 It's very short and quite unsettling. Is there something like a trumpet out there? Virus, I, yes? I'm gonna be real honest, I don't know what this is. I don't really know what to make of it. I'm doing my smoke and mirror. That's upside down. I'm doing my smoke and mirrors review a little bit differently. I'm gonna do a vlog which you probably know if you clicked on this because I'm assuming it said vlog and the thumbnail or the title. But yeah, this is my second time going through all of smoke and mirrors. I've experienced several of the stories several times. So I'm, as I finish, Kaz, can we not do that? As I finish each of the stories, I'll do a quick clip telling you my thoughts about them. I finished the introduction and the introduction for the whole book, not the, they put all the introductions for all of the individual stories in the front, which is not ideal. So I read the introduction for the whole book and the first story, which is Shilory. The introduction to the book has a story embedded in it. And it's actually one of my favorite stories in the entire collection. It's very short and quite unsettling. That's Neil Gaiman. Anyway, but the actual first story is Shilory. And I've actually gone through that story four times because I've read this, I read this book before. Then I've seen him speak twice. And both times I saw him speak, he read aloud Shilory. And now, just now I reread Shilory. So Shilory is a sweet story. I think I like it more every time I go through it because it's not, unlike the story that's in the introduction, which has more unsettling ending, more, not exactly a twist, but I don't know. It's a darker story. And Shilory is just very sweet. And I feel like the twist is that there is no twist or just that like the twist is that everything that should be epic isn't. So if you don't know, you're not familiar with the story of Shilory. It's about an elderly lady who has the Holy Grail because she picked it up at a charity shop. And Galahad comes to her door saying, his quest is at an end. He's been searching for the Holy Grail. And here it is, she's got it. And Kenny have it. And it's just a really quaint, domestic little story that's filled with like Neil Gaiman's quintessential, like getting people, you know, like getting to the core of people. Like, I mean, honestly, the short story that's embedded in the introduction, once again is on display, his ability to just kind of like tell you who people are so quickly, tell you what their relationships are so quickly that like a few sentences and you're already fully invested, fully aware, fully know who these people are. And books, other longer books will spend hundreds of pages on characters and you're like, who? So Shilory is the sweeter story. But again, like this, it's just this quick little kind of like glimpse into the life of this elderly lady, as well as the people at the charity shop and Galahad himself and the people that she knows. And just, I feel like Gaiman, he's just a real student of people. Like the way he just writes people is amazing and it's so efficient. It just blows me away every time. But yeah, so Shilory is just like a sweet story that doesn't have like a twist or a bang or like an eerie and settling something. It's just very quaint. And the more times I go through it, the more I just appreciate all the like the little bits in it that kind of make it so quaint and make it feel so real. Like this completely real authentic portrait of like a little old lady that's, she doesn't feel like a caricature. She feels like, for all I know, maybe she is an old lady, the Neil Gaiman knew. But I, it's very sweet and I do like it a lot. So yeah, one story down, however many more to go. Nicholas was, doesn't even count as a short story. It's so short. So real quick, Nicholas was is, to say anything about it is to spoil the entire thing, but it is just one of those Gaiman things that I've ever read. So, yeah, I love it. Story number three, the price. I don't have too much to say about it. It's about cats or at least it's ostensibly about cats. And speaking of cats, mine is chewing on the cord, powering this camera right now. So why can't you be like the cat in the story, huh? Yeah, I'm talking to you. It's like one of those, like a lot of short stories where I feel like, what was the point of that? Or like, I expected there to be like some twist or some meaning at the end and there like really isn't one. It feels a little bit just like a, for appreciation of cats, I guess. What most struck me about it is that like, cause it's, you know, it's obviously fiction, but it's obviously also like basically about Neil Gaiman or at least Neil Ga- a very Neil Gaiman-esque person is the voice of the story. And the fact that like, what's occupying this person in the background is like they're trying to produce an adaptation of Let in the Mist by Hope Merleys. And I feel like, yeah, it's like