Smoke and Mirrors

Short Fictions and Illusions

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

In the deft hands of Neil Gaiman, magic is no mere illusion... and anything is possible. In Smoke and Mirrors, Gaiman's imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders - where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks.

Explore a new reality, obscured by smoke and darkness yet brilliantly tangible, in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.

©1998 Neil Gaiman (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

entertaining and dark

some of the stories are charming some quite dark. I greatly enjoyed the last story it was a good retelling with a wonderful new angle.

Some Recycled Material

A lot of this content has been published under his other shrot story collections... However its Neil Gaiman so its still really good.

Great stories, interesting introductions, but...

All of the introductions are together at the beginning of the book rather than each introduction being at the beginning of the story that it is introducing. Annoying.

some fantastic alternative faery tales in here

as ever, Neil gaiman's magic is both twisted yet relevant. this collection includes some vibrant retellings of faery classics, poignant in the comparisons to human nature.

What fun!

Nobody reads Gaiman's stories better, I always enjoy Neil's stories best when he reads them himself.
Great collection of a variety of fun stories. Thanks Neil!

wonderful stories

Loved the stories and narration. Time between stories was too short though. Hard to pause.

A mixed bag

The narration was very good.
The stories were a mixed bad. Some stories were very good and some stories were not good.

Weird transcription

To me, it is very weird that the index is read :-/ An audiobook is not just a book read from start to finish.

Delightfully Twisted, as only Gaiman Can Be

I don't think I've EVER been disappointed by a Neil Gaiman story, and I definitely wasn't with these.
This collection contains everything from a strange, narrative wedding present to divine punishment to what really happened to Snow White, no topic is off limits for Gaiman's mesmerizing story telling and sardonic wit. The collection abounds with those sudden, 180 degree turns that pop up and leave you breathless, just when you think you know where he's going.
Naturally, since he's reading his own work, the narration is wonderfully intuitive. He knows exactly how long to make that pregnant pause, that softly spoken thought that carries far more meaning than a shout ... or a scream.
I'll loved this one, and I'll listen to it again and again.

Smoke and mirrors.

I used to jokingly refer to Neil Bauman as my future ex husband. After listening to some of these stories, some several times I no longer do.. Believe me The stories were Gaiman at his best! I just decided that waking up to a mind like that could be a bit wearing on tne
nerves. Great stories!