Rating: 
Summary: Hanging Out With The (real) Dreamking. Amazing.
Review: This is the only book of short stories I've ever finished and then gone all the way back to the introduction and started again. It's pure magic.There are stories in here that had me giggling hysterically (like Shoggoth's Old Peculier) and stories that gave me goosepimples (The Wedding Gift) and some that gave me magical chills of recognition (Snow Glass Apples) and some that just made me see the world differently, as if I had never seen it before. What is astonishing about Gaiman, apart from the unique worldview and power of the stories (which reminds me at times of Harlan Ellison, Angela Carter and Ray Bradbury) is the range. The funny stories in here really are funny, the scary ones are scary. The one science fiction story felt like good science fiction. The erotic story was erotic, and the fairy stories feel like fairy stories, they have that relentless dream logic that fairy stories have. In the introduction Gaiman mentions Raymond Carver and John Collier, which I found illuminating, as both Carver and Collier, like Gaiman, achieved their best effects with the kind of smooth prose that is doing the most when you notice it the least. The voice is different from story to story (When We Went To See The End of the World By Dawnie Morningside is written by an eleven year old girl and is heartbreaking, while there's one that is written as if by a 17th century folklorist named John Aubrey) and the variety is amazing but the thread that links them is Gaiman's quirky point of view. It is the place where you can see the mind behind Good Omens and the mind behind The Sandman coming together. It's an amazing collection of short stories. And once you have read it you will never look at familiar things, like Santa Claus, or Snow White, or angels, in the same way ever again.
Rating:
Summary: Best damn short story collection I've read in Years
Review: I bought this book because of the review on SFSITE, at www.sfsite.com where the readers poll picked it as the best book of the year. After reading it I can see why. The stories range from funny to scary to sad to just plain strange. This is what it said at SFSITE. "He made it on the SF Site Editor's Best of 1998 list in the # 2 spot with Smoke and Mirrors. Last year he topped the Best of 1997 list with his first solo novel, Neverwhere -- which grabbed the #4 spot this year in paperback. Is there any doubt at all that we like Neil Gaiman? Gaiman's rep as a modern spinner of fairy tales is well deserved. But Smoke and Mirrors gave him an opportunity to perform on a variety of stages, and prove to his audience that he's far more than just the author of The Sandman comic, or even just a gifted fantasist. This collection of thirty short stories and poems (some of which were previously published in the small print-run volume Angels and Visitations) was the first opportunity he's had to demonstrate his true range, and he didn't waste it. The collection opens with "Chivalry," the story of a widow who discovers the Holy Grail in a secondhand shop; other tales include "Nicholas Was," a disturbing look at the legend of Santa Claus. For Lovecraft fans there's "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar" and "Only the End of the World", both of which pay hilarious tribute to both the Cthulhu Mythos and classic horror film conventions. The poems include "Bay Wolf," which manages to mix Beowulf and Baywatch. All in all, Smoke and Mirrors is perhaps the most surprising and rewarding book of the year - one to be savoured and treasured." Warning: I don't think you would like this book if you have no imagination or sense of wonder.
Rating: 
Summary: There are some real gems in this collection
Review: I ordered this a few months ago and it with out a doubt kept me interested pretty much the entire way through. It's a very nice variety of stories. It's very much an adult book due to some of the more graphic stories. In my opinion it is a good read. Two of my favorite stories were "Snow Glass Apples" and "Murder Mysteries".
Rating:
Summary: riveting collection of stories
Review: I have a love-hate relationship with Neil Gaiman. I love his work. His diction is always impeccable, always inspired. But I hate that I somehow lose a day when I start reading one of his books. I get so wrapped up in the story, in the world that he weaves, that I cannot put the book down. I started reading this short story collection thinking that this may be the solution to my love-hate relationship. I could not have been more wrong. Even when the story is a mere hundred words (as is 'Nicholas Was ...'), I simply could not stop reading. After each story, I would pause to shiver or reflect (or, often, both). Occasionally, I would flip back to the beginning to read the introduction where the author discusses each story and how it came about. Then, I would plunge into the next story. I finished the book in less than a day, including flipping back and reading several stories again. This collection of short stories is an excellent introduction to the world of Neil Gaiman. One of the strengths of the author is showing an alternate perspective. You could look at each of these stories (including the one buried in the introduction) as doing just that. The haunting 'Nicholas Was ...' and 'Snow, Glass, Apples' show us that maybe Santa Claus isn't a jolly old man and that maybe Snow White wasn't an innocent pure girl driven out by an evil uncaring stepmother. Individually, each of the stories is an excellent example of what comes off of a gifted writer's pen (or keyboard, as it were). Together, this collection is riveting and engaging. In the years to come, I am sure that I will pull this book off my shelf often to read a story or two (or all of them) again.
