Smoke and Mirrors (1998)

by Neil Gaiman

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

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Same series: Perdido Street Station (Bas-Lag)
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (1983)
Same series: Maskerade, Monstrous Regiment (Discworld)
Snow White, Blood Red by Ellen Datlow (1993)
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▾Will you like it?

▾Member reviews

English (80) French (2) All languages (82)

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Showing 1-5 of 80 (next | show all)

The stories in this book are sometimes horrifying, sometimes thought provoking, and sometimes just plain weird. Overall, I enjoyed this book. (

)

ABShepherd | May 15, 2013 |

I don't normally like short stories, but Neil Gaiman has them down to an art. His short stories don't feel like shrunken down versions of a novel: they feel like short stories. My favourite story in the whole thing is actually the story in the intro, the wedding present. Well worth reading. (

)

shanaqui | Apr 9, 2013 |

Want to know how good this book is? Well, I bought it because it's a book of short stories. My husband and I were going on a trip to Hawaii, and I figured I'd read it on the plane.

Which I did. I then kept reading it -- in our hotel, in the car, on the way to the beach, at the beach. My husband was getting so irritated at me because I was spending our vacation on the island of Oahu reading a book.

That is how great this book is. I picked it over snorkeling. (

)

mephistia | Apr 6, 2013 |

Of course it's 5 stars... It's Neil Gaiman! Eclectic and brilliant story-telling that always comes out perfect. (

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agdbk | Apr 4, 2013 |

I remember these as being very hit-or-miss. (

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JG_IntrovertedReader | Apr 3, 2013 |

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Neil Gaiman	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Potter, J.K.	Cover photograph	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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▾Common Knowledge

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Series (with order)

Canonical title

Smoke and Mirrors

Original title

Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

Smoke and Mirrors

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1998

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Geffen Award (Best Translated Fantasy Book, 2004)

Bram Stoker Award Nominee (Collection, 1998)

SF Site Reader's Choice (#1, 1998)

SF Site Editor's Choice (1998)

Reading Agency Mood Boosting Books 2012

Epigraph

But where there's a monster there's a miracle.

Dragons Are Too Seldom

Ogden Nash

Dedication

For Ellen Datlow and Steve Jones

First words

They'll call it chance, or luck, or call it Fate -- The cards and stars that tumble as they will. (introduction, actual first words of book).

Mrs. Whitaker found the Holy Grail; it was under a fur coat. (Chivalry, first line of out first story in book)

Quotations

Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

Maar waar een monster is, is ook een wonder - Ogden Nash - Dragons are too seldom

'Ik bedoel' zei ze, 'dat een mens het niet kan helpen dat ie groter wordt.' - 'Eén mens niet, misschien,'' zei Wiggel Waggel, 'maar twee wel. Met de benodigde hulp had je het bij 7 kunnen houden.' - Lewis Carroll - Achter de spiegel

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (4)

Murder Mysteries

Neil Gaiman bibliography

Smoke and Mirrors (story collection)

Snow, Glass, Apples

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Collects these stories:
"Chivalry"
"Nicholas Was ..."
"The Price"
"Troll Bridge"
"Don't Ask Jack"
"The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories"
"The White Road"
"Queen of Knives"
"Changes"
"The Daughter of Owls"
"Shoggoth's Old Peculiar"
"Virus"
"Looking for the Girl"
"Only the End of the World Again"
"Bay Wolf"
"We Can Get Them for You Wholesale"
"One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock"
"Cold Colors"
"The Sweeper of Dreams"
"Foreign Parts"
"Vampire Sestina"
"Mouse"
"The Sea Change"
"When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, Age 11 1/4"
"Desert Wind"
"Tastings"
"Babycakes"
"Murder Mysteries"
"Snow, Glass, Apples"

AR 5.7; 15 Pts

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0380789027, Mass Market Paperback)

This anthology of short stories, and the occasional story poem, is vintage Neil Gaiman: quirky, sometimes very funny, often dark and disturbing. Most have been published before, but are hard to find elsewhere and cover all of Gaiman's writing life. As Gaiman says in his introduction, "most of the stories in this book are about love in some form or another," but not requited love. The stories in Smoke and Mirrors touch on all of Gaiman's themes: sex, death, dreams, and the end of the world. From "Chivalry," about the Holy Grail and where it finally ended up, to "Troll Bridge," a very adult version of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"; from "Bay Wolf," a story poem that melds Beowulf and Baywatch, with interesting results, to "Murder Mysteries," which is about a murder, but also about angels, God's will, and Evil, these stories leave lasting impressions. Fans of Ray Bradbury's short stories and of Gaiman's other works will enjoy this collection. --Nona Vero

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:52:53 -0500)

(see all 8 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

A collection of fantasy stories and poems. In Chivalry, a woman discovers the Holy Grail in a secondhand shop, in Murder Mysteries, an angel visiting Los Angeles provides the inside story on Lucifer's revolt against God, and there are revisionist stories on Snow White and Santa Claus.… (more)

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