inescapable now. Like I don't know how I never realized or noticed before how much he likes that book or is into that book. Cause like, now having read the book, I pay attention to it more and like he mentioned it in View from the Cheap Seeds and Stardust is inspired by it. And he mentions it in this short story. So yeah, my favorite part of the story was just like one, I was like, and there it is again, Let in the Mist. So yeah, it was fine. Honestly, Nicholas was, which was like the short story right before it, which is like barely even a short story is has more to it, has more meat to it. But anyway, on to the next one. Troll Bridge. I really liked the story. I had mostly forgotten it. Like I, well, I forgot how it ended. I remember when I was reading it, I was like, I remember this story, but I don't know what the ending is. It a little bit reminds me of Ocean at the End of the Lane. It's not a ton like that, but it does remind me of it a little bit. I think the ending unlike the one for the previous story, it is more of like a comes full circle. There was a point to this kind of like meaning, I would say, not like, not a ton of one, but like, I feel like short stories like they do or don't feel like at the end. Is there something like a trumpet out there? It feels like we kind of like, I don't know, had a bookend to it. Like it went somewhere. It came to a point it resolved somehow as opposed to just stopping. So yeah, I quite like that story. It's not like my favorite in this collection from what I remember. Or I mean like, it's not my favorite so far and from what I remember, there are stories to come that I liked better anyway. Yeah, it's dark and whimsical. And those are the key words when it comes to gaming, I think. Don't Ask Jack is a very short story. Not as short as Nicholas was. Nothing will be as short as Nicholas was. Quite short and quite creepy. And probably I think the better for not really having a clear resolution or clear answer. Nonetheless, it's like slightly disappointing to reach the end and like not have an answer. But it is I think creepier for not having an answer. And it's just once again impressive how quickly Neil Gaiman creates atmosphere and tension like within a couple pages and then you're done. Other books struggle to achieve that in the hundreds of pages. So certainly not my favorite story but a pretty solid little story. Goldfish and other stories. I remembered this one pretty well although I didn't remember how it ended. As soon as I started reading the first few lines of it I was like, I know this one. I remember this one distinctly. Partly because it's one of the longest stories in this collection and also it feels like, I mean, it's not a true story as far as I know but it is very inspired by like Neil Gaiman. Like the protagonist of the story is like very much like a Neil Gaiman. It's about a writer who's like come to Hollywood because his story is gonna be turned to his book is gonna be turned into a movie ostensibly. And about this English writer sort of like being in LA, being a fish out of water. And yeah, I liked it the first time I liked it this time. It's just a very people-y story. It really again showcases Gaiman's ability to just kind of like set a scene and set people in your mind and make you really know them and visualize them and the place they're in and what's happening and emotionally connect with it pretty immediately. And also just like the kind of like caricature but purely accurate caricature of LA and Hollywood. I just find amusing being an Angelino myself. And yeah, I really enjoy that story. It's not like, I feel like most of the stories or at least like the aim of this collection is kind of to be like eerie and settling, chilling, dark. And this story isn't. I don't, it kind of doesn't belong in this collection if like that's what this collection is supposed to be. I mean, he does in the story have a side project of writing a short story that's about like a magic trick that is like literally using like smoke and mirrors. Well, not the smoke but definitely mirrors. So I guess by like technicality it belongs in this collection. But it is a much more just, oh, I guess. I mean, chivalry also is this way. So yeah, chivalry and goldfish, they're both just kind of like a slice of life kind of stories. This is the closest I think that I can think of of like cozy fantasy that I like, because Gaiman wrote it. And because it's not that cozy, there is still an undercurrent of something kind of like sad or sinister or a cervic. But anyway, yeah, I really liked that story. That I liked it then and I like it now. The White Road, I definitely remember that story. More of a poem. And I remember it being like, if not my favorite, one of my favorites, still remains one of my favorites. It also stands out because of the style of it. Cause it is more like a, feels like an old tale and old poem, something like