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Angels & Visitations: A Miscellany
A collection of Neil Gaiman's short fiction; an odd assortment of enigmatic and wonderful tales- including Troll Bridge, Chivalry and Cold Colours - to amuse and delight. A MURDER IN HEAVEN BEFORE THE FALL... A LONDON IN WHICH BLACK MAGIC WORKS. IF YOU OWN A COMPUTER.... AN ELDERLY LADY WHO BUSY THE HOLY GRAIL AND PUTS IT ON HER MANTELPIECE.... WORLD FANTASY AWARD-WINNING SANDMAN AUTHOR NEIL GAIMAN TELLS THESE STORIES AND TALES OF SPIDER-KINGS AND MICE. OF TROLLS AND ANGELS AND DISCOUNT HOUSE ASSASSINS. ALSO TO BE FOUND WITHIN THESE PAGES ARE SOME ESSAYS. A BOOK REVIEW. A TRUE LIFE JOURNALISTIC ADVENTURE. A FABLE. SOME POETRY. AND A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT CONCERNING THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON A LIVING AUTHOR.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
February 10, 2018
★★★★✬ 4.5 Stars
To amuse and delight
That's how the Internet synopsis describes this collection of...uh.. stuffs. A Miscellany, as the author has appropriately subtitled this collection, and It lives up to that name with its crazy contents. Apart from the usual suspects: his early short stories (including the famous ones like Murder Mysteries, Chivalry and We Can Get Them for You Wholesale) and Poems, Gaiman included the following literary works in this one:
► An article about the nightlife in London,
► A Book review,
► An introduction Gaiman wrote for another author's work,
► A Christmas greeting,
► A report on an experiment.
Sounds dull, doesn't it. Belay that emotion, my friend, and please allow me to give you some context that might change your opinion.
►In his article about London Nightlife, Gaiman recreated the night excursion's timeline, and I can't help but imagine a young nerd walking around, looking for an experience that he can turn into an extraordinary article. Well, nothing extraordinary happened and he turned the desperation he felt that night into an extraordinary article! Absolutely funny!
►Imagine you have a book report to submit today, and you haven't read the book. Don't know what to do? Read Gaiman's thousand word review for a book he didn't read and learn from the pro, Kids!
►For the book introduction, Gaiman created a whole play, complete with numerous characters, about a guy named prologue who proclaims about the book in a country fair. I almost fell off from my chair with delight while reading this remarkable creative piece!
► As for the Christmas greeting, he wrote a poem about old Nick! Here is a link to Neil Gaiman reading the Poem----->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G18t...
I hope no kids read it while they are young. Ho Ho Ho!
►And finally the experiment. No catch here, a straightforward experiment with impeccable results. The experiment? Testing the precise effects of alcohol on a creative writer. Gaiman started with a clear head, but after his seventh drink, he sounded... Well, let's just assume I'm that drunk, then I would sound something like this:
Tis is a gret book, I lov Gaiman. Only som of his poems are booooooooooooooooooooring, rest of it iz sooooooooooooooo good. Oh, tis is fun. Uh, excuse me, gotta be, wait, oh god.
To amuse and delight
That's how the Internet synopsis describes this collection of...uh.. stuffs. A Miscellany, as the author has appropriately subtitled this collection, and It lives up to that name with its crazy contents. Apart from the usual suspects: his early short stories (including the famous ones like Murder Mysteries, Chivalry and We Can Get Them for You Wholesale) and Poems, Gaiman included the following literary works in this one:
► An article about the nightlife in London,
► A Book review,
► An introduction Gaiman wrote for another author's work,
► A Christmas greeting,
► A report on an experiment.
Sounds dull, doesn't it. Belay that emotion, my friend, and please allow me to give you some context that might change your opinion.
►In his article about London Nightlife, Gaiman recreated the night excursion's timeline, and I can't help but imagine a young nerd walking around, looking for an experience that he can turn into an extraordinary article. Well, nothing extraordinary happened and he turned the desperation he felt that night into an extraordinary article! Absolutely funny!
►Imagine you have a book report to submit today, and you haven't read the book. Don't know what to do? Read Gaiman's thousand word review for a book he didn't read and learn from the pro, Kids!
