhráin - 2 stars
Black Dog. - 5 stars
Shadow Moon! I love Shadow like most of Gaiman’s readers. Maybe not as much as Spider, and certainly not as much as Morpheus (poor, twisted soul) but I am always, always happy to encounter him even in a short story. I have to say that this little mystery that Shadow solved is almost worth the price of the book should I decide to buy it. Gaiman has really created a world with this “family” of characters and the thrill of stumbling upon them in any form is always welcome.
When I go back and average the stars I come up with 3.08. I thought it was closer to 2, but I think that’s because I am so used to loving everything Gaiman gives me. Unequivocally. This had some misteps as far as I was concerned, but at the same time, Gaiman is undeniably an artist and I am able to admit that his ideas may have been above me.
Introduction - 5 stars
I love anything Gaiman has to say. He is always very eloquent and you can tell the honesty of his feelings by the way he expresses himself. Here, there added benefit of hearing this in Gaiman’s own voice. I’ve compared his voice to buttered velvet before and am fully aware of how nasty that sounds. But think...velvet! So smooth and luxurious. And butter. The ultimate decadence. Anyway, moving on.
Making a Chair - 3 stars
This was an interesting little tale. Not great, but an okay start.
A Lunar Labyrinth - 2 stars
The Thing about Cassandra - 5 stars
This was a terrific story! Gaiman weaves the perfect ouroboros of a tale. We are left wondering who made who up. I could read this a few times and not grow tired of it. In this one instance I was sorry to have checked this out of the library instead of buying his books like I usually do.
Down to a Sunless Sea - 2 stars
"The truth is a cave in the Black Mountains ..." - 3 stars
I really wish I could have heard this with the accompanying music.
My Last Landlady - 2 stars
Adventure Story - 2 stars
Orange - 5 stars
This was great! It reminded me of something you would find in Isaac Asimov’s Sci-fi or in the back pages of Playboy. It was fun and interesting and despite dissolving into a bit of silliness, I still loved it.
A Calendar of Tales - 5 stars
These reminded me of Stephen King’s idea of doing a calendar, but that project turning into The Cycle of the Werewolf. These seemed to run away with Gaiman a bit and grow a little longer than he meant them to be, but they were fun on the whole.
The Case of Death and Honey - 4 stars
I’m a sucker for anything Sherlock and something that gives him seeming immorality? I’m in!
The Man who Forgot Ray Bradbury - 4 stars
This was melancholy and sad. I know some people with Alzheimer’s and this just made it very, very personal. I think people new to the disease would do well to read this.
Jerusalem - 2 stars
Click-Clack the Rattlebag - 4 stars
I loved the framework of this story. Someone is telling a child a bedtime story. Said child thinks they are brave, but are they?
An Invocation of Incuriosity - 2 stars
"And weep, like Alexander" - 2 stars
Nothing O'clock - 4 stars
Diamonds and Pearls: a Fairy Tale - 2 stars
I just didn’t care for this. So little that I barely remember anything about it.
The Return of the Thin White Duke - 5 stars
I love Bowie, and like most of the world was very, very said to lose him last year. Having said that, this was such a beautiful homage. Already, because of Lucifer in Sandman, we know Gaiman must love Bowie too, but here he enforces and symbolizes that admiration with a pure fan-fiction portrait of what Bowie could have been.
Feminine Endings - 5 stars
I can’t explain why, but this really touched me.
Observing the Formalities - 2 stars
The Sleeper and the Spindle - 3 stars
2016 - There was simply nothing about this that I liked. That is so unusual with me for Gaiman. I feel almost guilty because I audioed this and I would find myself thinking of other things during this story and didn’t care enough to rewind. I just wanted it to be over.
2023 - Upon relisten I enjoyed this more than the first time.
Witch Work - 2 stars
In Relig Odhráin - 2 stars
Black Dog. - 5 stars
Shadow Moon! I love Shadow like most of Gaiman’s readers. Maybe not as much as Spider, and certainly not as much as Morpheus (poor, twisted soul) but I am always, always happy to encounter him even in a short story. I have to say that this little mystery that Shadow solved is almost worth the price of the book should I decide to buy it. Gaiman has really created a world with this “family” of characters and the thrill of stumbling upon them in any form is always welcome.
When I go back and average the stars I come up with 3.08. I thought it was closer to 2, but I think that’s because I am so used to loving everything Gaiman gives me. Unequivocally. This had some misteps as far as I was concerned, but at the same time, Gaiman is undeniably an artist and I am able to admit that his ideas may have been above me.