Tag Archives: Neil Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for coraline neil gaiman book cover

Title: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Book to Film, Dark fantasy, Easy reading, Horror
Dates read: 16th – 22nd May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Year: 2002
5th sentence, 74th page: “The one who says she’s you other mother,” said the cat.

Synopsis

In Coraline’s family’s new flat there’s a locked door. On the other side is a brick wall – until Coraline unlocks the door… and finds a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only different.

The food is better there. Books have pictures that writhe and crawl and shimmer. And there’s another mother and father there who want Coraline to be their little girl. They want to change her and keep her with them….Forever.

Coraline is an extraordinary fairy tale / nightmare from the uniquely skewed imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman.

Thoughts

I picked up this book because I absolutely adored the movie. Just seeing the title makes me want to watch the movie again and again and again. Which meant that I was seriously hoping that the book would be just as good. I was a little wrong. For starters, the book is so much creepier and horrifying than the movie. For another thing. It was just better.

I really expected an easy, fun slightly twisted read when I opened this book. After all, it is described as a children’s twisted fairy tale. And it’s a tiny novel! I was wrong. So very, very wrong. I finished this about 10 o’clock at night… and then just lay there, imagining a creepy hand crawling across the bed towards me in my sleep… I’m really not sure that I would have read this when I was a child. And even if I did… I’m not sure that it would have been a great idea. There are certain downfalls to having such a vivid imagination…

As children, we all have moments when we feel that our family just doesn’t care about us. That we belong somewhere else. And that it could just be so much better if we just had someone who understood us more. Or at least, I felt that way frequently throughout my childhood. I like that Coraline plays on this and gives us a reality in which everything is far more fantastic, fun and just plain exciting than the real world. But at a cost, and it’s one that Coraline just doesn’t want to pay. After all, she realises that real life just isn’t too bad after all…

 <- Angels & VisitationsFragile Things ->

Image source: Goodreads

Snow White, Blood Red edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

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Overview
Image result for snow white, blood red book cover

Title: Snow White, Blood Red
Author: Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, Susan Wade, Charles de Lint, Gahan Wilson, Nancy Kress, Tanith Lee, Wendy Wheeler, Kathe Koja, Gregory Frost, Elizabeth A. Lynn, Harvey Jacobs, Steve Rasnic Tem, Melanie Tem, Caroline Stevermer, Ryan Edmonds, Neil Gaiman, Leonard Rysdyk, Esther M. Friesner, Jack Dann, Jane Yolen, Patricia A. McKillip & Lisa Goldstein
Series: Adult Fairy Tales #1
In: Snow White, Blood Red (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Retellings,Short story collections
Dates read: 17th December 2018 – 12th April 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Signet
Year: 1993
5th sentence, 74th page: It’ll still mean that I’m willing to let someone die, just so I can have my own way.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Snow White, Blood Red is a brand new collection of fairy tales. But be warned. It is not a collection for the faint-hearted. Or even one to lull the innocent towards the sleeping realms of dreams. For Snow White, Blood Red is a modern book of wonders: a boundless expanse of nightmares, lusts and fables for the grown-up child in us all.

Through richly imaginative retellings of existing fairy tales, twenty-one of the world’s top fantasy authors recreate the full mythical, magical, mind-bending power of humankind’s oldest fables. Prepare to be seduced by stories that bite – stories that are frightening, erotic, dark and compelling. Because as Terri Windling reminds us in the introduction: ‘Something still stirs inside us when we hear those old, evocative words: Once upon a time.’ Only this time, in this world, there is no happy ending…

Thoughts

I’ve had this book on my wish list for a very, very long time. So, when I finally managed to find a second hand copy and get it delivered to my door, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. After all, I love fairy tales, I like stories with a dark twist, and I’m fascinated by retellings and the ways in which people are able to twist and turn classic themes to fit a more contemporary or recognisable setting. Which makes this kind of the perfect short story collection to sit on my shelves.

Some of the stories in this collection are kind of dark and twisted. Some are incredibly sexual. And some are just a great, contemporary retelling that makes childish fairy tales far more relatable. I got goosebumps reading some of these stories. While others left a smile on my face. You know it’s a fantastic collection when it takes you through the rollercoaster of emotions and leaves you feeling incredibly happy at the close of the last page.

