rhiannoncs's review against another edition
2.0
The only reason to pick up this book would be for the illustrations (which are good, it's a nicely put together volume). The best pieces here are reprinted in Smoke and Mirrors, along with some better, later stories. The stories and poems that are unique to this collection read like juvenalia.
plants_and_bees's review against another edition
4.0
This short story kind of feels like a kid's book for adults. I know that probably doesn't make sense. But the story is about Peter Pinter who finds the woman he is engaged to, messing about with another guy. He wants to get rid of the other guy and hires an assasin who has some interesting bargains for him. The build up and where it ends is kind of like it would be way more innocent in a children's book wich I very much like. It's a very fun quick read.
molokov's review against another edition
4.0
A great and odd collection of some of Neil Gaiman's earlier work (70s and 80s, mostly), some of which I haven't read before as they don't appear in other collections. Some of the stuff he wrote was quite disturbing, other stuff is light hearted and twee, but all of it is good.
chwaters's review against another edition
3.0
a few familiar stories and then some other stuff. mostly good, obviously early work. fun stuff.
filipmagnus's review against another edition
5.0
A lovely slice of Neil Gaiman's earlier short fiction, with some lovely illustrations inside.
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2762347.html
Published in 1993 and re-released last year as part of the Gaiman ebook bundle which I got cheap. At that point Gaiman had published half of Sandman, also Black Orchid, the Books of Magic and (with Terry Pratchett) Good Omens, and was obviously a rising star but not quite as stellar as he has since become. So a lot of these pieces are journeyman work, but none the less interesting as we see him work out a few ideas whihc he returned to later and better. The story that lingers most with me is "Looking for the Girl", about an eternally young nude model, originally published in Penthouse. There is also some poetry and a couple of essays (one on Mary Gentle, one on Father Brown). There are some lovely illustrations as well. I am not a Gaiman completist so won't look out for this in hard copy, but am glad to have it in pixel form.
Published in 1993 and re-released last year as part of the Gaiman ebook bundle which I got cheap. At that point Gaiman had published half of Sandman, also Black Orchid, the Books of Magic and (with Terry Pratchett) Good Omens, and was obviously a rising star but not quite as stellar as he has since become. So a lot of these pieces are journeyman work, but none the less interesting as we see him work out a few ideas whihc he returned to later and better. The story that lingers most with me is "Looking for the Girl", about an eternally young nude model, originally published in Penthouse. There is also some poetry and a couple of essays (one on Mary Gentle, one on Father Brown). There are some lovely illustrations as well. I am not a Gaiman completist so won't look out for this in hard copy, but am glad to have it in pixel form.
charissas_'s review against another edition
4.0
This short story is pretty great: it's funny and creepy at the same time. It's about a guy who suspects his fiancé of cheating on him, so he hires an assassin to kill the man responsible for supposedly stealing his future wife. However, the assassin keeps offering him better deals each time they meet in a bar, and who can resist a good bargain?
heypretty52's review
3.0
Gaiman writes exceptionally, but I dare say it perplexes me that there persists so much fascination around this particular story.
sashaknits's review
3.0
This book is long since out of print, but I got a copy through a recent Humble Bundle of Neil Gaiman ebooks. It is the earliest collection published of Neil's short fiction and unfortunately it shows. Quite a few pieces just aren't that good, you can tell that he hasn't found his voice yet.
There is however a smattering of great pieces in here including off the top of my head Chivalry, Looking For The Girl, and Murder Mysteries. The better news is that half the pieces in this collection (all the good ones IMO) are also published in Smoke & Mirrors which is still in print, so I'd read that followed by Fragile Things if I were you.
There is however a smattering of great pieces in here including off the top of my head Chivalry, Looking For The Girl, and Murder Mysteries. The better news is that half the pieces in this collection (all the good ones IMO) are also published in Smoke & Mirrors which is still in print, so I'd read that followed by Fragile Things if I were you.