Best known for his Sandman graphic novels about Morpheus, Lord of Dreams, Neil Gaiman has also written the standalone books Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), Never Where from his BBC TV series revealing a fantastic realm under London, and Star Dust, a poignant fairy tale. His shorter fantasies are regularly picked for Year's Best collections. Smoke and Mirrors assembles 36 of his favourite stories, prose poems, and verse pieces. Among the imaginative inventions here are a murder mystery set among angels in heaven; the discovery of the Holy Grail at Oxfam; warped retellings of fairy tales and folklore, including a Snow White that's black beyond belief; several clever variations on vampirism; a firm of contract killers with a very remarkable discount scheme; homages to Michael Moorcock and H.P. Lovecraft (one splendidly funny) that avoid mere pastiche; an SF world of rapid and reversible sex changes; Beowulf retold as a Baywatch episode; a tasty amalgamation of computers and black magic; a new final book of the Bible; and the grim wedding present that's simply a manuscript telling a bleakly different story of the recipients' unfolding marriage. SF/fantasy professionals themselves envy Gaiman's perpetual flow of new ideas and ability to put a fresh spin on old ones. Smoke and Mirrors is a dazzlingly varied and rewarding collection. --David Langford

2008-09-21 A great place to begin

If you've not read this author before this is a really great place to begin, not all the stories featured are written in the same style or for the same purpose, there are stories from magazines and athologies and the author provides a short description on the choice of featured stories too.

However running through them all is a sort of content which is unmistakeably Gaiman, the fantastic and spellbinding is ever present, however people are often motivated by pretty human, sometimes base, instincts.

My favourite stories are the one the knight who has ranged across time looking for an artifact which an old lady has uncovered at a junk shop. I really had a sense of chivalry in the character and conduct of the knight, its all made extraordinary because its so removed from what you would imagine is its context, time and place.

The story written in tribute of a Moorcock's writing is fantastic and very evocative of the joys of reading, particularly when the central character decides that all the books, different genres of sci fi and fantasy are all of a kind because they are all by the same author and the style survives throughout them all. I was startled by this story too in that it features some pretty disturbing revelations between friends in a kind of "that's how things are" way. It made me think about whether it was a fantasy story or a kind horror story.

There's also a story about a photographer which deals with the nature of obsession which I've found totally unforgetable too and had all the usual elements of unease, disturbance and fantasy all in a very everyday matter of fact retelling in the first person.

This is an excellent place to start with this author, lots of shorter and medium length stories which you can read and digest before deciding whether or not you want to get involved with one of his full length works. I had this book in my car for a couple of weeks and read it any time I got a chance, I could see it being a really great book to read on train journeys or when commuting.