Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and Mirrors

Neil Gaiman

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

In the deft hands of Neil Gaiman, magic is no mere illusion . . . and anything is possible. In Smoke and Mirrors, Gaiman's imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders—where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks. Explore a new reality, obscured by smoke and darkness yet brilliantly tangible, in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.

Publication Year: 2009


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  • wwrlad
    Apr 01, 2025
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  • Hyzie
    Apr 07, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

     

    I have always wanted to like Neil Gaiman's more than I really managed, but some of these short stories genuinely made a believer out of me. And some of them...didn't.
     
    The problem with anthologies is how much of a mixed bag they often are. There were stories in here I would absolutely have given four stars to (Snow, Glass, Apples is a particular stand-out, along with Murder Mysteries, though there were a few others that I also liked quite a bit) and several that would have gotten only two or, if I was feeling particularly annoyed, one. 
     
    Some of that is just me, admittedly: I almost never like verse, and it takes a truly gifted story or author to make me like it. I didn't feel like Neil Gaiman managed in any of the verse he presented here. 
     
    Overall, I'm impressed with his ability to tell a good story in short form (that is a skill many lack) and I'll definitely pick up another of his short story collections, if only for the absolute gems among them. I think I might honestly be more impressed with his ability to tell short stories than with any of the novels of his I have so far read, which seems to be an unusual opinion. 

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