There are few things I enjoy more than a well crafted scary short story. As a kid cutting my teeth on Stephen King I loved his short story collections more than anything. Still do for that matter. My favorite collection of King’s is Skeleton Crew. Horror classics like “The Raft”, “The Jaunt”, and “Survivor Type” haunted me for years after reading them. Still do. In recent years Neil Gaiman’s short stories have filled the void King left for me. The first collection I read, Smoke […]
Neil Gaiman treats us to another assortment of strange and haunting stories in his third collection.
Neil has produced some of my favourite short story collections over the years. He always has a knack for giving the reader a wide selection of tales that vary in style, genre and mood while still retaining the hallmarks that make Gaiman, well, Gaiman. And this collection is no different. In his introduction, Gaiman claims these shorts are far too random and unconnected to form an effective collection – but I’d beg to disagree. Several small connections hide beneath the surface, as little threads spider […]
Knock knock knocking on heaven’s Door
Richard Mayhew is an ordinary London guy with an ordinary London life, until a chance encounter with an injured girl plunges him into a world he doesn’t know exists, London Below. London Below is where “the other people” live, those that have been forgotten by society and fallen through the cracks. Lady Door is from an esteemed family in this universe with unique talent, the ability to open things, and when her family is torn apart (um, literally) she goes on a quest to discover why. […]
Never Was One for a Prissy Girl
Admittedly, I am not a short story person. Most authors seem to think short stories should always leave the reader wanting more. I’m of the opinion that if I pay full admission to the museum, I get to see all the things and not be hustled out the door after making it past the lobby. Short stories should be appetizing little morsels, a blissful snack that may leave you with a ghost of taste long after you finish, but never still famished. Epiphanies in pastries […]
“The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies.”
I’ve read a couple of Neil Gaiman works before. I loved Ocean and the End of the Lane and had mostly good feelings about Neverwhere and that book, and its protagonist Richard Mayhew, has grown on me over time. (In fact, I suggest reading my friend Ale’s review from this year to get a better take on the book without the depression funk I was in in 2013). Late last year I saw badkittyuno’s review of American Gods and decided that it would be my […]
We’re All A Little Richard Mayhew
This is my third Gaiman book, and I am continually impressed by Gaiman’s ability to break down every trope of the genre and rebuild it in a way that both continues to be fantastical but also makes it accessible. “Neverwhere” is a dark, dangerous, high stakes journey that in the hands of any other fantasy writer would need a main character of power, or at least someone with an attribute that sets them apart. But Gaiman chooses to tell his story through someone so average, […]
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