►For the book introduction, Gaiman created a whole play, complete with numerous characters, about a guy named prologue who proclaims about the book in a country fair. I almost fell off from my chair with delight while reading this remarkable creative piece!
► As for the Christmas greeting, he wrote a poem about old Nick! Here is a link to Neil Gaiman reading the Poem----->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G18t...
I hope no kids read it while they are young. Ho Ho Ho!
►And finally the experiment. No catch here, a straightforward experiment with impeccable results. The experiment? Testing the precise effects of alcohol on a creative writer. Gaiman started with a clear head, but after his seventh drink, he sounded... Well, let's just assume I'm that drunk, then I would sound something like this:
Tis is a gret book, I lov Gaiman. Only som of his poems are booooooooooooooooooooring, rest of it iz sooooooooooooooo good. Oh, tis is fun. Uh, excuse me, gotta be, wait, oh god.
January 18, 2018
This is probably one of that hardest books to give a rating. Some of the texts are definitely worth at least four stars but others would only grant one star.
It's not a book to read if you're about to discover Gaiman but rather one to read if you already know his work, if you're curious about his not so famous texts or if you want to see that even famous, full time, writers doesn't always write all superior things. It actually makes Gaiman a lot more human.
It's not a book to read if you're about to discover Gaiman but rather one to read if you already know his work, if you're curious about his not so famous texts or if you want to see that even famous, full time, writers doesn't always write all superior things. It actually makes Gaiman a lot more human.
February 2, 2016
This short story is pretty great: it's funny and creepy at the same time. It's about a guy who suspects his fiancé of cheating on him, so he hires an assassin to kill the man responsible for supposedly stealing his future wife. However, the assassin keeps offering him better deals each time they meet in a bar, and who can resist a good bargain?
June 22, 2011
The only reason to pick up this book would be for the illustrations (which are good, it's a nicely put together volume). The best pieces here are reprinted in Smoke and Mirrors, along with some better, later stories. The stories and poems that are unique to this collection read like juvenalia.
July 13, 2020
This was not Neil's greatest collection of short stories (poetry and reviews). It was more a these are my growing pains as an author, warts, pocky skin, awkward moments and all. I liked that. An author so confident in himself that he happily shares the rough stuff.
Some of the stories have appeared elsewhere. Some rarely seen since their publication in long defunct magazines (large collections of paper with pictures and stories hidden amongst the advertisements.
Some were good, Trollbridge. Some aren't great, Vampire Sestina (although it is a strange style of poetry). Some stories were exceptional, Murder Mysteries, the story of the first murder. . . No, you're wrong, read this if nothing else.
A worthwhile collection. A good escape.
Some of the stories have appeared elsewhere. Some rarely seen since their publication in long defunct magazines (large collections of paper with pictures and stories hidden amongst the advertisements.
Some were good, Trollbridge. Some aren't great, Vampire Sestina (although it is a strange style of poetry). Some stories were exceptional, Murder Mysteries, the story of the first murder. . . No, you're wrong, read this if nothing else.
A worthwhile collection. A good escape.
January 2, 2018
Chivalry, Nicolas Was, Babycakes, Troll Bridge, Vampire Sestina, Webs, The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds, We Can Get Them For You Wholesale. Murder Mysteries. These alone are great enough to me to reread. I adore his revisioning of Fairy Tales and Angels and Legends of Heroes long past.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2020
Delightfully wicked.
5/5
5/5
March 26, 2023
That last story has burned itself into my brain. I like all of them but ‘Murder Mysteries’ is by far the best.
January 8, 2020
A true miscellany, this first collection of Gaiman works includes short stories, poems, reviews, magazine articles and a few items that I frankly don't know how to pigeonhole. At times it's a bit green and naive, but more often than not, Gaiman's talent shines through, and even in the weakest pieces there is at least an intuition, an image, a fragment to remember. All in all, I would not recommend this as a starting point for Gaiman's work; but if you already are familiar with his writing, it's well worth reading, if only for
Chivalry
, which tells of an old lady who finds the Holy Grail in a secondhand shop.
