Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Publishing date: September 26th 2006
Rating: 9 Pages: 384

First off before I start this review let me say that I may be a bit biased on Gaiman, since he's my favorite author period.

Back 1998 Gaiman published a collection of short stories called Smoke & Mirrors. Published mainly for the hardcore fans, since short story collections usually don't sell very well for an author. Much to Gaiman's surprise S&M did really well. And continues to do really well even now 8 years later. Which brings us to Fragile Things, Gaimans first short story collection since S&M. And like S&M Fragile Things is poised to have a long life. Gaiman in my opinion is one of the masters of the Short Story. Much like Harlan Ellison & Kelly LInk, Gaiman has the ability to shove a lot into just a few pages.

This collection includes several short stories, a few poems, and a novella. Many of which are some of Gaiman's best.

One story crossbreeds a Sherlock Holmes story with a Lovecraftian story with magnificent results. Another finds the months of the year sitting around a campfire telling stories. Instructions is a poems that's exactly that, instructions of what to do if you find yourself in the land of Faerie. Bitter Grounds looks at the coffee girls legend from New Orleans. The Problem of Susan looks at what could have happened to Susan from the Narnia books. And the book's endspiece, The Monarch Of The Glen follows the futher adventures of Shadow, the main character from Gaiman's novel American Gods. And my personal favorite is Harlequin Valentine. A story that plays beautifully with the old Harlequin legend.

Overall this is a strong collection that can serve as an introduction to Gaiman for new fans. Or can be a nice treat for established fans.