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Selections from Fragile Things #6
Selections from Fragile Things, Volume Six: A Short Fiction
“A prodigiously imaginative collection.”
—New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice
“Dazzling tales from a master of the fantastic.”—Washington Post Book World
Fragile Things is a sterling collection of exceptional tales from Neil Gaiman, multiple award-winning (the Hugo, Bram Stoker, Newberry, and Eisner Awards, to name just a few), #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Graveyard Book, Anansi Boys, Coraline, and the groundbreaking Sandman graphic novel series. A uniquely imaginative creator of wonders whose unique storytelling genius has been acclaimed by a host of literary luminaries from Norman Mailer to Stephen King, Gaiman’s astonishing powers are on glorious displays in Fragile Things. Enter and be amazed!
—New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice
“Dazzling tales from a master of the fantastic.”—Washington Post Book World
Fragile Things is a sterling collection of exceptional tales from Neil Gaiman, multiple award-winning (the Hugo, Bram Stoker, Newberry, and Eisner Awards, to name just a few), #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Graveyard Book, Anansi Boys, Coraline, and the groundbreaking Sandman graphic novel series. A uniquely imaginative creator of wonders whose unique storytelling genius has been acclaimed by a host of literary luminaries from Norman Mailer to Stephen King, Gaiman’s astonishing powers are on glorious displays in Fragile Things. Enter and be amazed!
500 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 23, 2009
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80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 16, 2011
MONARCH OF THE GLEN: AN AMERICAN GODS NOVELLA....FIVE 6 STARS WORTH OF AWESOME.
Fragile Things, Comprehensive Review, Part 6…The Final Chapter: As I mentioned in my reviews of the previous 5 “Selections,” Fragile Things is one of my All Time Top 5 single author short fiction collections. Since the stories are now available in ebook format, I decided to do a more detailed review for each story which this format accommodates nicely. Otherwise, I would have ended up skipping over stories or doing one enormobloated review that may have just been too word heavy. Anyway, I hope this is helpful because this really is a fabulous collection***.
***NOTE: Each of the six different "Fragile Things" selections will have their own review but the opening paragraph above will be substantially similar in each. I wanted to try and have each review stand on its own as well as contribute to the overall whole. Therefore, if you are reading this note for the first time and want to read the other 5 reviews, you can skip down to the BEGIN REVIEW for the other installments.
BEGIN REVIEW:
This last selection contains only one story, The Monarch of the Glen: An American Gods Novella, but it is the longest and bestest story in the whole book. At least according to the considered opinion of 100% of the voices inside my head which is quite a few people.
Before I continue, two quick comments for those who have not yet read American Gods:
(1) There will be some spoilers in this review regarding the main character Shadow; and
(2) You haven’t read American Gods???...O..M..G..MUCHO SHAMEAGE ALERT…You need to locate a mirror and do a serious re-exam of your life choices if they have not incorporated into them the reading of American Gods....why don't you stop what your doing, go beg, borrow or steal a copy and read it immediately…the rest of us will sit here patiently and wait until you get back…
…why are you still here....go on and don’t dilly dally….
[This review will be on hiatus until SHAMEASAURUS gets through reading [book:American Gods|4407]].
.
.
.
....Some time later....All done….excellent…What?...Yes, it was awesome wasn’t it. No need to thank me, I’m just glad you were able to erase your shame.…..
Anyway, Monarch of the Glen takes a few years after the events of American Gods and finds Shadow (aka Baldur) traveling in Scotland. Shadow is offered a job by a mysterious doctor dude to act as a security guard for a very unusual party with a very exclusive clientele. The party is hosted by the nefarious Mr. Alice and his amoral henchman Mr. Smith, both of whom were introduced in the short story Keepsakes and Treasures. By the way Mr. Gaiman, megatron bonus points for bringing these two back and it would be incrediriffic to see them in their own novel or at least more stories.
That is really the basic set up and I don’t want to give away any plot details because that is really the best part of the story (i.e., figuring out who people are and what is going on). Let me say that the stakes are very high, and this story explores many of the same themes as those in American Gods. The writing is lush and dripping with flavor and the tone is dream-like and subtle. There are gods, creatures of legend and monsters both human and non-human all shown brilliantly through the lens of Neil Gaiman’s unique vision.
I think this novella, due to being much shorter than the novel, is more tightly focused and easier to follow. It also has a much more concrete resolution to the story which I thought was excellent. Now, I won’t say that I liked this more than American Gods, but I do think the quality and imagination on display are just as good. I consider it an epilogue to American Gods as it fits in seamlessly with the novel.