//
Una miscellanea nel vero senso della parola, questa è la prima raccolta pubblicata da Gaiman, e comprende racconti, poesie, recensioni, articoli e un paio di testi che francamente non so come incasellare. A tratti è un po' acerba e ingenua, ma quasi sempre il talento di Gaiman emerge, e anche nei brani meno riusciti si trova almeno un'intuizione, un'immagine, un frammento da ricordare. Tutto sommato non mi sento di consigliare questo libro come primo approccio a Gaiman; ma se il suo lavoro vi è già familiare, merita senz'altro una lettura, anche solo per Chivalry , in cui si narra di una vecchia signora che trova il Santo Graal in un negozio di oggetti usati.
//
Una miscellanea nel vero senso della parola, questa è la prima raccolta pubblicata da Gaiman, e comprende racconti, poesie, recensioni, articoli e un paio di testi che francamente non so come incasellare. A tratti è un po' acerba e ingenua, ma quasi sempre il talento di Gaiman emerge, e anche nei brani meno riusciti si trova almeno un'intuizione, un'immagine, un frammento da ricordare. Tutto sommato non mi sento di consigliare questo libro come primo approccio a Gaiman; ma se il suo lavoro vi è già familiare, merita senz'altro una lettura, anche solo per Chivalry , in cui si narra di una vecchia signora che trova il Santo Graal in un negozio di oggetti usati.
July 22, 2008
In early February of 2007, Gaiman posted an entry in his blog about the break-in of his favorite local bookstore. The owners of the store are friends with Gaiman and asked if he would please tell his blog readers about this and maybe encourage his readers to help out by maybe buying a book. The store, Dreamhaven, has a really nice online catalog, and I used it extensively when collecting my copies of the Sandman.
February is my birthday month, and I hadn't purchased a present for myself yet, so the timing was perfect. I wanted to buy a book by Gaiman, to support Gaiman as well as Dreamhaven, and I when I saw that Angels & Visitations was also published by Dreamhaven, I chose that one.
Dreamhaven provides the option of getting a book signed for you by certain local authors, although it delays the shipping until the author happens to come in and be available to sign. So about a month later, I got my package of this in the mail complete with a "Happy birthday" inscription.
I love presents. Receiving and giving.
The book: Gaiman's first story collection. Many of the better stories were published in other collections, also, and I'm not a fan of some of the book's design (namely the cover lettering and table of contents shadow). But the better stories are still here, and I'm very glad I bought it.
Link to Gaiman's blog entry:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/200...
February is my birthday month, and I hadn't purchased a present for myself yet, so the timing was perfect. I wanted to buy a book by Gaiman, to support Gaiman as well as Dreamhaven, and I when I saw that Angels & Visitations was also published by Dreamhaven, I chose that one.
Dreamhaven provides the option of getting a book signed for you by certain local authors, although it delays the shipping until the author happens to come in and be available to sign. So about a month later, I got my package of this in the mail complete with a "Happy birthday" inscription.
I love presents. Receiving and giving.
The book: Gaiman's first story collection. Many of the better stories were published in other collections, also, and I'm not a fan of some of the book's design (namely the cover lettering and table of contents shadow). But the better stories are still here, and I'm very glad I bought it.
Link to Gaiman's blog entry:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/200...
October 3, 2018
Neil Gaiman writes the best short stories… and this one is no exception. I saw it on a list of short stories you must read but given it dates from 1989 I reckon Gaiman has written better short stories since then. *shrugs* they’re all good. This one fits in the gaimanesque version of Gothic horror, I suppose.
It’s the little things… like Peter spent almost an entire lunch hour choosing the engagement ring that cost him £37.50 and might have contained a diamond… might have.
Or the way the pub sign of the Dirty Donkey starts to look more like a pale horse. (Is there really a pub in england called that? Maybe.) But Peter is unlikely to notice. And how a man who would spend so little on a ring would be caught up in a two for one deal that rapidly gets out of hand.
Or the fact that the entire situation has arisen from him seeing Gwendolyn enter the stock room with Archie and he has no idea what did or didn’t happen. And his miraculous idea that he should just ask her arrives too late.
4 stars
It’s the little things… like Peter spent almost an entire lunch hour choosing the engagement ring that cost him £37.50 and might have contained a diamond… might have.