that. I really think, I think it's so atmospheric and so chilling. And I think in addition to Millennial Gaiman has many, many talents, but like he has a way of like coming up with these like little phrases that are said by characters or said as a rhyme or said as like significant words of like importance or magic or prophecy or whatever. Like in Coraline, the be bold, be brave, be tricky. Was that it? It doesn't be bold, was it? Well, apparently it's so memorable that I've forgotten. I'm overthinking it. But anyway, there's that line in Coraline. There's other stuff like that he's done. Anyway, there's something, I think it's cat. And here we have be bold, be bold, but not too bold. And I just, yeah, I think it doesn't have like the traditional structure of a poem but there is a kind of like propulsive pattern and rhythm to it. And it's simple and it's chilling for its simplicity. And the twist, if you can call it that kind of, it doesn't really like shock you so much as kind of sneak up on you, which is just I think quite appropriate for the kind of little story that it is. So I have always liked this one a lot and I definitely still do. It came back to me. It's be wise, be brave, be tricky in Coraline. Not be bold. Okay, just wanted to clear that up. Queen of knives. This story, I feel like has haunted me since I first read it. Still haunts me now, now that I've reread it. I think partly because I'm not entirely sure I know the ending. Like I'm not sure that I get the ending. And maybe if I did get the ending, it wouldn't haunt me so. But yeah, the opening is a quote. The reappearance of the lady is a matter of individual taste, meaning like a magic trick. It's quite short, quite impactful in my opinion. And it is, like with most game, and I think not gaming can do like big world ending set pieces. Like that's not to say that he can't. But I think a lot of gaming, both the charming and happy and the unsettling and creepy is very a small scale in mundane. And I think that to some degree makes it feel more quaint and also more creepy. So like imagining like things on a world scale, it was hard to relate to that. And gaming story is like Queen of Knives. It's just so entirely plausible and so small and so day to day that your ability to imagine and countering that scenario or that situation or that thing or whatever it is is just so much higher. You know, like it doesn't take that much for you to imagine yourself in that situation as it would for like a greater, more epic, more absurd, more ridiculous, more intense thing. So I feel like it just kind of sneaks up on you. Like a lot of gaming does that. Or like it's telling you a quite quaint story that you quite easily just kind of like fall into. And are going with and you're buying. And so then when it does something creepy, I don't know, it's just you're left more vulnerable to it if that makes kind of sense. Like I don't know, if I'm reading something big and epic that I'm like, oh, this is big and epic versus something like quaint, something small, something about normal people doing normal things. Then I'm just like leaving myself open in a way, because I'm not guarding against things or I'm not, I think I'm making sense anyway. So I think that's what is kind of amazing about Queen of Knives. The story itself isn't like the most intense or most amazing or most whatever, anything that I've read. Anyway, yeah. Again, to this day, I don't know that I know what this story is about. That is to say, well, I know what it's about. What I don't know is what the ending means. I think I know what it means, but I'm not totally sure that I have it right. So anyway, quite like that story. And I do again think that it is quite haunting. Changes is, oh, I did not remember this story at all. And oh boy, reading this now, like in the day of our, you know, or the month of our Lord May 2023, given everything that's going on in the news and in legislation concerning like gender and sexual identity, medical treatment for the same, as well as just generally discourse on medicine and on healthcare and gender affirming care and also still remaining conversations about COVID. This story, like this was written quite some time ago and it feels so insanely relevant for right now. You know, with short stories, it's hard to summarize without spoiling, but like essentially someone has invented a drug that for all intents and purposes, as far as they can tell is a cure for cancer. But the side effect of the drug is that it like changes your sexuality, like your physical, like it changes female parts to male parts and male parts to female parts. And so then the short story explores various implications of this, reactions to this, unforeseen consequences of this, uses of this. It's a fascinating little story, like not perfect. I think if Neil Gaiman wrote it today, he would write some things in it slightly differently, but still very thought