Fragile Things

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it.

In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters.

In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder.

Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams and nightmares.

In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird.

Such marvelous creations and more, including a short story set in the world of The Matrix and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction, can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his entertaining (and dark) sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time.

©2006 Neil Gaiman (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• Locus Award, Best Collection, 2007
  
• Audie Award Finalist, Short Stories, Collections, 2007

great book

great book one suggestion would be to include the intro for each story with the story rather than all at once in the beginning.

Emerald Peak and Many Highs

Fragile Things is worth it just for the opening story, A Study In Emerald, but even if it peaks early, there are many, many highs throughout this collection. Not every piece is a classic, but all provide a window into what Gaiman finds intriguing in this life and (more often than not) death. Also, as a Gaiman fan, I really enjoyed seeing him play with ideas that blossomed into novels later in his career.

Worth your time and money because...

Who does not like a good story told well? And there are many good stories in this collection and the tales are well told.

Finally the what’s next for Shadow

And so much more. I even enjoyed the poems. I love best hearing Mr Gaiman read his own works, including the foreword, in which we learn that the man takes requests!

Mostly beautiful, mostly melancholy collection

From the faux-Sherlock of alt-universe “A Study in Emerald” to the in-universe AMERICAN GODS sequel “Monarch of the Glen” this book carries the reader many fun (and dark) places. My favorite is probably “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” which, like several of the stories, shows teen angst to be well-founded.

Gaiman’s delivery of his own words is perfection.

great collection

not for the faint of heart, neil gaiman has collected some amazing short stories and poems in this volume. a few of the works would be for "adult" ears only. this should not, however, take enjoyment away from the discerning bibliophile. gaiman creates vividly painted worlds for the reader to explore. his descriptive prose is beyond compare.

Typical Gaiman

Excellent, out of left-field thoughts connected to traditional folk stories wound up with whimsy and a chill of creepiness...so cool and engaging.
Modern-day Poe with a more laid-back attitude.

Love Neil Gaiman stories

Good stories from the mind of Neil that always comes through.I have read or listened to everything that Neil writes and I love the way his mind thinks and surprises.

Very good

A marvelous collection of stories, all well-told. Some are short, others basically novelettes. All are splendid.

admitting to a mild obsession with Neil Gaiman

again, I'm in the empty, emotional vacuum that always follows the completion of a Neil Gaiman book. it's a place where, as the glitter and dust settle back down and slowly dissolve in the soil beneath your shoes, you realize just how painfully ordinary life is, once more.

I want to live inside of Fragile Things. these stories burrow into your bones; wriggling and moaning only to come out in your dreams in blues and grays that frighten and enlighten you. to have the privilege to hear them read by the master himself...well...it's a gift. his stories and his narration are a gift. please have a listen.