A dazzling book of short stories from one of modern fiction's greatest and most imaginative writers
Neil Gaiman is a messy-haired white male author trapped in the body of an identical white male author with perhaps even less-tidy hair. His books and comics have won many awards. He thanks you for your offer of a comb but does not believe it would do any good. Despite being English, he lives more in America than he does anywhere else in the world, and is currently somewhere in his mid-forties.
'The collection also boasts lush prose...and a winning faith in the enchantment of stories. Expect the unexpected. Then savor the luscious chills.' -- Kirkus Reviews 20060715 'Gaiman has a deft touch for suprise and inventiveness, and there are inspired moments' -- Publishers Weekly 20060617 'Predominantly dark, the stories are occasionally whimsical and satirical, and at times humorous, but the book's underlying theme is fragility and how people, dreams and hearts are so easily broken' -- Sun Herald 20061121 'Immensely entertaining ... Combines the anarchy of Douglas Adams with a Wodehousian generosity of spirit' -- Susanna Clarke 20061121
'The collection also boasts lush prose...and a winning faith in the enchantment of stories. Expect the unexpected. Then savor the luscious chills.' -- Kirkus Reviews 20060715 'Gaiman has a deft touch for suprise and inventiveness, and there are inspired moments' -- Publishers Weekly 20060617 'Predominantly dark, the stories are occasionally whimsical and satirical, and at times humorous, but the book's underlying theme is fragility and how people, dreams and hearts are so easily broken' -- Sun Herald 20061121 'Immensely entertaining ... Combines the anarchy of Douglas Adams with a Wodehousian generosity of spirit' -- Susanna Clarke 20061121
An alternate Victorian England. Months of the Year sitting around chatting. These are some of the ideas firing the 25-plus stories in Gaiman's new collection. With a one-day laydown on September 26. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Hot off the critical success of Anansi Boys, Gaiman offers this largely disappointing medley that feels like a collection of idea seeds that have yet to mature. Among the ground covered: an old woman eats her cat alive, slowly; two teenage boys fumble through a house party attended by preternaturally attractive aliens; a raven convinces a writer attempting realism to give way to fantastical inclinations. A few poems, heartfelt or playfully musical, pockmark the collection. At his best, Gaiman has a deft touch for surprise and inventiveness, and there are inspired moments, including one story that brings the months of the year to life and imagines them having a board meeting. (September is an "elegant creature of mock solicitude," while April is sensitive but cruel; they don't get along), but most of these stories rely too heavily on the stock-in-trade of horror, sci-fi and fantasy. Gaiman only once or twice gives himself the space necessary to lock the reader's attention.150,000 announced first printing. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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