★★★★✬ 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 night...

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

Delightfully wicked.5/5

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

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 t...

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 o...

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 colle...

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.

A terrific miscellany of Gaiman's earlier stories. The collection offers insight to his style development, intellectual drivers, angels and demons.

'Nicholas Was...." is the best 100 words ever.

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.■ N...

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 m...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The book is subtitled, A Miscellany, which is a good description. Some of the pieces, such as Chivalry and Murder Mysteries, are excellent but the overall quality varies and the lack of a unifying theme probably detracts from the total. Still, for the fan of Mr. Gaiman, an excellent book to read.

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.

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!

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.

Really more three and a half stars. Some fantastic pieces and some forgettable. But I guess he warned me about that in the introduction.

Always a delight, Mr. Gaiman.

Lovely!

Decent up and down collection of various types of pieces mostly ranging from 2-12 pages at a go. However, the final story "Murder Mysteries" is fantastic and well worth the price of admission alone.

This book is long since out of print, but I got a copy through a recent Humble Bundle of Neil Gaiman ebooks. It is the earliest collection published of Neil's short fiction and unfortunately it shows. Quite a few pieces just aren't that good, you can tell that he hasn't found his voice yet.There is however a smattering of great pieces in here including off the top of my head Chivalry, Looking For The Girl, and Murder Mysteries. The better news is that half the pieces in this collection (all the