3 stars
An interesting collection of short stories from Gaiman. His work is often hit or miss for me. I either really love it or it’s just alright. This collection was much the same. The majority of these stories were previously published elsewhere or in another format (“Black Dog” the only exception). So if you’re a die-hard Gaiman fan, you may have already encountered them. It is nice to have all the stories in one place though.
I’ve read two of the stories featured previously. To be honest, I’ll never not read “The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains…”. I’d read it twice before this, but couldn’t pass up another go through. I’ve also listened to the audio version of “The Sleeper and the Spindle”. I do feel I enjoyed reading it more than listening to it. The rest were new to me.
This collection showcases Gaiman’s writing span, jumping from horror to fantasy to a bit of sci-fi. While there is no particular theme or genre to tie the collection together, I found it a wonderful read as someone who reads across genres.
Gaiman’s Introduction was also interesting as he gives a bit of context on each of the tale included. This generally involves what inspired the story, what was going on in Gaiman’s life, or the story’s publication history. I found it interesting to see how these tales came into existence.
My top stories were obviously “The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains…” as well as “Black Dog”. I also really enjoyed the ones featuring oddities and curiosities including “And Weep, Like Alexander” and “An Invocation of Incuriosity”.
“Nothing O’Clock” was also quite entertaining and it inspired me to get back into watching Dr. Who so bonus there. “Click-Clack the Rattlebag” was a bit predictable but I did enjoy its eerie charm. “A Calendar of Tales” also had some real treasures and I enjoyed the short glimpses the tiny tales provided.
While I do not necessarily agree with Gaiman’s assessment of trigger warnings themselves, I did enjoy this collection as a whole. There was something interesting in each of the stories and plenty of unique aspects to enjoy.