Or the way the pub sign of the Dirty Donkey starts to look more like a pale horse. (Is there really a pub in england called that? Maybe.) But Peter is unlikely to notice. And how a man who would spend so little on a ring would be caught up in a two for one deal that rapidly gets out of hand.
Or the fact that the entire situation has arisen from him seeing Gwendolyn enter the stock room with Archie and he has no idea what did or didn’t happen. And his miraculous idea that he should just ask her arrives too late.
4 stars
March 4, 2009
I always enjoy Neil Gaiman’s writing, so I pretty much knew I would love this one too. His writing is just so clever, so rich, that you can’t help but want to read more.
Angels and Visitations, however, was a little different from the other novels and short stories of his that I’ve read. It is, as the title says, ‘a miscellany’, a collection of literary bits and pieces he has accumulated over the years: poetry, book reviews, stories written for this and that. As such, it was a bit of an odd collection, but still full of wonderful pieces that I’d recommend to any Neil Gaiman fan. 4.5
Angels and Visitations, however, was a little different from the other novels and short stories of his that I’ve read. It is, as the title says, ‘a miscellany’, a collection of literary bits and pieces he has accumulated over the years: poetry, book reviews, stories written for this and that. As such, it was a bit of an odd collection, but still full of wonderful pieces that I’d recommend to any Neil Gaiman fan. 4.5
February 6, 2017
This short story kind of feels like a kid's book for adults. I know that probably doesn't make sense. But the story is about Peter Pinter who finds the woman he is engaged to, messing about with another guy. He wants to get rid of the other guy and hires an assasin who has some interesting bargains for him. The build up and where it ends is kind of like it would be way more innocent in a children's book wich I very much like. It's a very fun quick read.
October 31, 2015
Review to follow...
April 8, 2021
A terrific miscellany of Gaiman's earlier stories. The collection offers insight to his style development, intellectual drivers, angels and demons.
August 4, 2011
'Nicholas Was...." is the best 100 words ever.
May 16, 2021
This collection of Gaiman's short stories and poems is illustrated by various greats - Michael Zulli, Charles Vess, Bill Sienkiewicz, P. Craig Russell. There are several serious standouts which have been reprinted in various other collections, amongst the average and unmemorable ones, listed below:-
■ The Song of the Audience - 3⭐ - Descriptive and effective 12 line poem is an amuse-bouche for this collection.
■ Introduction - 3⭐ - Gaiman's recollections of how or why the stories were written.
■ Nicholas Was ... - 2⭐ - This Nicholas hates his job.
■ Babycakes - 5⭐ - One day all the animals disappeared and people had to have a substitute ... there's even a more disturbing Babycakes graphic novelization.
■ Troll Bridge - 4⭐ Reprinted in M Is for Magic, this dark story has it's own graphic novel adaptation.
■ Vampire Sestina - 3⭐ - Vampire love poem, in super complicate Sestina form.
■ Webs - 3⭐ - A stranger lives in a palace among the webs, and returns one day with a cat. Trigger warning, this is a horror story.
■ Six to Six - 2⭐ - Diary like recollections of how a person spent 12 hours in London.
■ A Prologue - 3⭐ - Introduction to Scholars and Soldiers, where Neil uses an interesting literary device to answer the question "what kind of author is she".
■ Foreign Parts - 2⭐ - A young man obsessed with playing with himself has somehow caught a venereal disease.
■ Cold Colors - 1⭐ - What happens to people if Evil has better technology than Good?
■ Luther's Villanelle - 2⭐ - Villanelle (structured poem) written as a birthday present for Brian Talbot.
■ Mouse - 2⭐ - A man purchases humane mouse traps to get rid of his vermin problem.
■ Gumshoe- 4⭐ - When an editor demands a book review of Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye TOMORROW, Gaiman gets creative and it's hilarious.
■ The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds - 2⭐ - A noir style gumshoe detective is hired to investigate the death of Humpty Dumpty.
■ Virus - 3⭐ - Puts into words the addictive nature of computer games.
■ Looking For The Girl - 4⭐ - A photographer falls in love with a muse, who accompanies him through time.
