Some were completely bizarre, others were quite amusing; and then there were the ones that were utterly frightening...
This book features sixteen short stories selected by master storyteller Neil Gaiman.
Reading this book felt like wandering through a museum of myths, from one story into another. Some of these stories were marvelously outlandish. Some made me laugh, others frightened me.
I loved Gahan Wilson's terrifying creature with the unpronounceable name. I can honestly say I have never read anything quite so peculiar (although I have read a lot of peculiar things.)
Neil Gaiman's own "Sunbird" was undoubtedly one of the highlights of this collection, although I believe the real unnatural creature of this story was Zebediah T. Crawcrustle, (You'll see why.)
Samuel R. Delany's "Prismatic" was mystifying and really rather fascinating. A haunting story that feels like an old fairy tale.
I loved that the Princess in the story was named after me ;)
"I am a woman worthy of a Prince, and my name is Lea."
But, I think my favorite of all of these was the final story of the collection, which was Peter S. Beagles "Come Lady Death," in which the Lady Death is invited to a dance.
This tale was so bewitchingly enticing. If you ever want to meet the personification of death, and maybe share a dance or two with her, I highly recommend this story.
But, although this library of the unnatural is simply crawling with erratic creatures of all sort, there were a few that disappointed.
I did not like "The Smile on the Face" one bit. Although the idea seemed promising, the story was very poorly written and the main character was extremely irritating. The setting was ridiculously cliche and the descriptions were altogether pointless. If I wanted to read about a shallow teenage girl I wouldn't be reading in this genre.
I also didn't enjoy "The Manticore, the Mermaid and Me." Although I thought the idea seemed promising, it was very vaguely written and not at all gripping.
In the end, I still really enjoyed this book. I love Neil Gaiman, and being able to read some of the stories that he loves gave me a new insight into his imagination, which I so adore.
Photo credit, like always, goes to Heinrich Nikel Photography! Check out more of his stunning work here.