Rough Night And Book Reviews
After a rough evening that went into the night that has me sitting around like a lump and not drinking anything caffeinated today (lots of take it easy and recover) I figured I would do a review of two books that I just finished. Everything is fine, now, for those who might be worrying, just an annoying condition that acts up subtly a lot more than I would like, and acts up spectacularly every now and then. No worries. Now. On to the books.
Both books are by Neil Gaiman. Both are collections of short stories. Both are absolutely wonderful.
The first is called Smoke and Mirrors and, I have to say, if you are one of those people who don’t read the introductions, you will want to read this one. Really. Trust me. That is all I am saying. The story about Santa Claus is wonderful, as is the story of the bridge troll, and the rest of the collection. It is a very nice collection and I am glad I picked it up.
That said, I have to say that I enjoyed the second book, Fragile Things, a bit better. Again, you will want to read the introduction. Really. Trust me. The first story in this collection is based on the premise of what Sherlock Holms would do if the Elder Gods got through and took over the world. It is marvelous. As is the harlequin story and the short novella that is at the end starring Shadow from American Gods.
All in all, I would definitely recommend either collection to any reader, especially those who enjoy Neil Gaiman, or those who have never read him. I found a copy of Neverwhere at Half Price (which is my favorite of his books so far) as well as American Gods (which I started once, but had to, sadly, put down without finishing it, so am dying to read the whole thing) and B got me The Graveyard Book (one of the shorts in Fragile Things was the basis for that one) so I will be having a Gaiman-a-thon in the very near future. 
He rocks. I’ve read Smoke and Mirrors, but I’ve only read “Study in Emerald” from Fragile Things, so I need to pick that up. Thanks for the reviews! And I’m very sorry about the rough night and acting up and all. There’s an email forthcoming, on that…
HEY! The whole time I was reading Fragile Things I was thinking I was going to post something along the lines of “Everyone else should read Smoke and Mirrors. Except Maddie. Maddie should read Fragile Things” simply because almost every story I thought you’d like.
Not that I don’t think you can find it out there, but there are tons of copies at the Half Price here if you can’t. Let me know and I will snag it for you. 