provoking and so like timely and relevant and well done, very, very thought provoking. Yeah, I don't, I didn't remember that story at all. And now it's a real standout. So yeah, Neil Gaiman ahead of his time. Who would have thought? The Daughter of Owls. I don't really know what to make of it. I really like the vibe of it. It feels very much like Stardust era Gaiman. It has that like, this is an old story written in an old way kind of vibe and it's like still cheeky and kind of, yeah. It feels like also inspired by Blood in the Mist, which Stardust was inspired by. So like the tone of it and the vibe of it, I don't really know what to make of it. It's not a twist and not really a message. I think, I don't know, maybe it was inspired by a different story and it's a twist on it. I'm not sure, I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure what the point of it was. Shogoth's old, Shogoth's old, I don't really know how to pronounce it. The most reminds me of Neverwhere in kind of like its vibe and the type of story that it is, obviously it's a short story, but the kind of like Fish on a Water character who's kind of this like Average Joe Shmo type. Kaz, can we not do that? Come here. This like Average Joe Shmo type character and is like encountering like quite peculiar things and is kind of like, what is happening right now? I guess I'm just going with it. It's like if Richard Mayhew was like a Texan in Britain. Yeah, at first I was like, what, I don't remember the story. And then as it went I was like, oh yeah, yeah, I remember the story. It's like quirky and fun and has a lot of like just quintessentially game and flares in like the style of the humor. Humor being kind of like subtle and dry and like his humor, he is maybe. He's so cute. His humor is often like part of why his characterization works so well because like the humor is like this like kind of like mundane everyday observation type humor. Like little things that like happen and get noticed and get commented on. It just makes it kind of like feel lived in and real. That's the part I enjoy the most about it. Yeah, I quite like that story. Yes, baby, you like it too? You're so cute. Why is your face wet? Why is your face wet? Did you like the story? Did you like the story? Let me hold you this long. Okay, bye. Virus, I, yes? Well, hello. Virus, I think is another example of game and suppressions. Yes, my darling, what are you doing? Kids, can you get down? I think virus is an example of game and suppressions because he wrote this in 1998 or at least that's when actually, I don't know when he wrote it. I know that this collection was originally published in 1998 and he, the way he describes gaming kind of being the obsessive thing where people constantly do it and constantly think about it and the game itself is the virus rather than a computer virus coming with the game or something is just much more relevant and descriptive of how we live now and how people, especially because we have games on our phones, we didn't have smartphones in 1998 but the way he describes this obsession with gaming and pretty simple games or this pretty simple game is just so much more of a reflection of people and games on their phones now than of anything in 1998. So I think this is proof that Neil Gaiman is a time traveler. Looking for the girl is a bit dated but I still think it's a pretty good commentary on sexuality and objectification and commodification of sexuality and the gap between desire and reality, the gap between fantasy and reality as concerns like desire and sexuality. Yeah. Yeah, I went back and read Neil's introduction to that one because I was like, it was another one where I was like, I'm not completely sure I know what the point of this is but I feel like it's getting at a somewhat timeless universal truth and I feel like the line in the introduction that made me go, yes, that's what this is about. I just was looking at it, why did I close the book? It occurred to me when I was looking at two decades of penthouses and the penthouse and magazines like it had absolutely nothing to do with women and absolutely everything to do with photographs of women. And that was the other place the story began. And yeah, I think that's kind of mostly what it is about. Yeah, that the photograph of a woman has almost nothing to do with a woman and like the desire felt by looking at a photograph of a woman has almost nothing to do with desire for a actual woman. It's an interesting story. It's very game and esch take on that whole idea and concept and thing. Still relevant, even though like I guess like magazines have been replaced by the internet but you know, new, medium, same old story. So you could write this story today and it would be almost no different. So yeah, only the end of the world again. It's such a game and title. Even though the title is kind of has that game and humor I don't feel like the story