Anybody who loves fantasy, horror or fairy tales, this is a great collection to add to your shelves. It is one that I won’t be getting out of my head anytime soon, that’s for sure…

<- Taking LoupLike a Red, Red Rose ->

Image source: Amazon

Troll’s-Eye View edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

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Overview
Image result for troll's-eye view book cover

Title: Troll’s-Eye View
Author: Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, Delia Sherman, Garth Nix, Wendy Froud, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Peter S. Beagle, Ellen Kushner, Joseph Stanton, Holly Black, Jane Yolen, Nancy Farmer, Michael Cadnum, Catherynne M. Valente, Midori Snyder, Neil Gaiman & Kelly Link
In: Troll’s-Eye View (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Retellings, Short story collections, Villains
Dates read: 12th December 2018 – 1st March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: I could have wept.

Synopsis

Everyone thinks they know the real story behind the villains in fairy tales – evil, no two ways about it. But the villains themselves beg to differ. In this book you’ll hear from:
the Giant’s wife from “Jack and the Beanstalk”
the oldest of the Twelve Dancing Princesses
Rumpelstiltskin
the witch from “Hansel and Gretel”
someone called Evil Cinderella

Just watch these old stories do new tricks!

Thoughts

This is an incredibly easy, fun and engaging short story collection. It takes some brilliant authors who take you on journeys through well known fairy tales. The fact that these retellings all focus on the villains of the stories just made me love it even more. I always love the highlighting of grey areas and alternate tellings.

Troll’s-Eye View is a collection that is written for a very young age group. It’s simple and quaint. Easily accessible and fun. But, that doesn’t mean that as an adult you can’t enjoy it. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting down at the end of a long day and reading one of these short stories or poems. It was a great, fun and quick escape from the real world at a time when I’ve been really quite overwhelmed and stressed.

Most of my anthologies and collections contain only novellas and short stories. Troll’s-Eye View also has poems. They were enough to break up the flow throughout the story and leave you with a smile on your face.

<- Why Light?Wizard’s Apprentice ->

Image source: Amazon

Troll Bridge by Neil Gaiman

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for snow white, blood red book cover

Title: Troll Bridge
Author: Neil Gaiman
In: Snow White, Blood Red (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) & Smoke and Mirrors (Neil Gaiman) & Cursed (Marie O’Regan & Paul Kane)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Villains
Dates read: 12th March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Signet
Year: 1993
5th sentence, 74th page: “She’s an innocent,” it said.

Synopsis

Promise and hope can quickly become lost in life. It might take the troll bridge for a young boy to finally realise this though.

Thoughts

I loved that this was a retelling of The Billy Goats Gruff, but through the lens of loss. Or, more specifically about a lost future and lost chances. It gave a fairy tale that already feels a little eerie a far more haunting appeal. There was something about a broken down village and an abandoned bridge that made you think of people who are broken and unable to fulfil their dreams and potential.

At the beginning of this tale, I kind of felt for the narrative. I thought that his life would be ended prematurely and that he would be sympathetic. And he was, to begin with… and then he quickly became less and less relatable. Less someone that I wanted a happily ever after for. And more someone that I wanted karma to visit… which it did in a round about way. But, that was enough to make me feel a little more comfortable. And to remind me why I love Neil Gaiman’s writings.

<- The Springfield SwansA Sound, Like Angels Singing ->

Image source: Amazon

Observing the Formalities by Neil Gaiman

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for troll's-eye view book cover

Title: Observing the Formalities
Author: Neil Gaiman
In: Troll’s-Eye View (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) & Trigger Warning (Neil Gaiman)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Poetry, Retellings, Villains
Dates read: 1st March 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: Dull, useless things.

Synopsis

The entire issue with Aurora’s birthday is that no one decided to observe the formalities. And we all know how this story eventually ends…

Thoughts

I absolutely loved this poem. Although Maleficent (or the evil fairy from Sleeping Beauty) has always seemed kind of a terrifying villain, she’s also been the one that I relate to the best. Well, maybe not relate to, but understand. After all, she is retaliating against an incredible slight. Plus, there are so many beautiful retellings in the world now which make her seem far less evil, and just… misunderstood.

Which is probably why I love this poem so much. It highlights the faux pas that was made in “observing the formalities”. And instead of feeling like a tale of an evil witch, it is more about someone who really likes the rules. Which an organise freak like me can completely relate to…

<- MollyThe Cinderella Game ->

Image source: Amazon

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Stardust

Title: Stardust
Author: Neil Gaiman
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fae, Fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Headline
Year: 1999
5th sentence, 74th page: Such a nice name.

