Staff Pick
A delicious cornucopia of Gaiman's short fiction. Dip in and enjoy. There's a bit of everything here, from Doctor Who to an unpublished American Gods story. Once again, Gaiman waves his magician's wand and we are swept away to slightly disturbing and eerie lands. Recommended By Mary Jo S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Multiple award winning, #1
New York Times bestselling author 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 “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 ghosts 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 Mothers 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 were all alone in the darkness.
A sophisticated writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman entrances with his literary alchemy, transporting us deep into the realm of imagination, where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday incandescent. 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.
Review
“Everything that endears Gaiman to his legions of fans is on display....Full of all manner of witches and monsters and things that creep in the night, this collection will thoroughly satisfy faithful fans and win new onesif there's anyone out there left unconverted. Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Each short piece serves as an exciting foray into some macabre microcosm of his mind. ...It's a testament to Gaiman's versatility that he exhibits so many different styles of writing in this single anthology.” The Harvard Crimson
Review
“Those who want to greet and shake hands, or settle in for a conversational catch-up with Gaiman's delightfully dramatic minstrels tale-by-the-campfire style will love everything in Trigger Warning, naturally.” Booklist
Review
“[T]his collection of stories and poems doesn't disappoint....Gaiman has warned us about the monsters, but then come magic and miracles. And love.” Washington Post
Review
“Trigger Warning is a comfortable hodgepodge of material ... but there's enough serious-minded and deeply felt fantasy and horror to make readers hope that it wont be almost a decade before Gaiman completes another similar volume.” San Francisco Gate
Review
“The short stories in this collection are shocking, disturbing, funny, insightful ... Trigger Warning offers a good introduction to the works of Neil Gaiman, or a delightful addition to the collection of someone who has been following him for a long time. If you're a fan, don't miss this one.” Oklahoma City Oklahoman
Review
“Gaiman is such a powerful and evocative writer that almost everything he churns out serves to justify the aforementioned cultural triumph of fantasy literature over realism and modernism. Gaiman's attention to craft, passion for language and profound respect for the mythological roots...come through even in his abbreviated prose fragments.” New York Times Book Review
Review
“Neil Gaiman's writing is so present, so engaging, that it can send spasms of bone-chilling terror through your body and your reaction would still be, ‘Please sir, I want some more.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
About the Author
Neil Gaiman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books for readers of all ages, and the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Shirley Jackson Award and the Locus Award for Best Novelette for his story "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains." Originally from England, he now lives in America.