Lynda C. (Readnmachine) reviewed Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions (P.S.) on + 1440 more book reviews
This collection of short pieces from Gaiman's work in the '80s and '90s showcases his often dark imagination. Not every selection here is to my taste, but when he's cookin', no one can touch him.
This edition includes copious notes regarding each story, helping to place them in time and occasionally to explain where they came from. Standouts in the collection include 'Chivalry', a clever fantasy with a light touch, and a quietly frightening piece called 'The Sweeper of Dreams', whose lyrical opening paragraph is just about as perfect a lead-in as I've ever seen:
"After all the dreaming is over, after you wake, and leave the world of madness and glory for the mundane day-lit daily grind, through the wreckage of your abandoned fancies walks the sweeper of dreams."
This edition includes copious notes regarding each story, helping to place them in time and occasionally to explain where they came from. Standouts in the collection include 'Chivalry', a clever fantasy with a light touch, and a quietly frightening piece called 'The Sweeper of Dreams', whose lyrical opening paragraph is just about as perfect a lead-in as I've ever seen:
"After all the dreaming is over, after you wake, and leave the world of madness and glory for the mundane day-lit daily grind, through the wreckage of your abandoned fancies walks the sweeper of dreams."