■ Post-Mortem on Our Love - 3⭐ - This is a song lyric, and it’s also a riddle of sorts. It’s sung by the Flash Girls, the internationally renowned singing duo consisting of award-winning author Emma Bull, and The Fabulous Lorraine Garland (who set it to music. She said Gaiman came to her in a dream and told her what the tune was). It kind of hits hard, but now I'm curious enough to go looking for the actual song.
■ Being an Experiment Upon Strictly Scientific Lines - 5⭐ - An author will drink whilst writing to see if alcohol enhances their creativity, or becomes maudlin, aggressive, unrestrained. The results are as expected, and yet, I found myself laughing out loud. Wonderful.
■ We Can Get Them For You Wholesale* - 5⭐ - Pursue that bargain sale price!!
■ The Mystery of Father Brown - 2⭐ - Neil wrote this essay for Maxim Jakubowski's book, 100 Great Detectives, happy that GK Chesterton's Father Brown had not been taken yet! Although repetitive, Father Brown is a great detective and the stories are a game of masks.
■ Murder Mysteries - 5⭐ - Raguel investigates the first murder in heaven, and we ponder the concept of determinism and free will.
■ The Song of the Audience - 3⭐ - Descriptive and effective 12 line poem is an amuse-bouche for this collection.
■ Introduction - 3⭐ - Gaiman's recollections of how or why the stories were written.
■ Nicholas Was ... - 2⭐ - This Nicholas hates his job.
■ Babycakes - 5⭐ - One day all the animals disappeared and people had to have a substitute ... there's even a more disturbing Babycakes graphic novelization.
■ Troll Bridge - 4⭐ Reprinted in M Is for Magic, this dark story has it's own graphic novel adaptation.
■ Vampire Sestina - 3⭐ - Vampire love poem, in super complicate Sestina form.
■ Webs - 3⭐ - A stranger lives in a palace among the webs, and returns one day with a cat. Trigger warning, this is a horror story.
■ Six to Six - 2⭐ - Diary like recollections of how a person spent 12 hours in London.
■ A Prologue - 3⭐ - Introduction to Scholars and Soldiers, where Neil uses an interesting literary device to answer the question "what kind of author is she".
■ Foreign Parts - 2⭐ - A young man obsessed with playing with himself has somehow caught a venereal disease.
■ Cold Colors - 1⭐ - What happens to people if Evil has better technology than Good?
■ Luther's Villanelle - 2⭐ - Villanelle (structured poem) written as a birthday present for Brian Talbot.
■ Mouse - 2⭐ - A man purchases humane mouse traps to get rid of his vermin problem.
■ Gumshoe- 4⭐ - When an editor demands a book review of Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye TOMORROW, Gaiman gets creative and it's hilarious.
■ The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds - 2⭐ - A noir style gumshoe detective is hired to investigate the death of Humpty Dumpty.
■ Virus - 3⭐ - Puts into words the addictive nature of computer games.
■ Looking For The Girl - 4⭐ - A photographer falls in love with a muse, who accompanies him through time.
■ Post-Mortem on Our Love - 3⭐ - This is a song lyric, and it’s also a riddle of sorts. It’s sung by the Flash Girls, the internationally renowned singing duo consisting of award-winning author Emma Bull, and The Fabulous Lorraine Garland (who set it to music. She said Gaiman came to her in a dream and told her what the tune was). It kind of hits hard, but now I'm curious enough to go looking for the actual song.
■ Being an Experiment Upon Strictly Scientific Lines - 5⭐ - An author will drink whilst writing to see if alcohol enhances their creativity, or becomes maudlin, aggressive, unrestrained. The results are as expected, and yet, I found myself laughing out loud. Wonderful.
■ We Can Get Them For You Wholesale* - 5⭐ - Pursue that bargain sale price!!
■ The Mystery of Father Brown - 2⭐ - Neil wrote this essay for Maxim Jakubowski's book, 100 Great Detectives, happy that GK Chesterton's Father Brown had not been taken yet! Although repetitive, Father Brown is a great detective and the stories are a game of masks.
■ Murder Mysteries - 5⭐ - Raguel investigates the first murder in heaven, and we ponder the concept of determinism and free will.
