Paperback, 368 pages
Published Aug. 24, 2021 by William Morrow Paperbacks.
Multiple award winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman returns to dazzle, captivate, haunt, and entertain with this third collection of short fiction following Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things--which includes a never-before published American Gods story, "Black Dog," written exclusively for this volume.
In this new anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction--stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013--as well "Black Dog," a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.
Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghosts stories, science fiction …
Multiple award winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman returns to dazzle, captivate, haunt, and entertain with this third collection of short fiction following Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things--which includes a never-before published American Gods story, "Black Dog," written exclusively for this volume.
In this new anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction--stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013--as well "Black Dog," a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.
Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghosts stories, science fiction and fairy tales, fabulism and poetry that explore the realm of experience and emotion. In "Adventure Story"--a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane--Gaiman ponders death and the way people take their stories with them when they die. His social media experience "A Calendar of Tales" are short takes inspired by replies to fan tweets about the months of the year--stories of pirates and the March winds, an igloo made of books, and a Mother's Day card that portends disturbances in the universe. Gaiman offers his own ingenious spin on Sherlock Holmes in his award-nominated mystery tale "The Case of Death and Honey". And "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" explains the creaks and clatter we hear when we're all alone in the darkness.
A sophisticated writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman entrances with his literary alchemy, transporting us deep into the realm of imagination, where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday incandescent. Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day.
I'll be honest, I could've done without the poetry.
I'll be honest, I could've done without the poetry.
A "trigger warning" is like an allergy alert, in that it's meant to alert folks who have strong and uncontrolled reactions to certain topics that what they're about to see or hear might 'trigger' those reactions. Like the early days of anaphylactic reactions, early adopters of trigger warnings were folks who'd had to learn the hard way what might set them off; that is, they were traumatized by some horrible event, and thematically similar sights, sounds, and words, might cause additional emotional trauma. In his Foreword, Neil Gaiman mentions that he knows such a person, and had recently heard the term, and thought it appropriate for his collection. 'Nuff said.
There are 24 'stories' in this collection, if you count the poems as stories, which I do. They are:
Making a Chair
A Lunar Labyrinth
The Thing About Cassandra
Down to a Sunless Sea
"The Truth Is a Cave in …
A "trigger warning" is like an allergy alert, in that it's meant to alert folks who have strong and uncontrolled reactions to certain topics that what they're about to see or hear might 'trigger' those reactions. Like the early days of anaphylactic reactions, early adopters of trigger warnings were folks who'd had to learn the hard way what might set them off; that is, they were traumatized by some horrible event, and thematically similar sights, sounds, and words, might cause additional emotional trauma. In his Foreword, Neil Gaiman mentions that he knows such a person, and had recently heard the term, and thought it appropriate for his collection. 'Nuff said.
There are 24 'stories' in this collection, if you count the poems as stories, which I do. They are:
Making a Chair
A Lunar Labyrinth
The Thing About Cassandra
Down to a Sunless Sea
"The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains..."
My Last Landlady
Adventure Story
Orange
A Calendar of Tales
The Case of Death and Honey
The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury
Jerusalem
Click-Clack the Rattlebag
An Invocation of Incuriosity
"And Weep, Like Alexander"
Nothing O'Clock
Diamonds and Pearls: A Fairy Tale
The Return of the Thin White Duke
Feminine Endings
Observing the Formalities
The Sleeper and the Spindle
Witch Work
In Relig Odhrain
Black Dog
There's a bonus story of sorts in the Foreword, "Shadder", which might bring the count to 25, but it's not listed in the TOC, so I dunno.
I'm not inclined to critique each story (though I will if asked), so I'll just say that this is feels, to me, like atypical Gaiman fare. Still just as tasty, but a few different spices than what I'd been led to expect from him. I rather like the surprises.
My favorites in this collection were "Down to a Sunless Sea", "And Weep, Like Alexander", "Feminine Endings", "In Relig Odhrain", and "Black Dog", in no particular order. :)