actually does and that's what it's missing for me. It's not wholly serious. There is like an edge of tongue and cheekness to it but it's a little more on the dramatic and serious side. It's quite kind of like out there and strange. Not the most game it is kind of out there and strange. Not my favorite. I kind of don't know what the point of it is. Yeah, it wasn't like thought provoking or funny or interesting. Like I kind of get what he was going for with it. It just kind of goes nowhere in my opinion. And the ending, yeah, it's not really a twist per se. Like it's kind of a twist but like not really. So the best part of that story in my opinion is the title. Bay Wolf isn't that interesting as a story because it really doesn't have much of a story but it does have such an insane amount of fun wordplay. Like that's the entire charm of the story. He's given the title. So yeah, it's not terribly long. I think that's pretty much the entire point of it is to like be bursting with references and wordplay. And Neil Gaiman is good at doing both things. So it's an enjoyable little bit of words. We can get them for you wholesale. I definitely remembered this story. I had forgotten about it but when I started seeing where it was going, I was like, oh yes, yes. Like the title, I was like, I think this rings a bell. All right, I loved that story the first time and I loved it the second time. It's, the humor is kind of reminiscent of, well, hello. Yes, my darling. Yes, yes. What are we doing? Yeah. It's kind of reminiscent of Good Omens. I don't know if I said that. Yeah, so the humor of it being kind of like, it's like really, really dark what's going on, but the way it's told is like very silly. Isn't that right, baby? Kind of like you. So violent but so silly. Yeah, I just, oh, that's one of my favorite things that Gaiman does that I go to him for is like this style of like blending the macabre with the like kind of like mundanely silly or treating really like epic dark things in a very like mundane silly way. I love that. My darling, what are you doing? So yeah, that's one of my favorite stories, poor sure. Possibly my favorite story in the whole collection. I really, really like that story. So if you haven't read it and you have read Good Omens and you like Good Omens, then go find yourself. We can get them for you wholesale or we do them for you wholesale, whatever it's called. What is it called? We can get them for you wholesale. It's so good. One life furnished in early Moorcock reminds me of Ocean at the End of the Lane. If Ocean at the End of the Lane was like cute and fun and didn't have like all the darkness in it. Cause like both Ocean at the End of the Lane and this story feel like they're about like little Neil Gaiman. Like what Neil Gaiman as a kid had been like or what have been like. And a little bit like what a lot of fantasy readers are like have been like were like. So it's kind of kind of cozy, familiar. And you're like, oh yeah. Yep, that's what it was like being a kid and loving fantasy. So yeah, it's cute. It's got some darkness in there that kind of sneaks up on you, but mostly it's cute. Cold colors. I'm gonna be real honest, I don't know what this is. I very hopefully went to the introduction for that particular story, hoping it would shed some light. And it did a little bit, at least I don't know. It made me feel like I was not crazy for not knowing what the heck to do with it. Cause Gaiman kind of said that he sounded like he kind of like was like, I don't know what this is. Cause what he said, this was just an idea. I wanted to say something about infernal machines, computers, black magic, something about the London in the 80s, the London I observed in the 80s, financial excess and moral bankruptcy and wasn't sure if should be a story or a novel, but I tried it as a poem. So like that's even his introduction to it. And I was like, okay, well that's kind of felt reading it where I was like, what the fuck is going on? What is this? I weirdly enjoyed it though. Like I guess it's because I kept being like, what's it gonna throw at me next? What hasn't it, it's like, I feel like this, it's called cold colors. I can't even tell you why it's called cold colors. I genuinely, I don't even know what the title's about. I feel like the title should be like everything, but the kitchen sank. It's just kind of like chucking stuff at you and you're just like, ah, okay, wow. I don't know, that was a hell of a thing. So yeah, I don't have anything to insightful to say about that. Yeah, I don't know about that one. The sweeper of dreams feels very like Sandman era gay men or like in keeping with like the vibes and style of Sandman, although it's obviously not in the comic book. Yeah, I guess the sweeper of dreams. The sweeper of dreams feels almost like they would be the co-worker, the like sidekick of the Sandman, right? Like it's a double act. First one