Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman

This is a pretty long book for a collection of short stories, especially when a few of the stories are only a page long. I've read anthologies before but it isn't quite the same thing, this is only one author. To be honest though, sometimes it didn't feel like just Gaiman. I was pleasantly surprised to see such versatility in the stories of Fragile Things. There was some great stories in there and some weird ones and some cough crap ones cough. I talk about versatility because I have written in pervious posts that Gaiman writes one thing and one thing well, his well known books are about a man being thrust into a magical world and dealing with that transition, there isn't any of that here. There is a large clash of genres as well, horror, fantasy and poems. Funnily enough, the poems I didn't like :)

Here are a list of my favourites, in order of awesomeness :P


"Bitter Grounds"
It is my favourite, just an incredible amount of depth. I like at the start it hints at the life of the character before he decided to leave it all behind. Then very quickly we get involved in a strange and vibrant lifestyle in New Orleans. It was going with the flow that lead the main character there and a strange chance meeting with a man. I wonder if the chance meeting meant more then I originally thought, he did say a few times about "meeting people and coincides" or something. I might be over thinking it.


"Closing time"
I was actually really nervous about reading it, the eerie setting of the club and the man starting with 'it happened to me' and then the twist! What a GREAT story! The atmosphere was tense and i felt it in my bedroom while I was reading. The slow build up and the confusion of the young boys in the story was amazing. The visuals that Gaiman created for me was astounding, I felt like I could see what those boys were doing. It was like watching a movie, rather then reading a book. 


"Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire" 

I really loved this one! I really enjoyed the two story lines and the interweaving of his reality and our own. It was a really nice stylistic change. The tone was more horror then fantasy and it was so beautiful to read. The twists and turns in one of the stories keep it fresh and the effort to understand the blaring similarities in stories but getting no satisfaction at the end drove me crazy. I really liked that though, it seems Gaiman just wanted to tease the reader.


Unfortunately it was down hill from here. There were a few more good ones but the second half of the book was a huge flop for me. I think the draw card was meant to be the "American Gods' novella, but that wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. Shadow was such a good in American Gods but not in this story, great twist in there though, really great.


3 out of 5 ghost stories in a dark and almost empty pub. (The three stories mentioned above brings it up from a 2.5)

Cirque De Soleil & China Mieville

What do these two things have in common you my be asking yourself. Freaking weird ideas about bugs is the answer. I went to see the latest Cirque De Soleil show and it was about bugs. The costumes were absolutely amazing and I was delighted in the way they changed the way a persons body looks when they move to create a more insect-like movement. The whole time  I was watching the show I just kept thinking I felt like it was a China Mieville novel come to life. I have read Perdido Street Station and I didn't finish it, I just couldn't get into it. The story line was insane and the characters so hard to relate to, because so few of them were humans. I want to share with you some pictures and phrases taken from the book and maybe you will see the similarities too.

"Saw her throat bob where the pale insectile underbelly segued smoothly into  her human neck" pg 10

"She angled up on one elbow and , as he watched, the dark ruby or her carapace opened slowly while her headlegs splayed. The two halves of her headshell quivered slightly, held as wide as they would go. From beneath their shade she spread her beautiful, useless little beetle wings."pg 14

"Five on each side, holding my wings. Holding my great wings tight as I thrashed and sought to beat them hard and viciously against my captors' skulls." pg 705

Fevre Dream - G.R.R. Martin

I think we all know G.R.R. Martin is able to write a good book and  Fevre Dream is no exception. It has vampire's in the book, but it's not about vampires. It is about a partnership and a steamboat. It is about a loveable riverman by the name of Marsh who is so unlucky you feel bad for the poor guy. Above all, it is about a steamboat, that goes by the name of Fevre Dream.

My favourite thing about this book was how well the characters and settings were written. Martin takes us strolling down the Mississippi at a leisurely pace. I was drawn into this world of steamboats and trade and I was drawn to this mysterious stranger and the bold as brass captain Marsh.

The novel is short, and it isn't action packed but there is a charm in the story. You can almost trick yourself into thinking you are reading a real account of the river trade along the Mississippi 1850s. The scenery, the calm pace of the river is all written so beautifully, I want to put the mississippi river on my go to list when I travel over to America. I am aware that it will look very different to what it looked like in the 1850s though :(. I would have like more to happen in the story though, a few added big events, just to give it a bit more excitement.

