Smoke and Mirrors

Short Fictions and Illusions

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

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

almost perfect

What made the experience of listening to Smoke and Mirrors the most enjoyable?

I really like the book Neil himself reads, he knows how to convey his written word

Who was your favorite character and why?

there are several great short tales, I believe the guys in Innsmouth or the werewolf

What does Neil Gaiman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He acts the voices, he likes being a whiny kid

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

All of it is great

Any additional comments?

I had tried to listen to this book several months ago, but the way it is presented, with the background for every tale at the very beginning makes it less enjoyable than being able to flip the page before every story, or, if the introduction was before the short tale

Love Neil Gaiman!

Neil Gaiman's stories are always charming, witty and entertaining. As a narrator he is fantastic!
I'm not big on short stories, and even one of my favorite authors couldn't change that for me. If you're a Gaiman fan and don't mind shorts this would be a great collection. I'll probably stick to the longer stories.

Damn best week of delivering pizzas I've had sense

I loved it. been needing some good stories to pass the time since I finished the graveyard book. though I think the last story and the angel one should have switched to finish it off. neil gaiman does it again and leaves me wishing for more.
you won't regret it.

Short Stories from a Master

It's no secret I'm a Neil Gaiman fan. Love the man. And his audiobooks are always fantastic and Smoke and Mirrors is no exception. Gaiman's narration is spot on. As always when I listen to him tell a story, it feels like he's letting me in on a secret. You know, telling me a special tale that not many people know. I'd heard many of the stories in this collection in other places; but lots were brand new to me. They also opened up some new insights into Neil Gaiman that I hadn't seen before. This collection highlights Gaiman's unique talent and masterful ability to tell a story.

Excellent collection of Gaiman classics

Smoke and Mirrors is one of my all-time favorite collections! I love the mix of prose and poetry and have enjoyed this book since it was first released in the '90s. I am a big fan of Neil Gaiman overall, and eagerly await every new release, although I reread his old works fairly regularly. Having read Smoke and Mirrors so many times over the years, I feel as if these are the fairytales that I grew up with. And I love that the author narrates his own work not only because he has a wonderful voice and is an engaging narrator but also because he reads with the true intent because he's the one who wrote it. I don't think you can get much better than that!

Ups and Downs

Would you try another book from Neil Gaiman and/or Neil Gaiman?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

This is a collection of short stories, and poems, and thoughts. So really just not very well suited for Audible. Especially as there is no real table of contents. I had to go find the text to actually enjoy half of it, as I enjoyed the blurbs in the introductions detailing each story.

Couldn't get through it

I usually really like short stories, especially of the creepy/bizarre variety. But this collection didn't do it for me. I thought a lot of the stories were boring and couldn't get into it. Oh well.

Fantastic short stories

Fun short stories written by and read by Neil Gaiman. He is a fabulous narrator.

Great listen

Good stories told brilliantly by the Author. Gaiman knows how to add just the right amount of shock and twist.

"trigger warning" was better

as far as a collection of sorts be Neil Gaiman, I was a little disappointed by this after "Trigger Warning" which I utterly loved. I really liked a few of the stories in here, but some I struggled to get through, and some ended up skipping after a few minutes.