October 9, 2023
Angels and Visitations is mostly a curiosity. An entertaining if uneven prototype for the Gaiman we know today. This is the collection of Neil's fiction that has been out of print for the longest span of time - nearly thirty years since the last edition - and honestly I find that poetic. The stories contained within often feel fairly juvenile and very 80s, much sex and gratuitousness hides in these pages, at least, by the standards of stories like Neverwhere, Coraline and Stardust. The ethereal, wandering tone of Sandman is present, but without the prose mastery needed to make up for the absence of art (though there are a handful of wonderful illustrations).
Troll-Bridge, We Can Get Them For You Wholesale and Murder Mysteries are the standout yarns. The first is an interesting subversion on fairy tale trolls, though it could easily have been developed to another ten pages or so. We Can Get Them For You plays like a really great joke, even after you realise the punchline halfway through, it remains darkly funny. Murder Mysteries is two stories in one, the first being the context for the main meat of it, that being the recounting of a divine murder. The angelic pulp fiction is interesting but the introduction and conclusion feel odd when placed next to it. After a great (if obvious) twist that brings a new approach to the morality of original sin, there follow two more, increasingly cliched wrinkles that don't add much. Still worth a read, but overengineered.
Much of what's here can be described similarly. The prose is always competent, but the storytelling lacks the confidence Neil Gaiman would soon gain. It's a shame seeing how extremely male centric and honestly bordering on misogynistic these can be. Too many of the stories objectify or villify their few women characters, with the male protagonists mostly taking the form of listless, horny thirty-somethings that I worry may be more autobiographical for a then thirty-something Gaiman. Chivalry on the other hand, while not a great story, is an amusing and refreshing change of pace featuring a senior lady with surprising depth and humour. It's a shame it's the first in the collection, as it's easily forgotten in lieu of the blowjobs and violence that follow.
Overall, a curiosity, one consigned to Neil's history that he may not be so proud of its lack of resyndication is anything to go by. If you can find a copy cheaper than what I paid (more than I'd like to admit) and you've churned through Gaimain's greatest hits, then give it a shot.
Troll-Bridge, We Can Get Them For You Wholesale and Murder Mysteries are the standout yarns. The first is an interesting subversion on fairy tale trolls, though it could easily have been developed to another ten pages or so. We Can Get Them For You plays like a really great joke, even after you realise the punchline halfway through, it remains darkly funny. Murder Mysteries is two stories in one, the first being the context for the main meat of it, that being the recounting of a divine murder. The angelic pulp fiction is interesting but the introduction and conclusion feel odd when placed next to it. After a great (if obvious) twist that brings a new approach to the morality of original sin, there follow two more, increasingly cliched wrinkles that don't add much. Still worth a read, but overengineered.
Much of what's here can be described similarly. The prose is always competent, but the storytelling lacks the confidence Neil Gaiman would soon gain. It's a shame seeing how extremely male centric and honestly bordering on misogynistic these can be. Too many of the stories objectify or villify their few women characters, with the male protagonists mostly taking the form of listless, horny thirty-somethings that I worry may be more autobiographical for a then thirty-something Gaiman. Chivalry on the other hand, while not a great story, is an amusing and refreshing change of pace featuring a senior lady with surprising depth and humour. It's a shame it's the first in the collection, as it's easily forgotten in lieu of the blowjobs and violence that follow.
Overall, a curiosity, one consigned to Neil's history that he may not be so proud of its lack of resyndication is anything to go by. If you can find a copy cheaper than what I paid (more than I'd like to admit) and you've churned through Gaimain's greatest hits, then give it a shot.
July 29, 2021
I was planning to say that only Neil Gaiman could get away with putting so vastly different works together - different both in form as in quality - and have people still want to read it, but honestly, there were SO many gems in this, it more than makes up for the couple of dull ones. Personal highlights for me -
Chivalry - this one almost had a Monty Python-esque vibe, I think. Highly entertaining and enjoyable, but still feels like there is some 'deeper meaning' under the surface. At least to me.
Troll Bridge - this one as stayed with me for a while, I went back and back thinking about the implications here.
Foreign Parts - now THAT's the type of 'horror' story I can get behind, truely creepy and scary if you think enough about it, without ever having to resort to jumpscares or splatter!
