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lanternatomika 's review for:
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions
by Neil Gaiman
I should probably have a think about how I’d rank my favorite authors, and when I do, Neil Gaiman will definitely be in my top 5. The trouble with him, though, is that he has a certain writing style that bounces off a lot of people, and has even bounced off of me in some of his books. Smoke and Mirrors proved to be one of those.
This is a short story collection, and it's a hefty collection at that. There are so many stories and poems in here, the table of contents is three pages long in my mass market paperback edition. I usually look at each story in a short story collection one by one, but that format would be a nightmare for this book.
The other reason I don't wanna do my usual thing for Smoke and Mirrors is that most of these pieces are really short and I can't find much to say about them. Short stories are supposed to be short - Captain Obvious, signing off - but many of the ones in this book are so short that they don't even have real narrative arcs. The ones that have more substance to them are the best, but even they rank as some of the worse examples of Gaiman's work.
I'm still giving it three stars, though, because I know some people will enjoy this for one reason: it's Neil effing Gaiman! He didn't come by his reputation by accident, his prose is magical and engaging in a way that'll make you want to tough it through even the worst of this book's entries. All things considered, though, you should really approach Smoke and Mirrors with caution. Heck, the guy has published so many GOAT tier books, this one should be waaay down the bottom of a Gaiman reader's priority list.
This is a short story collection, and it's a hefty collection at that. There are so many stories and poems in here, the table of contents is three pages long in my mass market paperback edition. I usually look at each story in a short story collection one by one, but that format would be a nightmare for this book.
The other reason I don't wanna do my usual thing for Smoke and Mirrors is that most of these pieces are really short and I can't find much to say about them. Short stories are supposed to be short - Captain Obvious, signing off - but many of the ones in this book are so short that they don't even have real narrative arcs. The ones that have more substance to them are the best, but even they rank as some of the worse examples of Gaiman's work.
I'm still giving it three stars, though, because I know some people will enjoy this for one reason: it's Neil effing Gaiman! He didn't come by his reputation by accident, his prose is magical and engaging in a way that'll make you want to tough it through even the worst of this book's entries. All things considered, though, you should really approach Smoke and Mirrors with caution. Heck, the guy has published so many GOAT tier books, this one should be waaay down the bottom of a Gaiman reader's priority list.