Trigger Warning

Short Fictions and Disturbances

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Neil Gaiman returns to dazzle, captivate, haunt, and entertain with this third collection of short fiction following Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things--which includes a never-before-published American Gods story, "Black Dog", written exclusively for this volume.

In this new anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction--stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013--as well as "Black Dog", a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.

Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghost stories, science fiction and fairy tales, fabulism and poetry that explore the realm of experience and emotion. In "Adventure Story"--a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane--Gaiman ponders death and the way people take their stories with them when they die. His social media experience "A Calendar of Tales" are short takes inspired by replies to fan tweets about the months of the year--stories of pirates and the March winds, an igloo made of books, and a Mother's Day card that portends disturbances in the universe. Gaiman offers his own ingenious spin on Sherlock Holmes in his award-nominated mystery tale "The Case of Death and Honey". And "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" explains the creaks and clatter we hear when we're all alone in the darkness.

Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day.

©2015 Neil Gaiman (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Not every author is also a talented narrator, but Neil Gaiman is succeeding at mastering the art. It's a pleasure to listen to him deliver his new collection of short stories. He's clearly enjoying himself, and listeners will be carried along with his good cheer." ( AudioFile)

It Triggered Me to Stay Up Late and Listen

I am not a patient reader or listener, and have to have an author that captures my attention quickly and maintains it throughout the novel. Neil Gaiman has not always been that author for me, although I have always thought his writing was above average. I just wasn't a huge fan.

I am a fan now.

I had previously read a Novella by Gaiman, but had not experienced his writing in the short story genre. Each story in this collection held my attention. The original storylines drew me in, and his narration of them was just as engaging. When the last story ended, I was waiting for the next one to begin, and was truly disappointed.

If you are a Dr. Who fan , "Nothing O'clock" is probably going to come in as a contender for first place. Lunar Labyrinth had excellent visual descriptions. It was which was the perfect mix of a little strange, a little creepy, and a little quirky.. three of my favorite ingredients in fiction. He narrated multiple characters in this selection especially well, and nailed their personalities. He is one of the few authors who can pull narrating his own work.

It is great when an author that the world adores puts a book in your lap that makes you suddenly feel like you are part the mainstream... a member of the club... one of the crowd. This Gaiman novel did that for me. It's the one I will be referring to when I say, " Neil Gaiman is the author of my favorite short story collection."

Spotty

I really enjoyed some of the stories, but was pretty bored by others. Be forewarned that a number of stories appear in other collections of Neil Gaiman's. Last story, "The Black Dog" is the best one that I had not heard before. Full of the mysterious otherworldliness that Gaiman is best known for.
I would recommend either skipping the first section which tells about the origins of each story, or waiting until you have completed the book before listening to that section.

Love Gaiman

This isn't my favorite of his works, but I did very much enjoy this. The stories are varied (there is no uniform theme) and are by turns quirky, creepy and occasionally wistful. I was cheerfully swept away with them.

As some have noted, there is a long introduction, but to be fair the author himself invites the reader/listener to skip and come back after they read the stories. I personally liked hearing it up front.

I love Gaiman's narration.

Either you get him or you don't? I Think?

I have never been a Gaiman Fan. I work with a guy who I respect, who loves Gaiman. Audible is always pushing him and he even has his own section of books, he recommends. All of his books go to the top of whatever genre audible puts him in, as soon as the book comes out. Some of the reviewers have orgasms over him. I love short story collections and always say, they are good to buy, cause if you don't like one story, there is always another one around the corner. So, I bought this and really thought I would enjoy it.

I got through maybe six stories after an hour long introduction, divided into about five parts. He introduces each and every story. The introduction in many cases, is just him being ask to write a story for some anthology. "I was asked to write a story for my good friend, so and so and this is the story." Not a single story was scary. The endings were often huge let downs. It might just be a cultural difference. I did like The Graveyard Book.

I though he was a great narrator. It is kind of hard not to like the man. He seems to be genuine and to be a very pleasant person, like someone you would enjoy spending time with.

Odd chapter breaks

In a collection of short stories, it would make much more sense if each audio track were a single story. It would also make sense if a table of contents actually gave you the names of the stories instead of just a very vague chapter 1, chapter 2, etc.

But those are just cosmetic complaints. Neil Gaiman is an excellent reader, especially of his own work. It is well worth the read and the stories are wonderful.

Happy to have a new book!

Where does Trigger Warning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Trigger Warning is great from a listening perspective. Neil Gaiman reads the book and he has a wonderful reading voice.

If you’ve listened to books by Neil Gaiman before, how does this one compare?

This book was good, but I feel like in comparison with his other short story books this one wasn't that scary. All of the stories left me thinking and most I had to listen to more than once to really get them. But when it comes down to it, I feel like Fragile Things was scarier and darker.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Dr. Who story was the scariest, I think. I also loved the final story and the return of Shadow.

Who was the most memorable character of Trigger Warning and why?

The Kin in the Dr. Who story stuck with me the most.

No Safe Spaces nor Trigger Warnings for Boring

“You never forget. It must be somewhere inside you. Even if the brain has forgotten, perhaps the teeth remember. Or the fingers.”
― Neil Gaiman, Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances

I'm not a big Neil Gaiman fan. Don't get me wrong. I've liked many of his books and think he is definitely a character with talent, but his books are either fun (American Gods, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors), fine (Coraline, The Graveyard Book) or mild flops (this, The Ocean at the End of the Lane).

I did like his fascination with memory, lost words, forgotten phrases, the shape of something unremembered. This motif appears in almost more of the short stories in this collection than not, but is most prominent in his ode to Ray Bradbury, titled appropriately, 'The Man who Forgot Ray Bradbury'. But this idea of creating prose out of left out, passed over, words was, well, well it both worked without being cute and also seemed new without feeling fresh. I'm not sure that phrase captures it. I'm not sure there is a word that fits, ironically.

The problem with this collection is a problem I encounter occasionally with classical music. You have an artist you like, you instantly can identify their style, their form, their flow. Mostly, they produce great stuff. But sometimes, they produce something that still feels like their stuff, but just with all the interesting stuff taken out (a tune with no hooks). I can still identify Gaiman in these stories. I could have had anyone read me any of these stories and I'm pretty sure I'd be able to identify them as being a Neil Gaiman story 100 percent of the time. That said, they just happen to fall on the boring side of Neil Gaiman. Not all. Not each one. But the collection together just didn't do it for me. It was like he was phoning them in from a drab, blue telephone kiosk.

Deserves the name...in the best way.

If you don't enjoy looking into your own darkness, take a break...and let Neil Gaiman do it for you.

Neil Gamain has done it again

Listened straight through
What an imagination
I cant think of anyone who could narrate his work as well as he does

Classic Gaiman.

A wonderful collection of short stories by my favorite author! Absolutely delightfully creepy and clever little tales which you will be thinking about long after you finish the book.