Difference between revisions of "M Is for Magic"
(→Stories) |
|||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | '''''M Is for Magic''''' is compilation of short stories written by [[Neil Gaiman]], published on 2007-06-06. Despite the book's theme implying it's for children, most of the subject matter is more appropriate for adults or teens. The Spanish title is much more accurate which translates to, "the cemetery without tombstones and other black stories." | + | '''''M Is for Magic''''' is compilation of short stories written by [[Neil Gaiman]], published on 2007-06-06. Despite the book's theme implying it's for children, most of the subject matter is more appropriate for adults or teens. The Spanish title is much more accurate which translates to, "the cemetery without tombstones and other black stories." Nearly all of the stories in the book were previously published in Gaimen's other anthologies. |
==Personal== | ==Personal== | ||
| Line 28: | Line 28: | ||
| "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds" || A hard boiled crime story set in the world of fairy tales. The juxtaposition of the two genres made me laugh out loud multiple times. | | "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds" || A hard boiled crime story set in the world of fairy tales. The juxtaposition of the two genres made me laugh out loud multiple times. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | "Troll Bridge" || A tale about a little boy who meets a hungry bridge troll that will spare his life if he promises to return when he's older. | + | | "Troll Bridge" || A tale about a little boy who meets a hungry bridge troll that will spare his life if he promises to return to be eaten when he's older. |
|- | |- | ||
| "Don't Ask Jack" || A cursed jack-in-the-box drives a family mad. Mildly creepy, but too short to be interesting. | | "Don't Ask Jack" || A cursed jack-in-the-box drives a family mad. Mildly creepy, but too short to be interesting. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" || A con artist tells the story of how he scammed a bunch of royals into buying a bridge. | + | | "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" || A con artist tells the story of how he scammed a bunch of royals into buying a public bridge. |
|- | |- | ||
| "October in the Chair" || See my description in ''[[Fragile Things]]''. | | "October in the Chair" || See my description in ''[[Fragile Things]]''. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | "Chivalry" || An old woman finds the Holy Grail at a secondhand shop and buys it | + | | "Chivalry" || An old woman finds the Holy Grail at a secondhand shop in the UK and buys it for her mantle. Then, Lancelot of Arthurian times comes seeking it. |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | "The Price" || A story about the stray cats that show up at the author's house, and how one in particular protects his family from evil. | + | | "The Price" || A story about the stray cats that show up at the author's house, and how one in particular protects his family from evil. It was okay. |
|- | |- | ||
| "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" || See my description in ''[[Fragile Things]]''. | | "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" || See my description in ''[[Fragile Things]]''. | ||
| Line 55: | Line 55: | ||
===Good=== | ===Good=== | ||
| − | * | + | * The stories that were included were pretty good. |
===Bad=== | ===Bad=== | ||
| − | * | + | * Nothing. |
===Ugly=== | ===Ugly=== | ||
| − | * | + | * Four of the stories in the book were just published less than a year earlier in ''[[Fragile Things]]'', and five others were published in compilations from years earlier. In fact, there are only two stories not previous published in a compilation, and one was a preview chapter of an upcoming book. This would be like buying a band's latest "Greatest Hits" album and discovering that nearly all of songs were published on their previous Greatest Hits albums. It was really quite disappointing. |
==Media== | ==Media== | ||
Revision as of 23:01, 15 April 2024
| M Is for Magic | ||||||||||||
|
Hardcover - USA - 1st edition. |
||||||||||||
|
M Is for Magic is compilation of short stories written by Neil Gaiman, published on 2007-06-06. Despite the book's theme implying it's for children, most of the subject matter is more appropriate for adults or teens. The Spanish title is much more accurate which translates to, "the cemetery without tombstones and other black stories." Nearly all of the stories in the book were previously published in Gaimen's other anthologies.
Contents
Personal
| Own? | No. |
|---|---|
| Read? | No. |
Stories
| Title | Notes |
|---|---|
| "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds" | A hard boiled crime story set in the world of fairy tales. The juxtaposition of the two genres made me laugh out loud multiple times. |
| "Troll Bridge" | A tale about a little boy who meets a hungry bridge troll that will spare his life if he promises to return to be eaten when he's older. |
| "Don't Ask Jack" | A cursed jack-in-the-box drives a family mad. Mildly creepy, but too short to be interesting. |
| "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" | A con artist tells the story of how he scammed a bunch of royals into buying a public bridge. |
| "October in the Chair" | See my description in Fragile Things. |
| "Chivalry" | An old woman finds the Holy Grail at a secondhand shop in the UK and buys it for her mantle. Then, Lancelot of Arthurian times comes seeking it. |
| "The Price" | A story about the stray cats that show up at the author's house, and how one in particular protects his family from evil. It was okay. |
| "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" | See my description in Fragile Things. |
| "Sunbird" | See my description in Fragile Things. |
| "The Witch's Headstone" | Preview chapter for The Graveyard Book. |
| "Instructions" | See my description in Fragile Things. |
Review
|
Overall: |
256px |
— This section contains spoilers! —
Good
- The stories that were included were pretty good.
Bad
- Nothing.
Ugly
- Four of the stories in the book were just published less than a year earlier in Fragile Things, and five others were published in compilations from years earlier. In fact, there are only two stories not previous published in a compilation, and one was a preview chapter of an upcoming book. This would be like buying a band's latest "Greatest Hits" album and discovering that nearly all of songs were published on their previous Greatest Hits albums. It was really quite disappointing.
Media
Hardcover - USA - 1st edition. Kind of dull.
Hardcover - USA - Limited edition. This cover doesn't fit the book's theme at all.
Hardcover - Spain. This is a much more fitting cover and title.
Representation
| Strong female character? | A few stories have women as secondary characters, but none are important or strong. | |
|---|---|---|
| Bechdel test? | There are some women who to each other briefly "October in the Chair." | |
| Strong person of color character? | Fail | There are black teens briefly mentioned in "How to Talk to Girls at Parties." |
| Queer character? |
Quotes
Titles
| Language | Native | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | M Is for Magic | ||
| Spanish | El cementerio sin lápidas y otras historias negras | El cementerio sin lapidas y otras historias negras | The cemetery without tombstones and other black stories |
Links
Categories:
- Books
- Books Published in 2007
- Adult Books
- Books written by Neil Gaiman
- Fiction
- Anthology
- Book Genre - Fantasy
- Media Theme - Adventure
- Media Theme - Fantasy
- Media Theme - Horror
- Media Theme - Urban Fantasy
- Books I Don't Own
- Books I Haven't Read
- Pages with broken file links
- Books Rated -
- Books without a strong person of color character