There was plenty of natural stopping points in the novel, much like there is in our own lives, where things are less hectic and are just flowing along smoothly. It mean I finished the novel in a much longer time frame then I thought I would.

Overall I really liked this novel. Because it felt to different in style I can trick myself I read something outside of the genre :P

4 out of 5 beautiful old steamboats.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

I was not expecting much from this movie. I saw the trailer and it doesn't look very good. More disjointed and plotless then most movies trailers do. I watched a short interview on foxtel with the cast and I thought Gemma Arterton sounded nice, so I went to see it. When I got to the cinema and saw they sold these cool green sippy cups for frozen coke, I bought one and kinda thought that would be the highlight of the day.

I was not prepared for the movie to be pretty great, and it was. So the sippy cup, wasn't as cool, which is crazy, because the sippy cup is awesome! Don't get so excited and rush off to go see it though. I think one of the reasons I liked it so much much was because I had such low expectations. After watching the trailer it reminded me of Snow White and the Huntsman, and that was a terrible movie.

Hansel and Gretel, had a really great relationship on screen. As you all know, their parents left them when they were little and they have only had each other since. They bickered like siblings, fought like siblings and protected each other like siblings would. It was clear they were very close. It was fun to watch then, Gretel was particularly kick arse and Hansel, all roguish. There were some really great side character's too, and I relished in their inclusion. 

The plot actually made sense! Which is quite out standing considering most movies taken from fairytales are always changed. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters had changes a plenty. Of course, the children become witch hunters after killing they witch in the candy house but there are others too. Their parents are mentioned and there is a revelation that I thought was a great addition. 

With these glasses comes great
reflexes and super strength

I saw it in 3D and there were arrows flying at me and trees fell on me, but I have ninja like reflexes and I am super strong, so I lived to tell the tale. It wasn't anything to write home about, it was good, not great, Hansel's bending over backwards to miss an arrow made me laugh out loud rather be amazed. I guess that is CGI and action packed flicks this days, it's hard to stand out, or be taken seriously (like this movie wth? and where is the plot?). 

I really enjoyed this movie. It didn't take itself too seriously, the plot flowed, the acting was good and I would definitely go see another one. 

3.5 out of 5 - decapitated witches.

The Tales of Dunk and Egg - G.R.R. Martin

The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and the Mystery Knight are the three short stories that have currently been published. These three short stories are collected in various volume's called Warriors in where authors write short stories set in there most famous worlds. I don't care about the other authors, I just wanted the G.R.R Martin ones :P.

The tales are set 100 years BEFORE the events of Game of Thrones. If you pay more attention to things than I do in the ASoIaF world you will see the references made to people that lived and breathed in Dunk and Egg's day. Unfortunately I don't pay much attention so I guess I missed out. Not that I minded, I loved these short stories anyway. The only bad part is because it is 100 years before GoT I that Dunk and Egg die, but oh well, all things die eventually.

The short stories are ... ready ... this is pretty huge ... get ready ... they are light. They are light and fun, there is not so much doom and gloom and perpetual winter that characterises ASoIaF.  That is not to say the stories aren't interesting reads. I read them all one after the other and even tried to get out of breakfast so I could finish the last 100 pages when I woke up. The best thing about these books were the characters. You can't help but love them and it is a nice change of pace to follow a hedge knight and his squire around the place rather reading pages and pages of heavy court intrigue.

I can't recommend these short stories highly enough. They were short, great reading and I sense you will get so much more out of them if you paid more attention to things when you read ASoIaF.  There are more coming too so look out for that! Oh and they are in graphic novel format as well.

5 out of 5 - hedges with knights

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere is another great novel by Neil Gaiman. The whole book is interesting, the world is intriguing and the characters vivid in their strangeness and with a new world so strange and yet familiar how could I not be hooked?

Amazon's Book Description says this about Neverwhere: "Richard Mayhew is a plain man with a good heart -- and an ordinary life that is changed forever on a day he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. From that moment forward he is propelled into a world he never dreamed existed -- a dark subculture flourish in abandoned subway stations and sewer tunnels below the city -- a world far stranger and more dangerous than the only one he has ever known..."

