Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

Publication Date:  February 3, 2015
Publisher:  William Morrow
Series:  Stand Alone
Pages:  310
Genre:  Short Stories
Synopsis:  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 Mother's 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 we're all alone in the darkness.

Review:  Neil Gaiman never fails to impress.  The only short story collections I have read before have been fairy tales, and Trigger Warning surpasses them all.  I am not, and never have been, a short story kind of person.  I prefer lengthy story arcs and epic adventures.  But sometimes a glimpse is all you need, and it leaves you with more to wonder.

I wonder, "Are fictions safe places?" And then I ask myself, "Should they be safe places?"

The writing is...unrivaled.  Neil Gaiman's stories know no bounds, and I wouldn't want them to.  Some stories stand out more than the others, but all intrigue and envelope you in epic adventures, some that end well, and many that do not.  But who likes happy endings, anyway.

Making a Chair:  It's a poem about the writing process, one that I actually enjoyed, which is odd, since I am a self-proclaimed Poem Cynic (also a self-proclaimed Queen of the Universe and All it Contains).

A Lunar Labyrinth:  Reminds me of a grown up version of the Goosebumps books you would read as a kid.    

The Thing About Cassandra:  I would attempt to form a coherent thought about this story, but I am still unable to fully process it as of right now.

Down to a Sunless Sea:  Meh.  Good writing...but meh.

The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountain:  This one is...interesting.  I'm fairly certain I didn't actually like it, but it was interesting.

My Last Landlady:  I am never staying in a hotel or apartment ever again.  This reminds me of something in the back of mind, but it refuses to come out of the realm of subconsciousness.

Adventure Story:  ...what?  Also...more, please?

Orange:  This one made me laugh until I could hardly breath, yet I also have a slight aversion to it.  

A Calendar of Tales:  One tale per month, creating an eclectic selection in itself.  I won't say what I think about all of them, but December's story made me sit back and think, and also made me a little sad, which in turn made me happy, because stories that make me sad always turn out to be wonderful.

The Case and Death of Honey:  Sherlock Holmes, bees, and the secret to life and death--the biggest mysteries of all. One of my personal favorites, and also one of the best Sherlock stories I have yet to read.  Neil Gaiman did Arthur Conan Doyle justice. 

The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury:  This one is a rambling piece, and I quite liked it that way.  It is poetic in its own peculiar way, and Neil Gaiman does peculiar particularly well.

Jerusalem:  Turns out that brief moments of insanity are due to the location in which you lost your marbles.  I didn't feel like I was going crazy, but I was apathetic about the outcome of this tale.

Click-clack the Rattlebag:  I knew the end as soon as I began, but that didn't stop it from sending chills down my spine.

An Invocation of Curiosity:  This one also made me sad--in a strangely nostalgic way, although I have no idea what it was I was nostalgic for.  Would you want to witness the beginning of everything?  

Nothing O'Clock: This masterpiece of a Doctor Who story may just be my favorite in the entire book.  Brilliant, as Ten would say and mind boggling, and paradoxical in the most spectacular of ways.

Diamonds and Pearls: A Fairy Tale:  Better than the original fairy tale, but not more memorable.

The Return of the Thin White Duke:  Irresistibly enchanting.  This one makes me want to peer into Neil Gaiman's mind, just for a minute or two.  I am uncertain if having access to his mind would be astounding, terrifying, or both.  Probably both.  I am uncertain if I mind that or not.

Feminine Endings:  Intensely uncomfortable in the most imaginative way.

Observing the Formalities:  Oh, how I do love the view from the villain's side.

The Sleeper and the Spindle:  Endlessly clever and whimsical. Sleeping Beauty, meet Snow White.  Chaos ensues.

Witch Work:  Unfortunately, I cannot recall what this one was about.  Not for the life of me.

In Relig Odhrain:  Another interesting one.  Yet I just couldn't manage to bring myself to care.

Black Dog:  Uncanny events happen to uncanny characters.  I enjoyed the story, although I am positive that it would have meant more if I had previously read American Gods.

Better to have flamed in the darkness, to have inspired others, to have lived, than to have sat in the darkness, cursing the people who borrowed, but did not return, your candle.

Trigger Warning is made of the most wonderful type of magic known only to Neil himself (@neilhimself is coincidentally his Twitter name--I suggest you follow him).  If you so choose to read this curious collection, consider yourself warned:  the author himself states that his stories are triggers, and they're looking for yours.  Now, excuse me while I go build an igloo made exclusively out of books in my backyard.

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