Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions (P.S.)

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Product Description

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.

Amazon.com Review

This anthology of short stories, and the occasional story poem, is vintage Neil Gaiman: quirky, sometimes very funny, often dark and disturbing. Most have been published before, but are hard to find elsewhere and cover all of Gaiman's writing life. As Gaiman says in his introduction, "most of the stories in this book are about love in some form or another," but not requited love. The stories in Smoke and Mirrors touch on all of Gaiman's themes: sex, death, dreams, and the end of the world. From "Chivalry," about the Holy Grail and where it finally ended up, to "Troll Bridge," a very adult version of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"; from "Bay Wolf," a story poem that melds Beowulf and Baywatch, with interesting results, to "Murder Mysteries," which is about a murder, but also about angels, God's will, and Evil, these stories leave lasting impressions. Fans of Ray Bradbury's short stories and of Gaiman's other works will enjoy this collection. --Nona Vero

Amazon - offers:

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions (P.S.): $10.19 (New)

Amazon - similar items:

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders
Neverwhere: A Novel
Anansi Boys
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
M Is for Magic

Amazon Customer Reviews:

Galo Romero: The Magic of Gaiman
Great book: a diverse group of stories and poems written with emotional depth and sense of wonderment only Gaiman can conjure. I'm not going to offer mini-reviews of each story or spoilers... that's just not me, but to make it easier (if you trust my judgement), the stand-out stories are (by the way: all stories are good but these are my favorites): "The Wedding Present" (read the introduction), "The Price", "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories", "The White Road", "Queen of Knives", "Changes", "Looking for the Girl", "Only the End of the World Again", "Bay Wolf", "We Can Get Them for you Wholesale", "One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock", "Foreign Parts", "Mouse", "Murder Mysteries", and "Snow, Glass, Apples".
CultOfStrawberry (M): Wonderful collection
Neil Gaiman's talent really shines in these stories, though some are better than others (at least, in my opinion, but then I think everyone here has their favorite stories, right?) and it's a great, solid collection of stories to enjoy. My personal favorites were the one about the pill that erases genetic imperfections, but also resets gender in opposite - it was a interesting and thought-provoking story - and the hundred-word story about Santa Claus. A great book to add to any Neil Gaiman collection.
Dustin (Elvis Zombie): Great Introduction To Neil Gaiman
If you have never read anything by Neil Gaiman, this is a great place to start. This is a mix of tales; some are humorous and others are frightening. My personal favorite is "Chivalry" in which an old woman buys the Holy Grail at a thrift shop, and Sir Galahad shows up trying to obtain the thing. It's like something out of a Monty Python sketch. This collection is hit and miss with more winners than losers. If you like Lovecraft, King, or Poe then give this a try.
anita4409: Not Great
Some of the shorts were quite good but more of them were tiresome. I will be starting on Neverwhere shortly and it appears a bit more promising...
L. Butler: I still treat my signed first edition of this as a treasure
Neil Gaiman is, no doubt, one of our generation's better writers. While he has some interesting (read: weird) ideas of what makes a children's book or movie, no one will dispute his uncanny ability to tell a story in ways that show nothing short of ridiculous amounts of research (as is true with Anansi), a keen and full understanding of the cultures he is tapping into (American Gods, anyone? All its places are real, after all, and he went TO them to learn OF them, much like John Green with Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska)...

I first HEARD this book, rather I heard parts of it, when attending a brilliant reading by Neil, and wow, I've been entranced since... Shoggoth's Old Peculiar is always circulating around the shareware, and Mr. Gaiman has no shame in sharing to the Internet (he's a huge advocate for things like the Comic Book Defense Fund and Net Neutrality in general) what he already shared for free to hundreds! As fun as it is to READ, after you've read it, be sure to HEAR him tell you all about that walking tour of the British coastline.

This book suits young adults and old adults alike... short stories, yes, but full of punch and merely short because... he has a beautiful manner of only saying enough words to perfectly convey the info he needs to convey. It's kind of brilliant, really, that someone still pays attention enough to not fluff over. Maybe it was having to keep his Sandman words all within a certain bubble that made this ritual so religiously perfected by him, but in any case, his short tales don't leave you hanging, they don't embody a "wait, must leave room for part 14" like a Matrix type work... really, he says what gets the story told in the best way, even if he does do it far more succinctly in these tidbits of folklore than he did in the anthem of lore most were introduced to him through (American Gods, also recommended, though not my own favorite... my favorite... well, it's not a common first pick, so I'll leave it to my own little collection and let you discover Gaiman on your own).

It should NOT go without saying that the author of this brilliant little collection is also one of the kindest and most humble modern day achievers. He keeps his world a bit simple, honey bee harvesting, tomato farming (look at his devil horned tomato in his archives)... he stays true to the roots of a man seeking peace, solace, and ... fulfillment through means that most of us are far too hurried to take a look at and just enjoy. Seriously, how awesome is it that someone can sell a tomato for charity? :) I recommend this book to anyone, even those short of attention span, and recommend that you follow his blog if you have the time. It is quite refreshing to visit from time to time, even though my own world prevents me from such indulgence too terribly often.