The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds: I don't care if this is juvenilia, it was fun! I've seen a couple of variations of this idea before but, considering the age of the story, Gaiman might will have been the first to think of it, who knows.
Looking for the Girl: I just read this one a couple days ago and feel like I need to come back to think about it again. There really was something about it...
We Can Get Rhem for You Wholesale: This was GREAT. So absurd and fun and still felt like a bit of a commentary on consumerism and I LOVED it.
Murder Mysteries: Well, certainly saving the best for last here! This is the longest story in the collection, and it's a GOOD one. Masterfull, multi-level story telling, ties in with some of Gaimans other work, and as I've just finished it I'm sure I'll keep thinking about it for the rest of the day, but I can't imagine liking it any less at the end of the day!
Chivalry - this one almost had a Monty Python-esque vibe, I think. Highly entertaining and enjoyable, but still feels like there is some 'deeper meaning' under the surface. At least to me.
Troll Bridge - this one as stayed with me for a while, I went back and back thinking about the implications here.
Foreign Parts - now THAT's the type of 'horror' story I can get behind, truely creepy and scary if you think enough about it, without ever having to resort to jumpscares or splatter!
The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds: I don't care if this is juvenilia, it was fun! I've seen a couple of variations of this idea before but, considering the age of the story, Gaiman might will have been the first to think of it, who knows.
Looking for the Girl: I just read this one a couple days ago and feel like I need to come back to think about it again. There really was something about it...
We Can Get Rhem for You Wholesale: This was GREAT. So absurd and fun and still felt like a bit of a commentary on consumerism and I LOVED it.
Murder Mysteries: Well, certainly saving the best for last here! This is the longest story in the collection, and it's a GOOD one. Masterfull, multi-level story telling, ties in with some of Gaimans other work, and as I've just finished it I'm sure I'll keep thinking about it for the rest of the day, but I can't imagine liking it any less at the end of the day!
August 28, 2022
FROM THE BLOG:
Sandman’s fault, naturally. ⠀
⠀
Angels & Visitations is Gaiman’s first collection, compiling some of his fiction and nonfiction. It’s sort of a proto-version of Smoke & Mirrors, a later collection, although there are some pieces here that weren’t included in that later anthology, so this was my first encounter with them. It was interesting to read, in a retrograde sort of way. Smoke & Mirrors is an all-time favorite, and one of the books I’ve returned to the most, but even though Visitations is pretty much the same beast, it didn’t end up impacting me as much as its later incarnation did. Which was expected, to be fair: this is a much slimmer collection, for one; and it didn’t have the added benefit of being read by a young and impressionable twentysomething.⠀
⠀
Still, some of the the new-to-me pieces were very intriguing, in particular the short story “Webs,” which brought to mind Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and featured a highly intriguing setting that I wouldn’t mind seeing Gaiman revisit. And of course it was nice to see old favorites again (“Chivalry,” “Troll Bridge,” “Looking for the Girl,” “Murder Mysteries”).⠀
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Will definitely give this miscellany points for boasting a cover by the inimitable Dave McKean (always a visual treat) and for including illustrations by some great artists for each of the stories — both elements that were sadly lacking in Mirrors.
Sandman’s fault, naturally. ⠀
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Angels & Visitations is Gaiman’s first collection, compiling some of his fiction and nonfiction. It’s sort of a proto-version of Smoke & Mirrors, a later collection, although there are some pieces here that weren’t included in that later anthology, so this was my first encounter with them. It was interesting to read, in a retrograde sort of way. Smoke & Mirrors is an all-time favorite, and one of the books I’ve returned to the most, but even though Visitations is pretty much the same beast, it didn’t end up impacting me as much as its later incarnation did. Which was expected, to be fair: this is a much slimmer collection, for one; and it didn’t have the added benefit of being read by a young and impressionable twentysomething.⠀
⠀
Still, some of the the new-to-me pieces were very intriguing, in particular the short story “Webs,” which brought to mind Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and featured a highly intriguing setting that I wouldn’t mind seeing Gaiman revisit. And of course it was nice to see old favorites again (“Chivalry,” “Troll Bridge,” “Looking for the Girl,” “Murder Mysteries”).⠀
⠀
Will definitely give this miscellany points for boasting a cover by the inimitable Dave McKean (always a visual treat) and for including illustrations by some great artists for each of the stories — both elements that were sadly lacking in Mirrors.