Synopsis

THE SLEEPY ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE…

At the dawn of the Victorian era, life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall. Young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester, but Victoria is as cold and distant as the star she and Tristran see fall from the sky one evening. For the prize of Victoria’s hand, Tristran vows to retrieve the star for his beloved. It is an oath that sends the lovelorn swain over the town’s ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining…

Thoughts

I had to buy this because I have loved the movie Stardust since I was a kid. Actually, I didn’t even realise that this was a book until it showed up in my suggested buys list. And, honestly, I was not disappointed for one single moment. This story was phenomenal, and fun, and took me on a wild adventure that I really couldn’t put down. Which was a problem, because I am an adult with other responsibilities…

Having watched the movie before reading the book, I knew roughly what was going to happen. And the main storyline really didn’t differ much between the two. Normally this annoys me in a movie adaptation, but it worked so brilliantly well. Gaiman’s lyrical writing and vivid descriptions sweep you away all on their own. The beauty of his words and the joy of the storyline just take you away as your toes curl up with the joy (and slight absurdity) of the story.

One of the things that I like about this story is that it leaves the world so open. Gaiman is a master of showing without telling, and there is so much that is left open to the readers’ imagination without getting bogged down in all of the details. I loved that even after I closed the final page of this book, I still continued to visit Faerie in my mind’s eye, imagining the many places that Tristan Thorn was able to visit throughout his life.

 <- Snow, Glass, ApplesStories: All New Tales ->

Image source: Amazon

Under My Hat edited by Jonathan Strahan

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Overview
Under My Hat

Title: Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron
Author: Jonathan Strahan, Diana Peterfreund, Frances Hardinge, Garth Nix, Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Patricia A. McKillip, Tim Pratt, M. Rickert, Isobelle Carmody, Jane Yolen, Peter S. Beagle, Margo Lanagan
In: Under My Hat (Jonathan Strahan)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Short story collections, Witches
Pace: Medium
Format: Collection
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: “Was he?” asked Mari.

Synopsis

Broomsticks.
Black Cats.
Pointy Hats.

They can mean only one thing – somewhere nearby, there must be a witch. From fairy tales to fims to fiction, witches cast their spells and capture our imaginations.

Now the biggest names in fantasy and young adult literature have come together to make a little magic of their own. Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Diana Peterfreund, Margo Lanagan, Peter S. Beagle, and Garth Nix are just a few of the authors who have toiled over their cauldrons and conjured up bewitching new creations inspired by and celebrating the might and mystery of the witch. Assembled by one of the most well-regarded anthologists in the science fiction/fantasy world, this rich, intelligent collection will enchant readers of all ages.

Thoughts

Short story collections are always good fun. They’re a great way to discover new authors, and the common thread through them can be so unique and different. Sometimes I even struggle to find the common thread! Not with this amazing collection though. It’s simple. Witches.

Strahan did a great job of putting together this fun and cute little collection of witch-y tales and I’m actually kind of disappointed that it’s over. Although I bought it to read B is for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher, the rest of the stories really jumped out at me. It’s actually difficult to pick an absolute favourite – they all had this twisted, fun, unexpected adventure that they took me on. Closing the cover of the book, I feel like I’ve gone on journeys through distant lands (and realms) and come back to land squarely on earth. Which is actually kind of disappointing… time to find my next epic journey of witchcraft and wings…

<- Crow and Caper, Caper and CrowStray Magic ->

Image source: Frances Hardinge

October 2017

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October 2017

October has been a super weird month, I’ve had a tonne of assignments due (finals here we come), quit a job and just generally felt a little lost and aimless. It’s meant a bit of reading since I tend to read when I’m overwhelmed, but I’m still feeling a little lost…

Image source: Van Vorst Park Association

Witch Work by Neil Gaiman

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Under My Hat

Title: Witch Work
Author: Neil Gaiman
In: Under My Hat (Jonathan Strahan) & Trigger Warning (Neil Gaiman)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves:  Easy reading, Fantasy, Witches
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: She sold calm seas to the mariners’ wives; Tied winds with silk cords so the storms could be tied there.

Synopsis

This short poem is about an elderly witch who lives in a room filled with clocks. She would sell storms, sorrows, and calmed the sea. The narrator explains that he bought three sorrows. The first he gave to his enemy’s child, the second was made into a broth by his wife, and the third remains unused. Regardless of this, the witch’s life is in a box which makes her quite sorrowful. We are not told what makes the witch sad, but she always returns to her house full of clocks.

Thoughts

This was an unexpectedly layered poem in the middle of the Under My Hat anthology. And one that I enjoyed immensely. I actually read this three times, each time with a new meaning and nuance. And, like all good poetry, I think that the more chances I get to read this, the more hidden meanings I will find about what a witch’s work entails.

<- FelidisThe Education of a Witch ->

Image source: Frances Hardinge