charlibirb's review
4.0
A couple really good stories in this collection: The American Gods novella was a fun little combo of two of his world's: Shadow & Mr.Alice/Smith. A Study in Emerald was a brilliant "what if Sherlock existed alongside H.P. Lovecraft's Elder Gods. Some of them had cool worlds, but were a little light on the plot.
bespectacledone's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kandicez's review against another edition
4.0
I am partial to short stories, so this was perfect for me. I'm not a big fan of poetry on the whole, but do enjoy it when inserted in short story anthologies, so that was right up my alley as well. Right in the introduction, Gaiman admits that the poetic offerings get better as the book progresses, and I agree. The first few were not to my taste at all, but Going Wodwo was pretty good, and I downright loved Instructions. Gaiman has a very distinct style, no matter if he is writing a graphic novel, screenplay or straight, adult fiction, and these offerrings were all distinctly his. Even the few that he says he attempted to write in another author's style.
Sunbird comes to mind. He wrote it for his daughter, much like King wrote [b:The Eyes of the Dragon|10611|The Eyes of the Dragon|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254286s/10611.jpg|3083085] for his, and that right there is enough to make me love it, but it's style was so perfect. He uses full and formal names throughout. He drops subtle hints at what is going to happen. He sketches and then shades the characters in a way that makes you feel you know them, even though the story is only 30 pages long. It was easily my favorite in the book.
Goliath is a close second favorite of mine. He wrote it as a companion piece to the original Matrix movie. I was never a fan of the second and third in the series, but that first was such a mind screwer, and Goliath is the same. You feel that things are wrong, you know that it's not all a dream, and yet you are also compelled to winnow the "chaff" so to speak. To figure out just what the hell is going on. It's a bit like [a:Philip K. Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg]. You can figure it out, but the longer you think, the more his stories resemble a snake swallowing it's tail. There is no real answer. Like I said- mind-screw.
Monarch of the Glen was an excellent addition. It was actually more a novella than a short story, at 78 pages, but it left me wanting more. I've read [b:Anansi Boys|2744|Anansi Boys|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255586640s/2744.jpg|1007964] and really enjoyed it. AB is connected to [b:American Gods|4407|American Gods|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258417001s/4407.jpg|1970226] and this story was a companion to that. I own AG and reading this story about Shadow makes me wonder just why I haven't read it yet. I guess I will. Soon.
Sunbird comes to mind. He wrote it for his daughter, much like King wrote [b:The Eyes of the Dragon|10611|The Eyes of the Dragon|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254286s/10611.jpg|3083085] for his, and that right there is enough to make me love it, but it's style was so perfect. He uses full and formal names throughout. He drops subtle hints at what is going to happen. He sketches and then shades the characters in a way that makes you feel you know them, even though the story is only 30 pages long. It was easily my favorite in the book.
Goliath is a close second favorite of mine. He wrote it as a companion piece to the original Matrix movie. I was never a fan of the second and third in the series, but that first was such a mind screwer, and Goliath is the same. You feel that things are wrong, you know that it's not all a dream, and yet you are also compelled to winnow the "chaff" so to speak. To figure out just what the hell is going on. It's a bit like [a:Philip K. Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg]. You can figure it out, but the longer you think, the more his stories resemble a snake swallowing it's tail. There is no real answer. Like I said- mind-screw.
Monarch of the Glen was an excellent addition. It was actually more a novella than a short story, at 78 pages, but it left me wanting more. I've read [b:Anansi Boys|2744|Anansi Boys|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255586640s/2744.jpg|1007964] and really enjoyed it. AB is connected to [b:American Gods|4407|American Gods|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1258417001s/4407.jpg|1970226] and this story was a companion to that. I own AG and reading this story about Shadow makes me wonder just why I haven't read it yet. I guess I will. Soon.
radorachev's review
3.0
Отново имах доста по-високи очаквания от разказите на Гейман. Имаше интересни разкази, но наистина открояващите се бяха 2-3, сред които първият разказ в сборника - A Study in Emerald.
lb22g10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
marla_a's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5