brings on the dreams, the Sandman, and then the sweeper of dreams takes care of it. After the fact, you've got the waiter and the bus boy. So it's quite short and still manages to be quite chilling. I feel like that's why I always say Neil Gaiman's art is in his brevity. It's oftentimes like, I mean, even in longer works, you'll have like these moments where it's like just this sentence. It's like, how did you do that in one sentence? But I feel like a lot of a short fiction, like the shorter, the more impressive. Like the longer ones will sometimes be interesting and sometimes quite good, but a lot of times like it'll be the one that's like half a page that you're like, oh my God. How did you just do that? So that's kind of, sweeper of dreams isn't like the most mind-boggling, brilliant one, but it is like a good example of Neil Gaiman just like showing up and like taking care of business in like one page. Yes, my precious one. Are you the sweeper of dreams? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah, so quite enjoyed that one. Foreign parts, I had forgotten about it and as soon as I started reading it, I was like, oh yeah, this one. I think it's really good. I think it's one of the ones where actually it like, it has kind of a twist and kind of a point to it. I can't say that I enjoy reading it, but like, it's not because it's bad. It's just because it's kind of like, kind of gross and kind of eerie. Like at first it's just gross and then by the end it's like eerie and unsettling. So there's like no joy to be had, but it's well done. And I think it is interesting and thought-provoking, but yeah, it's got sort of like body horror element to it. I think it's well done. I think it is one of the better stories in the collection. Vampire Cestina. I mean, I've read this before, but I forgot that I, well, I didn't know then and I re-forgot so relearned about this format, like this style of poem, about that as like a type of poem, which is, oh my gosh, it's like we're the last line of every like six line grouping or the last word of every line of the six line grouping repeats itself in the next six line grouping in a different order. Is that, did I explain that right? A verse form in which the last word of each of the first six lines repeat an ever-changing sequence over the next verses and in one three line end piece. The like vampire kind of love story that can be called that. I think it's like pretty poetic and well-told in it, but I was more fascinated when I realized that this is the format and I was like, oh man, that's so hard and like not that I thought that he messed up at any point, but I was like looking at all the lines and I was like, it surely does repeat. Wow, yep, yep, yeah. So yeah, I guess I can see why that isn't a verse form that I've seen that often, not that I read a ton of poetry or anything, but yeah, I feel like it's really limiting, but also I guess like that type of constraint like forces you to be quite creative. So I think it's quite nice, even if you don't know that that's the type of like verse form that it is, but yeah, it's nice, it's pretty, it's impressive. Yeah, it's a good one. Mouse is quite intense in a quiet way. I read it twice over actually because I think it kind of sneaks up on you with what it's about. If you're not like playing super close attention and I read Neil's author's note on it and didn't really say anything about like the message of it, just kind of like the style of it and him never having written a story quite in that style before or whatever. He doesn't say anything about like, oh he does say that there's the radio broadcast that's in the story. He was like, I did really hear that radio broadcast like that was based on something you'd actually heard. I think having read it twice now that I think it's commentary just kind of on how hypocritical we are about death. I don't want to say too much. It's not really spoilery because it kind of tells you it's about this from the beginning, but not in a direct way. It kind of dances around what it's about. And it's still, yeah, it never actually says but it's very clear by the end whereas in the beginning it's not so clear. Yeah, quite again, it's sort of like the story about the cure for cancer that changes your gender or your physical sex, I guess, kind of like that one. This one is also like weirdly topical considering especially this was written not that these issues weren't topical decades ago but I feel like they're much more in discourse now than ever before. Anyway, yeah, I kind of have to sit with this story. I still don't quite know exactly what he's getting at but I know Gaman and I'm fairly certain that Gaman has not written a main character here that he personally agrees with or thinks is correct in the way he's behaving. I think, oh, hi, baby. I think he's a vehicle for exploring hypocrisy. And just like the weird kind of cognitive dissonances