Rating:
Summary: No illusions: Neil Gaiman is a genius
Review: People tend to get snide when you mention Neil Gaiman used to write comic books. Infidels. If your friends mock you and your fascination with the worlds Gaiman creates, just give them a copy of this book and tell them to shut up. It's the best introduction I can think of to everything Neil. Some stories are undoubtedly stronger and more inspired than others, but the collection on the whole is astoundingly good, and makes Stephen King look pathetic, though it's hard to compare the two. Gaiman doesn't write horror stories, he writes magical ones -- stories that wrap you up in what your parents told you for years was impossible or unreal. "Snow, Glass, Apples" -- this is not your grandmother's Snow White, and Gaiman himself states that he hopes the reader will not read the original faery tale the same way ever again. He succeeds. This story is worth the price of the book alone. "Chivalry" -- a brilliant, extremely funny look into the mind of an elderly woman who's found the Holy Grail in a secondhand store and think it's just a fabulous mantel pice, never mind that Arthurian knight who keep bothering her for it. I made my dad read this one. "Nicholas Was..." -- ever wonder how Christmas in the Gaiman household is? Dark, haunting, and achingly beautiful. Possibly my favorite, despite its (sadly) short length. "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories" -- the longest, and one of the best hands down, stories in this book. Neil takes the big hypodermic needle of writing and instead of sucking the life right out of what could have been a boring story, injects it with a subtle shadow and oodles of glitter. Very touching. "The Sweeper of Dreams" -- one word: There's not only stories, but poetry as well, and if I could go door to door and beg people to buy and read this book, I would. Not everyone appreciates Gaiman's mission of reintroducing magic into our world, but I, for one, plan on doing every little bit I can do to help. Smoke and mirrors and illusions...
Rating:
Summary: Stop reading this and go get this book now!
Review: There is so much variety in this book you'd think it wasn't written by the same person, but it is, and how well it was done. Most of it pertains to sci-fi/fantasy, as that is what Gaiman usually writes. Some of the stories are truly touching, some haunting, and some very funny. There are about 30 short stories and poems.
There are brief introductions to each piece, which is very interesting. Good for a read every now and then or all at once. Good stuff that you will remember for a long time after reading it. It blew me away, especially the last two stories, "Murder Mysteries" and "Snow, Glass, Apples." Those were the most memorable and well written, in my opinion. Just like they say, save the best for last.
Rating:
Summary: An Enchanting Collection from the Modern Master of Fantasy
Review: In praising Neil Gaiman, author of the award-winning Sandman comic book series, Stephen King called him "a treasure house of story". For those who only know the inimitable Mr. Gaiman from his comic book works, this collection represents a treasure trove of the author's prose work, with a generous helping of verse thrown in to boot. The stories contained within Smoke and Mirrors range from straight horror to wild fantasy. While the stories range widely in quality, the 337 pages of this collection fly by, and even where Gaiman misses the mark, he makes an impression. I highly recommend "Murder Mysteries," a tale of a murder investigation in Heaven before Lucifer's Fall (or was he pushed?); "Troll Bridge," concerning dark happenings beneath a highway bridge; and "The Price," a story about a cat's sacrifice which I believe Mr. King found quite wonderful. Gaiman thoughtfully includes a detailed introduction wherein he describes the genesis of these stories. Fellow writers will find this section fascinating as a window on the author's creative process. Short story collections are of necessity a mixed bag, but even casual Gaiman fans will find Smoke and Mirrors rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: So much better than Neverwhere
Review: In "Neverwhere" Gaiman seriously bit off more than he could chew. But in this book of short stories, Gaiman's intensely creative ideas and fantastic imagination are perfect for the art that is the short story. I like how he puts two entirely unrelated ideas together. Like his opening tale of an old woman who finds the Holy Grail at her local thrift shop and is pursued by a handsome Knight of the Table Round (Yes, somehow he is from the past) who desperately wants the cup so he can complete his quest. You won't believe what he offers her in the way of exchange! These stories are so cool, I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Echos in your mind indefinately
Review: Most of what I would say has already been said in previous reviews. I would simply add my voice to the chorus that praises this collection, and add that Gaiman's skill is such that days, weeks -- ages -- after reading these tales, they will continue to resonate for you. It may be that your perceptions of stray cats is altered, or you find yourself less interested in shopping for bargains, or you will find poetry more accessible, or the night more eerie.....Whatever your flavor, there will be something in this collection for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Hodgepodge.
Review: Everything in here that could be considered, by a logical and well-read person, to be a short story, is excellent. Everything that is not (the "poetry", the vignettes, the various scratchings, the "experimental" stuff) is utter garbage. Pick your way through it with discretion. Nobody questions Gaiman's ability as a writer, but here he seems better suited to the sort of stuff that has a cohesive beginning, middle, and end. The nebulous, airy-fairy pieces are best skimmed past. A solid introduction to Gaiman's work, though, if that's what you're after.
| 
