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Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions
 
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Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions (Mass Market Paperback)

by Neil Gaiman (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Avon Books; Reprint edition (Sep 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0380789027
  • ISBN-13: 978-0380789023
  • Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 10.7 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,414,485 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (18)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly all brilliant, and certainly worth picking up, 16 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Smoke and Mirrors (Hardcover)
I suppose it's a bit tired to keep gushing about Neil Gaiman and his brilliance and la-dee-da, but his prose is so thoughtful and inspiring that one just can't help but give him a shout-out.

If you're serious about picking up Smoke and Mirrors, I will say that most of the greatest stuff in it has already been published in Angels & Visitations, his miscellany from a few years back, but I've purchased both of them and have not regretted it for a second. Smoke and Mirrors is thick and exciting, and I'm actually quite amazed at how Gaiman can develop a situation or a character in stories so short.

His poems are fairly nice, but I personally didn't get into them as much as the longer stories. Personally, my favorites included "Chivalry" (an old gal buys the Holy Grail in a thrift store), "Murder Mysteries" (a whodunnit starring God, Lucifer, and a few members of the heavenly host), "Looking for the Girl," "Changes," "Snow, Glass, Apples" (some chilling horror-fantasy), and "Babycakes" (just over a page worth of commentary on the jaded human condition that I've read over and over).

I will say that I enjoy Gaiman the most when he takes his time over the course of an entire novel to tell his tale, but these bits and bites from Neil are too good to pass up. Smoke and Mirrors gets my 5 star vote without hesitation.

Excellent stuff, Mr. Gaiman. We're VERY much looking forward to whatever you've got for us next.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Savory melange of style and substance, 22 April 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Smoke and Mirrors (Hardcover)
I should point out first that (a) I've been Neil's friend for many years, and therefore not without bias, and (b) some of these stories I've read several times before. However, due to various health problems, I have been spending a lot of time in a series of doctor's waiting rooms for months now, and Smoke and Mirrors has been my book of choice for resisting lure of six month old issues of Field and Stream. I have read it from start to finish, resisting the strong temptation to flip forward to the stories I hadn't read, savoring each offering as I would a course in a lavish meal (and considering I'm on a diabetic's diet that's more savoring than I'm allowed in the traditional sense). It's been an unalloyed pleasure. And yesterday, while waiting for my endcrinologist to check me over, I finished the last story.

I rationed myself on this book, but you don't have to. If you only know Gaiman from Neverwhere or his Sandman comics, this is a chance to see the full range of his writing chops, which are formidable. I defy anyone to find me a better story this side of Nathaniel West about the mythical land of Hollywood than "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories." I cannot think of a more bizarre marriage than the melding of epic poetry and bikini bimbos that is Baywolf. I heard the ghost of Peter Cook at my ear in "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar." I took inordinate pleasure in reading "Snow, Glass, Apples" aloud to a group of my son's friends, and watching them laugh uneasily.

There is a wealth of fine storytelling here, a veritable trove of style and substance, passion and pastiche, wit and bite and vision and venom. The art of the short story is in excellent hands.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars not very entertaining, 15 April 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Smoke and Mirrors (Hardcover)
I could not find any story that made me think or remember why i should read this book. I think i laughed once . Maybe it was the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" rewrite that left my boredom temporarily. Do not read this book if your expecting extreme or fascinating stories.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Intruiging.
This is a great book. A pleasant change of format, and compelling, thought provoking writing. The Troll is a great, great story. Buy it.
Published on 28 Dec 2003 by Mr. Gavin H. Morris

4.0 out of 5 stars Gaiman does it again!
I do believe "Murder Mysteries" is one of the most disturbingly haunting stories I have ever read. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 1999

3.0 out of 5 stars A few gems
After reading Neverwhere, which I enjoyed emmensely, I was excited about reading this book. After I was finished, however, I was rather disappointed. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Best damn short story collection I've read in Years
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. Read more
Published on 21 April 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars it works
There must be many reasons to write short fiction. Mr Gaiman's is that the stories are meant for short fiction. Read more
Published on 10 April 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Ohmygod GOOD short stories
Like good conversations, good short stories (especially in the sci-fi/fantasy realms) are increasingly hard to find. Read more
Published on 6 April 1999

3.0 out of 5 stars Ehh
The stories in this collection were lukewarm. None were original or frightening whatsoever. I give it three stars because two or three of the stories were pretty good.
Published on 3 April 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Man oh man, do I love pie!
Hooray for books. Especially this one. Not being one to try and make up people's minds for them, I will instead offer mere suggestions of my favorites. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars No illusions: Neil Gaiman is a genius
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... Read more
Published on 9 Feb 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars the smoke blurs. . .
I have to agree: this was one of the best collection of short stories that i've read in a long time. Read more
Published on 2 Feb 1999

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