that we have about death. That's kind of my reading of it. But anyway, it's an interesting story. So, I thought provoking one. The sea change is filled with some really beautiful imagery but it's another where I just kind of don't know what the point of it is. Neil Gaman's others now just says that he was like by the sea when he wrote it and that he's also writing The Sandman around the same time. So it's like, I don't know if it was part of something larger that would make me have context or attribute more significance to certain pieces of it. I could see it being really impactful but just out of context the way it is. It's got a haunting quality and yet that haunting quality feels kind of unearned because I don't know that anything about it is actually haunting. It's more just the way that it's told. But it's nice enough. When we went to see The End of the World by Donnie Morningside, age 11 and one-quarter. This story gets to be quite dark but it most reminds me of The Ocean at the End of the Lane and it's just another great example of Neil Gaman being one of, if not the only, then one of the only writers that has this ability to unlock that part of his mind that remembers what it was like to be a kid and then enable you to do the same by reading it. In Ocean of the Lane and in this short story there from the perspective of children, this was written by Donnie Morningside. Like as soon as you read it, as soon as you read when Neil Gaman writes from the point of view of a child, you're like, oh my gosh, yes, that's how it was to think as a kid but I would not have been able to access that memory of how it was to think that way and be that way without him putting it into words and me reading it. I don't know how he's retained the ability to remember that but I'm glad he has and he keeps using it for the greater good. So yeah, it's a short story. So there isn't a ton to it but it's a haunting little story just like Ocean of the Lane is a haunting little story and the fact of it being from the perspective of a child arguably makes it more haunting. So yeah, I like that one. So Desert Wind was apparently commissioned by somebody who wanted Gaman to write something that would go with a song of the same name, Desert Wind. I have not heard that song and I don't think about it. It's really short, the story. I think it can even be called a story but I really like it. Unlike many of the other ones, often times that are longer, even though this is almost too short for it to even be possible for it to have a point, I feel like it has more of a point than some of the others. I feel like it's about things that feel real are more real than real things. It kind of reminds me of a line from American Gods which I don't remember word for word but it's something like, it's like in a conversation and someone says, but it isn't real and he's like, yeah, of course it's not real. People only fight over imaginary things. So I think the story is kind of in keeping with that perspective, that point of view, that point in a much, much briefer way. American Gods is a behemoth. So yeah, I like it. I for sure remember tastings. I remember because the whole story, the whole short story is just one long sex scene and the characters like chat through the entire time and it ends kind of shillingly on a speculative note. But I remember it because of Neil Gaiman's introduction to it, talking about how it bothered him that in sex scenes, in books, in movies, people never talk. So he decided he'd write a story or a scene or a sex scene where they talk the entire time, which is what it is. But he also said that he felt so awkward writing it that it took him like forever to actually write the thing. So I mostly enjoy the story now because I remember him saying that about it and I find it amusing imagining him writing it and feeling really awkward writing it. It's an interesting enough story and he's right. It's not until you start reading it that you realize how unusual that is because people don't really talk in sex scenes in books and shows and movies. So anyway, it's kind of a funny reason to write a story and a pretty amusing story. Baby Cakes definitely feels like it was written by and for vegans and he did write it for PETA, but Neil Gaiman is a carnivore. So it's kind of amazing to me that he could write it and then not be convinced by it himself because he says he finds the story himself quite disturbing. And he thinks it makes its point. So, yes, I mean, I don't know how he can think that his own story is really convincing if he's not convinced by it, but I think it's pretty convincing. Murder Mysteries, I feel like, is what we would have gotten if Neil Gaiman had written Good Omens by himself instead of with Terry Pratchett. I remember really, really liking it the first time I read it and I still really do. I think it's probably the best story. Is that, do I? Yeah, probably the best story