June 1, 2023
An interesting set of stories. Not entirely all short stories. Some are good. A couple are not so good. In fact I found one revolting but that was the point of it. Another was bad in I didn’t understand it at all. Some of the stories here are in other collections such as Smoke and Mirrors. So if you can’t find this collection at a reasonable price I suggest passing on it. I like Neil Gaiman but no book is worth the inflated price for this book on the secondary market. Certainly not worth hundreds of dollars. Some of the stories had been printed in other book collections. I like the introduction lists all the stories and the history behind each one. There a few illustrations 7 total including one of Neil Gaiman in the front of the book.
August 28, 2017
Ik had Good Omens, van Terry Pratchett en Neil Gaiman gelezen en dacht: "Wie met Pratchett kan samenwerken, moet de moeite van het lezen waard zijn" ... en dus begin ik Neil Gaiman te lezen.
Deze bindel is alvast veel belovend... bizarre sprookjes, gedichten, verhalen... goed geschreven... doen mij soms denken aan Lewis Carroll (Jabberwocky)...
Bepaalde verhalen gaan mij wel een beetje "te ver" in de zin dat ze me niet aanspreken... maar goed, dat is een kwestie van persoonlijke appreciatie.
Deze bindel is alvast veel belovend... bizarre sprookjes, gedichten, verhalen... goed geschreven... doen mij soms denken aan Lewis Carroll (Jabberwocky)...
Bepaalde verhalen gaan mij wel een beetje "te ver" in de zin dat ze me niet aanspreken... maar goed, dat is een kwestie van persoonlijke appreciatie.
September 13, 2017
Early Neil Gaiman, his first collection, I believe, of short stories and a few other oddments. Everything ranges from good to very good with, for me, only one exception. Since most of this self-described miscellany appeared elsewhere at some point, this may only be for those who bought it originally (like me) when there wasn't much Gaiman to buy, or those who are completists. The publisher, Dreamhaven, is no longer with us, but were the place to go for early Gaiman. Anyway, good stuff.
July 23, 2021
I love Neil Gaiman's writing but he is not at his best in short stories. He has some gems,
Chivalry, Murder Mystery, and a few others but I prefer his novels, they have better plot and character developments.
Angels and Visitations is his first collection and probably his best, he did get to cheery pick for this one, definitely a good one to read.
Chivalry, Murder Mystery, and a few others but I prefer his novels, they have better plot and character developments.
Angels and Visitations is his first collection and probably his best, he did get to cheery pick for this one, definitely a good one to read.
April 7, 2019
This is a mixed bag. A collection of early Gaiman short stories, and poems, and stuff. Some of the stories are great. There are a few nice illustrations in here too. Worth reading if you're a Gaiman fan, and you're looking for some miscellaneous odd stuff to read.
May 3, 2019
A slim collection of short stories, poems and other bits and pieces. They are from among the author's early work but show his originality, wit and remarkable magination. Some are brilliant and will be read again and again, others I didn't care for.
November 27, 2019
Actual rating 3.5
This was a really solid collection of short stories. My favorite was easily the Troll. Neil Gaiman is so good at creating dark fairytale atmosphere, even If the plots don't always capture me.
This was a really solid collection of short stories. My favorite was easily the Troll. Neil Gaiman is so good at creating dark fairytale atmosphere, even If the plots don't always capture me.
December 21, 2020
Discovered this as a signed edition in a local independent bookstore. Purchased with no second thoughts.
1 or 2 stories I've not read in other collections, and the rest I certainly didn't mind re-reading.
1 or 2 stories I've not read in other collections, and the rest I certainly didn't mind re-reading.
July 17, 2021
PLEASE... someone tell me the name of the muse who could inspire a short story about the murder of an angel in Heaven during the literal creation of the Universe and before the fall of Lucifer ever happened. I want their email!
April 8, 2022
I like Neil. Sooo much. These are such brilliant visions into his thinking and his tales and poems versions of experiences and expressions.. I'm always sad when I fi ish his books because I have to wake up. Just brilliant.
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