Let's deal with the blazingly obvious first. Gaiman has developed a theme that runs through some of his work. You take a normal guy living his normal life and put him in a magical world and see how it goes.      I don't see this as a negative thing, each main character was very different and I felt an affinity for both of them for different reasons. I will admit I will not be reading Stardust next, but that is mostly because I saw the movie and didn't like it. I don't believe Gaiman should be tarred with a 'one trick pony' brush, he writes too well for that.

This book reminds me of a book I read for the bfbs book club. It goes by the name of The Anubis Gates by Tim Power. Neverwhere reminds me of this book for a few reasons. The search for truth is a main plot line in both and the prevalence of people knowing the underground sewers. The Anubis Gates was the first time I had come across a society of people living underneath a bustling city and so it seems right that I associate Neverwhere's underground London with it. I guess that is why reading about London Below felt familiar. I wanted to know what Gaiman's underground world felt like, compared to the one created by Power.

The setting of Neverwhere is mostly in London Below. Gaiman paints a pretty engaging picture of who the society is made up of and gives us a decently detailed look into a few of its prominent figures. I really enjoyed reading about the man with his birds, he was such a cool guy. Gaiman gives the reader glimpses into the social structure and make up of London Below. The rat people where interesting as were the sewer people and the floating market was a both a challenge and a treat to imagine.

Final say, the book is really good. It didn't leave me with the same awe as American Gods. That might have something to do with it being the first of Gaiman's books I have read, or that I felt Neverwhere was similar to The Anubis Gates in a few key ways. Regardless, a really interesting read!

3.5 out of 5 doors randomly opening.

Oh and btw this is ALSO a tv series, although already completed. Crazy I know right!

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

I hit a bit of a lull after finishing the last two books i was reading. I was at a loss when it came to picking a new book. Red Country was recommended again but I wanted to take a break from 'dark and gritty', because if you read too much at once, I find it is no longer 'dark and gritty'. So I headed on over to stand alone list on the Best Fantasy Book's site. American Gods took my fancy, I'd heard good things from a few trusted forum members and I have been meaning to give it a go.

I have never read anything by Neil Gaiman before. I didn't even know what kind of books he wrote. I'd seen Stardust and didn't like it but that doesn't mean anything really. So with no reservations, just curiosity I started American Gods. And once I had started. I couldn't put it down.

The basic premise is that Shadow, a normal guy is thrust into this world of Gods. The Gods exist as you and I do in the real world, some of them have jobs and some are not happy. They are not happy because the came into existence when people believed in them. When people no longer believed in them they no longer held any kind of power, they were stuck. There are new Gods now too, Gods of the internet, and television and all of the things we humans devote our time and attentions to. Shadow is hired as a body guard, of sorts, by one of the Gods and then we tumble along with him into this world and the craziness of it.

Shadow's story is sharp and quick. In a very few chapters Gaiman sets up his character and we get the gist of this main that is our main character. After that we learn more about Shadow from what happens TO him rather then what has happened before him (there is a difference I swear it). I really liked this story line and I loved Shadow as a character. He is the kind of guy I would like to have my back. The stability of this character hold the story together I feel. I think, and this is going to sound a little crazy, that by creating a main character who was able to be so calm in his dealings with the Gods, I too just accepted what was going on around me.

The Gods themselves were really interestingly done. It was really fascinating to see all different manner of Gods mixed together, talking to one another. I also found out some pretty cool stuff about the origins of some of the things people believe in. I am not well educated in the Gods of religions outside my basic understanding of Native American, Norse, Greek and Roman so I didn't do well in my guesses of who each God was. Maybe you will do better.

There was not a part of this book I didn't like. It was so different to the fantasy I had been reading and it was nice to encounter something set in the modern day. The stand alone list is a great way to broaden your reading bookshelf and I will definitely be back there later on. I want to read Neverwhere next!

American Gods gets 4.5 out of 5 Gods wasting into obscurity. 

Oh and btw - It is being made into a TV series! HBO is going all out on the fantasy books ey?