in spoken mirrors. The longest or close to the longest story as well. Yeah, it's a detective story, but it's an angelic detective story. And yeah, quite thought-provoking, while still being kind of a bit tongue-in-cheek, but like mostly serious. So yeah, I think Good Omens and Terry Pratchett is more like obviously funny. And Neil Gaiman kind of like slips in jokes, but it's not like ha-ha jokes. It's more like, ha, you know, like I see what you did there. But the overall tone is more serious and dark. So I do wonder if season two of Good Omens, now that it'll be written by, I mean, I think Gaiman's writing it with the screenwriter. He won't be like writing it completely alone, but I wonder if it will be a little bit more serious. But then again, there's an established tone with Good Omens that would be, to write something with a different tone would be sort of a betrayal of it. So yeah, probably not. But if, again, if Neil Gaiman had written Good Omens on his own without Terry Pratchett ever, I think it would be a lot like murder mysteries. Murder mystery, murder mysteries. Murder mysteries, plural. Yeah, I think it's the most like complete narratively and also in terms of like having a point to it and like just like, yeah, just the most complete feeling story in this collection. So yeah, it's super solid. Snow glass apples, the last story. And I think it's one of the best examples of fairytale retelling. Gaiman in general is pretty good at doing that. I think I'm on record as saying I don't really like fairytale retellings. Not because I dislike the concept, but because most of the time the execution is pretty bad in my opinion, at least the ones I've read. Because to retell a story, there's different ways to do it. There's no one right way to do it, but you have to be doing something with it, I guess. And they often come off to me really, really lazy or really feeling to understand what the original was or not bringing anything to the table or, you know, just like most of the time when I read fairytale retellings I'm like just the fact of this resembling a fairytale is not sufficient for it to like justify itself, if that makes sense. So if you tell a story and you're like, well, it's a Cinderella retelling. It's like, okay, but like that in itself isn't like a point to the story. Anyway, so Snow Glass apples is creepy because it's a game and story, but I do think it like does interestingly subvert the original Snow White story. While being just like, even if you'd never heard the Snow White story before, I think it would still be just like a chilling tale. And then the fact of it being a retelling and the way that it twists, the way that it twists the events of a familiar fairytale to suit a different narrative I think is very clever. But yeah, that's it. That's Smoke and Mirrors. This, I don't know how long this vlog is going to be. I feel like it's going to be really, really long. It seemed a good idea to me at the time to record a little thought, a bit of thoughts about each story as I read it. And I still think like generally it's a good idea, but there's so many stories and so many of them are so short. And this took me so long to do just because like the book isn't that long, but like having to stop to record something, I never wanted to read it unless I was in a position to do that because I wanted to record my thoughts like right when I would finish it. So if I was like, it was like really late or I look terrible or whatever it is, I was like, well, I can't read Smoke and Mirrors right now because I'm not in a, I can't be recording a clip right now. So anyway, I don't know if I'll do this again for the other short story collections that I have this year to read Fragile Things. Fragile Things I've never read before, so maybe I will do that for Fragile Things. Trigger warning I have read before. So I don't know, we'll see. You like this style of video for Smoke and Mirrors and let me know and I can do this again for the other short story collections. But if not, you know, this was a lot to do. So more than I expected. But anyway, yeah, I did, I do feel like I have a greater appreciation for basically all the stories in this collection because I did this. So I kind of want to do this for the other stories or the other collections because some of the stories are really, really short. So like I probably would have just been like, okay and like moved on and not really like stopped to think about it, which I kind of had to do because I was recording these clips. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I hope this was helpful or interesting or something. But let me know your thoughts about these stories, about Gaiman, about this style of video, whatever you're gonna let me know. I post videos on Saturdays, other random times about only Saturdays while I can subscribe, join my Patreon if you feel so inclined and I'll see you when I see you. Bye.