At the end of my Gaiman omnibus was this collection of short stories, and after finishing Neverwhere I thought I’d just read a tale or two.

The best bit was probably the introduction, the author writing about how he writes, and with a sneaky story included in there. It was a good story – although it took me a beat to ‘get it’ upon finishing. Maybe that’s why I liked it!

The rest were a mixed bag of rehashes, weirdness, and a few good ideas insufficiently explored (such is the problem with the short story, I suppose). I did like the one about the man who discovers a cure for all cancers, and how the world then deals with the side effect – gender reorientation! Two ‘religious’ pieces – one a murder mystery set in heaven, the other entitled ‘The End’ and set in the garden of Eden – I found surprisingly appealing.

On the whole, however, the few that really appealed to me were outnumbered by the dull, the incomprehensible (well, -ish), and things that just sounded like rehashes of other tales.

That said, I’m glad I read it – perfection isn’t always the most interesting thing, is it?!