Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

source: free review copy via Harper Collins
title: Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances
author: Neil Gaiman
genre: short story/fantasy
pages: 368
published: October 27, 2015
rated: 4 out of 5 stars

blurb:
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…

my thoughts:
The folks over at Harper Collins kindly sent me an ARC of Neil Gaiman’s Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances back in January of 2015 and look how long it has taken me to read it.

I liked the introduction by the author and after reading each story, I’d go back and read his comments on each which was a nice touch. I savored each of these stories with a few poems thrown in. What I like about short stories is that there is not too much commitment. You can read one or two a day and feel a little sense of accomplishment at the end of each one.

One of my favorites here was “The Thing About Cassandra”. I can’t really say what it was about without spoiling it, but I found the premise of this one really cool and think it would make for a great full length novel.

Another good one was “The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains”. This one was about revenge. I also really liked “My Last Landlady”, it was a too-short ghost story. This is not my first time reading this author and Gaiman’s writing tends to captivate me.

I hope your world is kind. By which I mean, I’ve heard we see the world not as it is but as we are. A saint sees a world of saints, a killer sees only murderers and victims. I see the dead.
p.67, Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

I found that a common theme in these stories was that things aren’t what they seem to be. If you take the time to look a little closer, you might see things that you hadn’t noticed before.

Another good one was “Feminine Endings”, about a statue that is in love with a woman. Narrated by the statue, this one had a creepy, stalker-like vibe to it. Statues can creep me out as it is, it does sometimes seem like they move just a fragment when you look away and look back at them.

I love you, and it is my love for you that drives me to know all about you. The more I know the closer I am to you.
p.226, Trigger Warning

Overall, Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances is a nice collection of stories with a few poems thrown in. I recommend this one, especially if you enjoy fantasy and don’t mind being scared just a little bit.

We need to find out what fiction is, what it means, to us, an experience that is going to be unlike anyone else’s experience of the story.
-Neil Gaiman

about the author:
I make things up and write them down. Which takes us from comics (like SANDMAN) to novels (like ANANSI BOYS and AMERICAN GODS) to short stories (some are collected in SMOKE AND MIRRORS) and to occasionally movies (like Dave McKean’s MIRRORMASK or the NEVERWHERE TV series, or my own short film A SHORT FILM ABOUT JOHN BOLTON).

In my spare time I read and sleep and eat and try to keep the blog at www.neilgaiman.com more or less up to date.

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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. My free review copy of Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman was from Harper Collins . Nothing in this post is for download, the crochet photo is my own.