Some people are born storytellers. They can take an idea or instance, which if left to you or me would be an anecdote at best, and use it to perform downright miracles. They build worlds with language, both dazzling and frightening. They entrance us, confuse us, make us think and wonder. Ray Bradbury is such a master, and so it's appropriate that Neil Gaiman mentions him in a book so reminiscent of science fiction's poet laureate.
In his introduction, Gaiman points a finger at Bradbury and the inspiration he gave, especially in the short story collections S is for Space and R is for Rocket. Gaiman says he wanted to write something similar, but with fantasy as the central idea, trading aliens for trolls, as it were. He even called Bradbury to get his blessing for the copycat title. Gaiman did well to mention all this, because the similarities are magnificently clear. Not that the younger author has stolen a thing, but the influence and admiration is like a scent trapped between the pages. As Bradbury has descended into his vale of years, a gap has opened up in American letters, and, through this collection, Gaiman takes a respectful step into the void.
The book is made up of ten short stories and a closing poem that present the reader with a balanced variety of styles, tones and attitudes. Given the title, I was pleasantly surprised by the lead-off choice. Rather than sword, sorcery, or fairy, "The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds" is a sort of fairytale noir. Little Jack Horner (a midget P.I.) gets drawn into a seedy scandal when he agrees to look into the case of one Mr. Dumpty. This pairs up well with the fourth story "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge," which recounts an over-the-top confidence scheme on a far away planet. There's lightness in the collection as well: "Chivalry" finds Sir Galahad just beaten to the Holy Grail by an old woman who buys it from a thrift shop, while the narrator of "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" gets involved with some complicated women. And as near as I can tell, the point of "Don't Ask Jack" is simply to freak people out.
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