Trigger Warning - short story fictions and disturbances

I’m new to Neil Gaiman’s work, but I do know that he loves writing short stories. This is an eclectic collection which on the whole I did not find to my personal taste. However, Neil is an excellent writer, capable of a surprise ready to jump out at you as you approach each sentence. As a Doctor Who fan, I enjoyed reading ‘Nothing O ‘Clock’, and of the other stories I thought 'Black Dog’ and ‘The Thing about Cassandra’ particularly clever.

Reading some of the other stories I found myself tempted to skip pages. This is no reflection on the quality of Neil’s writing, more to do with the struggle I have with those based in fantasy / mythology rather than science fiction or supernatural / ghost stories. This is why, for me, the Doctor Who story worked and others didn’t, such as ‘The Return of the Thin White Duke’ (although I love the reference to Bowie) and ‘The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains’.

Overall, I can see why Neil is so popular and I wish that I had the slightest chance of matching the quality of his work with my own writing. I’m sure that many of us would like to aspire to that.

Michael Braccia