‘Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances’ (7 out of 10), Written by Neil Gaiman. William Morrow. Available 02/03/15.
Neil Gaiman has a new collection of short fiction, called ‘Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances.’ And the first thing I wanted to do after finishing my initial reading of these stories was, well, I wanted to go right back again and start from the beginning. In the past when I’ve read short stories I find my mind wandering trying to figure out how much is left-because its not usually enough. The best praise I can give ‘Trigger Warning’ is to say that I was completely immersed in most of the stories. I was intrigued, entertained and even a bit rattled by Gaiman’s words.
Writers being introspective about their writing is pure magic, which is why this is a must read, if only for its twenty page introduction. Gaiman writes about how this short story collection came into being, muses on how you need fiction to reveal hard truths to you and see the world for what it is, and then he gives you some back-story for each story.
Gaiman goes through each story and describes why it was written or who it was written for. I really liked that extra personal touch and I felt it made for richer reading-despite the short format. I loved the female pirate in “A Calendar of Tales” and “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury” touched my heart. There’s even a story of an igloo built of books-what book lover wouldn’t be drawn to that? “The Sleeper and the Spindle” was a fantastic fairy tale twist and definitely gave me the shivers while I was reading. “Click-Clack the Rattlebag” was deliciously creepy.
My issue often times with short story anthologies is the tie-ins to other books or series that I might not have read. Two stories in Trigger Warning reflect two of Gaiman’s own books, ‘American Gods’ and ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane.’ “The Case of Death and Honey” is Gaiman’s Sherlock Holmes story but also with a nod to Laurie King’s Mary Russell and Holmes series. Though that series is still on my lengthy to be read list, I found that story to be one of my favorites. I have never watched a complete Doctor Who episode and I’ve never read a Doctor Who novel. However, I did still like “Nothing O’clock”, the story featuring the Doctor.
The charm of this collection, which you may call haphazard in style and genre, lies in its variety: it is deliciously eclectic. And that’s the thing about Neil Gaiman: you just cannot nail down his style. He’s the king of unpredictable. There are stories in this collection, fables steeped in mythology, which seem very typically Gaiman until, one unique tale pops up that leaves you stunned and somehow devastated, because you had only just begun to believe that you knew him.
‘Trigger Warning’ is definitely a keeper shelf book. There are pieces here I’ll want to revisit- like “Orange”, which I’ve read before, but enjoyed as much (maybe more) the second time around. If you’re a fan, you probably already know you’re going to read this ASAP. For anyone new to Gaiman’s work, I’ve always found his short story collections to be an excellent introduction to his style, and this is no exception.
-Dagobot
Get at me on twitter: @markdago
Like me on THE Facebook: facebook.com/markdagoraps
Download my latest EP for free: markdago.bandcamp.com
Listen to MY podcast http: http://poppundits.libsyn.com