6.0 Stars and one of my All Time Favorite novellas/short stories. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!
P.S. If you want to check out the reviews for the other 5 selections, you can begin here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Fragile Things, Comprehensive Review, Part 6…The Final Chapter: As I mentioned in my reviews of the previous 5 “Selections,” Fragile Things is one of my All Time Top 5 single author short fiction collections. Since the stories are now available in ebook format, I decided to do a more detailed review for each story which this format accommodates nicely. Otherwise, I would have ended up skipping over stories or doing one enormobloated review that may have just been too word heavy. Anyway, I hope this is helpful because this really is a fabulous collection***.
***NOTE: Each of the six different "Fragile Things" selections will have their own review but the opening paragraph above will be substantially similar in each. I wanted to try and have each review stand on its own as well as contribute to the overall whole. Therefore, if you are reading this note for the first time and want to read the other 5 reviews, you can skip down to the BEGIN REVIEW for the other installments.
BEGIN REVIEW:
This last selection contains only one story, The Monarch of the Glen: An American Gods Novella, but it is the longest and bestest story in the whole book. At least according to the considered opinion of 100% of the voices inside my head which is quite a few people.
Before I continue, two quick comments for those who have not yet read American Gods:
(1) There will be some spoilers in this review regarding the main character Shadow; and
(2) You haven’t read American Gods???...O..M..G..MUCHO SHAMEAGE ALERT…You need to locate a mirror and do a serious re-exam of your life choices if they have not incorporated into them the reading of American Gods....why don't you stop what your doing, go beg, borrow or steal a copy and read it immediately…the rest of us will sit here patiently and wait until you get back…
…why are you still here....go on and don’t dilly dally….
[This review will be on hiatus until SHAMEASAURUS gets through reading [book:American Gods|4407]].
.
.
.
....Some time later....All done….excellent…What?...Yes, it was awesome wasn’t it. No need to thank me, I’m just glad you were able to erase your shame.…..
Anyway, Monarch of the Glen takes a few years after the events of American Gods and finds Shadow (aka Baldur) traveling in Scotland. Shadow is offered a job by a mysterious doctor dude to act as a security guard for a very unusual party with a very exclusive clientele. The party is hosted by the nefarious Mr. Alice and his amoral henchman Mr. Smith, both of whom were introduced in the short story Keepsakes and Treasures. By the way Mr. Gaiman, megatron bonus points for bringing these two back and it would be incrediriffic to see them in their own novel or at least more stories.
That is really the basic set up and I don’t want to give away any plot details because that is really the best part of the story (i.e., figuring out who people are and what is going on). Let me say that the stakes are very high, and this story explores many of the same themes as those in American Gods. The writing is lush and dripping with flavor and the tone is dream-like and subtle. There are gods, creatures of legend and monsters both human and non-human all shown brilliantly through the lens of Neil Gaiman’s unique vision.
I think this novella, due to being much shorter than the novel, is more tightly focused and easier to follow. It also has a much more concrete resolution to the story which I thought was excellent. Now, I won’t say that I liked this more than American Gods, but I do think the quality and imagination on display are just as good. I consider it an epilogue to American Gods as it fits in seamlessly with the novel.
6.0 Stars and one of my All Time Favorite novellas/short stories. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!
P.S. If you want to check out the reviews for the other 5 selections, you can begin here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
September 30, 2021
This second compilation of Gaiman's short stories from Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders and poems contains some entries that have occurred in other collections, including the following:-
■ The Monarch of the Glen - 3⭐ - Shadow Moon story set in Northern Ireland 2 years after the events in American Gods.
■ The Monarch of the Glen - 3⭐ - Shadow Moon story set in Northern Ireland 2 years after the events in American Gods.
October 6, 2022
Very good novella.
August 23, 2012
The followup novella to 'American Gods' is a quick, fun little read. More of the same as 'American Gods' which is a nice little dip back into that world.
January 5, 2013
Excellent.
June 22, 2013
And to think I didn't know it existed yesterday. What a treat, meeting Shadow again. His is entity's no longer a secret, but he's still a mystery. And he's got himself in trouble. Again.
November 28, 2013
thoroughly enjoyed this one :)
ultimately this compilation is filled with damn good stories and pretty good ones..
whatever the case, worth picking up..
ultimately this compilation is filled with damn good stories and pretty good ones..
whatever the case, worth picking up..
December 23, 2013
This was just selections. I plan to read the whole book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews