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A review by alex_whitehall
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman
4.0
This is a collection of short stories/poems, mostly with a "it's not what it seems" type theme. Because it's a collection, it's always difficult to rate. Most of the stories rate a strong 5 stars, but a few were only so-so, which dropped the rating.
Some of my favorite stories were "Murder Mysteries," "Snow, Glass, Apples," "Changes," "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale," and "The Sweeper of Dreams." Not necessarily in that order.
The strengths tended to be amazing creativity and story telling. The creation of worlds and lives inside a few pages was well executed. And like the original purpose of stories, each one seemed to teach a lesson and tell the reader more about life and living.
The weakness that some stories had worked as a strength for some of the stories. I found some stories to be too vague, but this was only my first read through and subsequent reads (or more thorough reads) may reveal clearer understanding.
This feels like a book I'll return to time and again, to flip through and read those stories that I hold dear and to re-discover those that I hadn't fully met.
Some of my favorite stories were "Murder Mysteries," "Snow, Glass, Apples," "Changes," "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale," and "The Sweeper of Dreams." Not necessarily in that order.
The strengths tended to be amazing creativity and story telling. The creation of worlds and lives inside a few pages was well executed. And like the original purpose of stories, each one seemed to teach a lesson and tell the reader more about life and living.
The weakness that some stories had worked as a strength for some of the stories. I found some stories to be too vague, but this was only my first read through and subsequent reads (or more thorough reads) may reveal clearer understanding.
This feels like a book I'll return to time and again, to flip through and read those stories that I hold dear and to re-discover those that I hadn't fully met.