Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances

by Neil Gaiman

Overview

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 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.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062330321
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	64,199
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, and The Graveyard Book. Among his numerous literary awards are the Newbery and Carnegie medals, and the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner awards. Originally from England, he now lives in America.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

November 10, 1960

Place of Birth:

Portchester, England

Education:

Attended Ardingly College Junior School, 1970-74, and Whitgift School, 1974-77

Website:

http://www.neilgaiman.com

Editorial Reviews

Neil Gaiman, a writer of rare perception and endless imagination . . . is . . . an American treasure.

William Gibson on AMERICAN GODS

Neil Gaiman is a literary genius!

James Herbert

[T]here isn’t much Gaiman can’t do when it comes to writing.

Denver Post on ANANSI BOYS

GRADE: A. A feast of imagination, ranging from the eccentric to the terrifying, from the light as air to the genuinely horrific. . . . It is a fine dispatch from one of the wildest imaginations in the field.

Sci-Fi magazine on FRAGILE THINGS

A powerful and oddly unified collection, a perfect introduction to Gaiman’s work for new readers and a thrilling reminder to his long-time fans . . . [T]he shorter prose form allows Gaiman a greater freedom of whimsy and provocation than even his graphic work, with stunning results.

Toronto Star on FRAGILE THINGS

The tales of FRAGILE THINGS are nibbles and bits of Gaiman’s immensely satisfying inner landscape. They are fiercely playful and very grim, wisps of whimsy and wonder buoyed by the happy heart of a tragic poet.

USA Today on FRAGILE THINGS

[Gaiman] is a one-man story engine. . . . FRAGILE THINGS is a delightful compendium . . . [Gaiman] is indeed a national treasure.

Washington Post Book World on FRAGILE THINGS

…there is an ordered and comforting quality to Gaiman's fiction, and not only because he possesses an unfailing sense of poetic justice and a Dickensian zest for punishing the arrogant, the proud and the wicked. More than that, Gaiman is such a powerful and evocative writer that almost everything he churns out serves to justify the…cultural triumph of fantasy literature over realism and modernism…Like all the best writers of fiction…Gaiman draws power not just from his storytelling gifts but also from his ability to work the crowd. He's like a conjurer who shows us how the magic trick is worked, joins us in laughing at its transparency and simplicity, and makes us believe in it anyway.

The New York Times Book Review - Andrew O'Hehir

★ 02/23/2015
Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) again delivers masterful compositions and style in his third collection. His decision to include poetry is vindicated by the concrete images in "Making a Chair" and the mournful tones of "Witch Work." Among the prose pieces are two works of stark horror: "‘The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains...'" and "My Last Landlady." The experimental "ORANGE" and the collected internet project "A Calendar of Tales" represent the rewards of Gaiman's fearlessness in storytelling. He also includes shared-world tales, revisiting Sherlock Holmes in "The Case of Death and Honey" and Doctor Who in "Nothing O'Clock." In "Kether to Malkuth" Gaiman creates a new mythology with the flavor of science fiction, while "The Sleeper and the Spindle" is a delightful fusion fairytale that subverts tropes and creates a new sense of wonder. Both enthusiasts of short fiction and fans of Gaiman's longer works may approach this volume with confidence. Full of small and perfect jewel-like tales, this collection is a thrilling treasure. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Gaiman calls the stories a “hodgepodge,” with no real interweaving theme throughout. But each of the stories and poems celebrates a different aspect of storytelling that has informed the author’s life.

NPR

[Trigger Warning] showcases the breadth and depth of Gaiman’s talent and the unique plangent warmth he brings to fantasy fiction. He is never anything less than a pleasure to read.

Financial Times

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

[I]t’s the phenomenon of connecting mythology and modern life that makes Gaiman such a captivating author.

Winnipeg Free Press

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

[T]his is not a ‘best of’ collection, though you’d be forgiven for thinking so at many instances, since Gaiman is, as always, a skilled storyteller.

Tor.com

Gaiman displays an uncanny knack for compressing his expansive imagination into the close quarters of his stories’ caves, cottages, and creepy rooms....[he] takes full advantage of his wide range, and it makes for exciting, often musical writing.

Boston Globe

[Gaiman]’s prolific, like Stephen King, and apparently inexhaustible: He dreams up stories as naturally as he breathes.

Slate

Gaiman’s is one of the most distinctive voices in modern fantasy.

Locus

Lovingly crafted...gleefully enjoyable.

Bustle.com

There’s much to revel in here, especially for those who’ve never read anything by Gaiman.

Huffington Post

[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

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 won’t be almost a decade before Gaiman completes another similar volume.

San Francisco Gate

There is something for every type of Gaiman fan here, and those new to his work will find this to be a solid introduction to the type of stories he crafts: lyrical, literary, sometimes quite chilling, and always strange and provocative. ...This is a book to savor and enjoy.

Bookreporter.com

Those who want to greet and shake hands, or settle in for a conversational catch-up with Gaiman’s delightfully dramatic minstrel’s tale-by-the-campfire style will love everything in Trigger Warning, naturally.

Booklist

‘All of [the stories] are told with an assured, masterly confidence that should please anyone who misses seeing a new Ray Bradbury collection on the shelf at the library.

Newsday

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

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

[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

Those who want to greet and shake hands, or settle in for a conversational catch-up with Gaiman’s delightfully dramatic minstrel’s tale-by-the-campfire style will love everything in Trigger Warning, naturally.

Booklist

[Trigger Warning] showcases the breadth and depth of Gaiman’s talent and the unique plangent warmth he brings to fantasy fiction. He is never anything less than a pleasure to read.

Financial Times

[Gaiman]’s prolific, like Stephen King, and apparently inexhaustible: He dreams up stories as naturally as he breathes.

Slate

09/01/2014
I don't have to introduce Gaiman as the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy Award- and Newbery Medal-winning author of numerous spectacular examples of speculative fiction, do I? He's back with a third collection of short pieces, including a Dr. Who story written for the 50th anniversary of the series in 2013 and a brand-new story exclusive to this anthology. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

2015-01-22
The third collection of short fiction from a beloved modern mythmaker. Everything that endears Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane, 2014, etc.) to his legions of fans is on display in this collection of short stories (and the occasional poem): his gift for reimagining ancient tales, his willingness to get down into the dark places, his humor. Most of these stories have been published elsewhere, except for the new American Gods story "Black Dog" (which does not disappoint), but the collection as a whole does add up to something bigger than it seems (only partly because there's a TARDIS in it). Even the weakest of these tales have something to recommend them—an image, a turn of phrase, a mood. And the strongest are truly extraordinary. There's the grim implacability of "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains…," walking steadily on to its inevitable yet unexpected ending; there's the absurd Wodehouse-an charm of "And Weep, Like Alexander"; the haunting power of "The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury"; and the skin-crawling, slow-building creepiness of the love letter "Feminine Endings." Sherlock Holmes is here, explaining the real reason he started keeping bees, and Sleeping Beauty, twice, and our old friend Shadow, and even David Bowie, in a way. 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 ones—if there's anyone out there left unconverted.

Kirkus Review

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