My favorites of the short stories were the last 3, Banshee , Chivalry and Troll Bridge. ( )

Almost all the same short stories contained in Smoke and Mirrors, which I had already read and only found to be mediocre Gaiman. ( )

Really, you would think that I would stop this by now. I've read more than enough of Neil's work to know that his stories aren't just for kids. But still... And even despite the effing TITLE OF THIS COLLECTION.. I uttered a little gasp when Neil said "fuck".

And I'll admit. It was a little sexy, too.

What?

OK... fine. A lot sexy.

Anyway, I don't know why I have this thing in my head regarding Neil... Most of the books I've read of his have been for adults. I mean, I like his kids stories, yes, but it's not like I think he should stick to writing for younger audiences. I LOVE his adult themed stuff. I don't know why this surprise on my part persists and I keep finding myself surprised when he says words like "penis" and terms like "getting laid" and such. It's actually kinda annoying, really. Stupid brain, having like... thoughts of its own. BAH!

Errr... so... Moving on. If you haven't guessed by now, this collection is definitely for adults. There's a good bit of humor, but a majority of these stories are quite dark. "Nicholas Was...", "Babycakes", "Cold Colours", "The White Road" and "Troll Bridge" were all very dark. I like. :D

"Babycakes" was actually very, very disturbing, and I think that makes it my favorite of the bunch, despite it's short length. It's one of those stories that just makes you go "What the FUCK?!" I listened to it twice, back to back. So disturbing and scary in its plausibility.

"Nicholas Was..." was also very short and dark, and I found myself wanting more of this story. Especially since it seemed kind of tied into the "American Gods" world. "Cold Colours" seemed like this as well, actually.

All in all, I really enjoyed these stories, and the mythological flair that Neil brings wherever he goes. His reading was fantastic as always. I would highly recommend these stories... Just don't be shocked when Neil drops the F-bomb like I was. ;) ( )

Here is another small audio collection of short works by Gaiman. These are early selections from his career.

There is mostly poetry in the first section. Now, I'm not big on poetry. I don't "get" it, really. But I will say that Gaiman's reading plus the haunting music he has accompanying it gives it a great spooky feel. I still don't understand it all, but it sounds wicked.

The lead-off selection is actually a piece of stand-up that Gaiman does, called "Being an Experiment..." I highlight this because it's pretty damn hilarious, especially the part about the ants. The experiment is what happens to a writer as he consumes alcohol. The results are great.

Of the poems, I most liked "Babycakes". That one is pretty weird and haunting and chilling. Love it.

There are also two longer works, short stories from [b:Smoke and Mirrors|16790|Smoke and Mirrors|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166759020s/16790.jpg|6277491]: "Chivalry", and "Troll Bridge". They're two of the better stories from that set and are even cooler with Gaiman reading.

Finally, we finish with a song, "Banshee". It's not available anywhere else, so the best I can gather from it is that this was a poem put to music/song by The Flash Girls.

Overall, another enjoyable set of short audio works from Gaiman. I might have to see about finding a longer work that he narrates. ( )