Stories Selected by Neil Gaiman - Unnatural Creatures

I love Neil Gaiman, which is why I gave it a high rating. I know it will be a good book-but I haven't read it yet! I have ordered SO many books through the store that I can't keep up! This one will be the next one, I'm almost done with the book I'm reading now-and I still have more coming! gbg

Compiled by fantasy-scribe extraordinaire, Neil Gaiman, this exceptionally enjoyable anthology of short stories that make up this volume is bound by the subject of fantastical creatures - the ones "that only exist in our minds". The writing is eclectic; there's the noirish "The Compleat Werewolf" by Anthony Boucher, which boasts Nazi spies, a femme-fatale Hollywood starlet, a magician, and of course a werewolf; the 19th-century tale of "The Griffin and the Minor Canon" by Frank R. Stockton, where the titular Griffin learns of his carven image on the church grounds of a small village and comes to see his likeness, throwing the lives of the parishioners and a young canon into disarray; and the contemporary YA story by Caribbean writer Nalo Hopkinson that interweaves the perils of teenage parties with an age-old myth in "The Smile on the Face".

Gaiman too, contributes his own piece "Sunbird" (found also in his earlier collection "Fragile Things"), about a group of epicureans who have exhausted their quest for every known kind of animal, and still seeks for more. Gaiman credits children's author E. Nesbit for introducing this creature to him, and I was pleasantly surprised to read her story, "The Cockatoucan; or Great-Aunt Willoughby", in this collection. I have never associated her with fantasy writing, being more familiar with her children's classics like "The Railway Children", though I had read her trilogy about five children and the mythical "psammead" as a child. Elsewhere in the collection are also tasty nuggets by familiar names like sci-fi writer Samuel R. Delany, Diana Wynne Jones, and even Saki, whose "Gabriel-Ernest" make up the other werewolf story in this collection.

In a collection about fantastical creatures, it seems fitting that the last story "Come Lady Death" by Peter S. Beagle is about death, which Gaiman acknowledges as "the most natural of all unnatural creatures". A bored and aging socialite Lady Neville has grown tired of her own parties, fine as they are, and she decides to invite Death to up the ante, so to speak. The result is a truly engaging tale with a chillingly unexpected conclusion.

Highly recommended by anyone who has even a vague interest in imaginative fiction.

Unnatural Creatures is a collection of short stories compiled by Neil Gaiman. From werewolves to cockatoucans - there's a lot of variety in this volume to interest readers. And whilst I found the stories entertaining, what I loved most about this book was the personal touches. Before each story, Gaiman gives a brief synopsis of the author and why he included the story in this book. The illustrations which accompanied the tales added perfectly to the reading experience.

It is clear upon reading Unnatural Creatures that each story was selected with care. Most compilations I've read contain stories which have no apparently relation to the others but in this book - whilst the tales are independent, they each feel as if they belong in the same compilation as the others included.

Each of the sixteen stories give something different. I had my favourites amongst them with Diana Wynne Jones' tale about gods, a missing Sage, and invisible dragons being the one I liked most. Gaiman himself contributed a story about a Sunbird and there is even a story with a completely unpronounceable title made up of a cartoon instead. I loved the inclusion of the cartoon story and never realized before just how creepy a plain and simple black dot could be ...

I was surprised by the variety of the authors. Some of the stories in this book were first written a hundred years ago with others being relatively recent in comparison. This is a compilation like no other - the diverse backgrounds of authors, the creatures which they wrote about and the era in which they were written all add to the dark and fantastical vibe.

Mythology, horror and the supernatural - Unnatural Creatures is a short story compilation with vast appeal. With a wide range of creatures and authors, I feel this is a book which will interest fantasy fans, young and old alike.

A fairly eclectic collection of short stories about the monster under the bed (and elsewheres) picked by Neil Gaiman. There is one story by Gaiman himself, Sunbird, plus 15 others, dating from 1885 to the present. Like any short story collection, some are good, some are great, some slightly less so. But if you like Neil Gaiman and the fantastical worlds he creates, these won't be too far off the mark for you.

Plus, the money for this book goes to a charity -- 826DC.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and inspiring young writers, ages 6-18, in their creative writing. So it's a win - win, really.

And if you don't buy it, I'm fairly certain that a pack of griffins, werewolves, flying horses, and other unnamable, phantasmagorical beasties will stalk you around the dark corners of your mind.

I'm just sayin' . . .

I love Neil Gaiman and looked forward to reading a series of stories he chose as unusual and interesting. Some of them were quite good... bringing a mix of the fantastic, the unexpected, and a desire to read more. There were some, however, that just missed the mark entirely (in my opinion) - The Beast of Bastardville almost had me ready to stop reading the book entirely.
All-in-all, if you are a Gaiman fan, read his story collections. If you want some odd stories about beasts and don't mind a few stinkers, this book will fit the bill.

I was excited to read a collection of stories picked by Neil Gaiman as some of his favorites. As with all anthologies this is a mixed bag; but in general it was a better mix than most anthologies I have read.

This collection consists of 16 stories. Many of these stories feature things or creatures that end up being something different from what they originally seem to be. The stories span a variety of settings but in general are fairy-tale like in feel and have a large dose of irony to them.

The ones I enjoyed the most were Gahan Wilson's story (about a weird spot that grows into something dangerous), Ozioma the Wicked (about a girl who can talk to snakes), Sunbird (about a group of people who have eaten everything living), The Cockatoucan (a fabulous fairy tale about a sneezing bird who changes the world), Pristmatica (a story where a young man goes questing for three mirror pieces), and Come Lady Death (a story about a pretentious noblewoman who invites Death to her ball).

Each story is prefaced with a short commentary from Neil on why he chose this story and what it is about. This was interesting and added something extra special to this book. You can read below for short descriptions/reviews of each story.

Overall this was a solid collection of fantasy/fairy tale like stories. If you enjoy fantasy short stories go ahead and give this collection a read through, some of them are very good.

- (picture of weird line), by Gahan Wilson (5/5)
Loved this story. It's about a dark spot on a tablecloth that isn't really a dark spot at all but something much more sinister. I loved the writing style, found this easy and fun to read and enjoyed the inclusion of art to tell the story

- The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees, by E. Lily Yu (3/5)
This was an okay story. It's about a bunch of rather odd wasps who invade the home of some bees. They form a treaty, but there is a rebellion in their midst. It's an odd little story that was a bit confusing. It's an interesting idea but not all that well executed.

- The Griffin and the Minor Canon, by Frank R. Stockton (4/5)
Very well written story about a Griffin who goes to a town to see pictures of his likeness and befriends a Minister there. This was a well-written and enjoyable read.

- Ozioma the Wicked, by Nnedi Okorofor (5/5)
About a girl who is ostracized by her village because of her ability to talk to snakes. Her fortunes change however when the village needs her to take care of a gigantic cobra. This story had absolutely wonderful imagery and was incredibly engaging. I really loved it.

- Sunbird, by Neil Gaiman (5/5)
I've read this story before and really enjoyed it then too. It is an ironic and humorous story about a group of people whose goal it is to eat everything. They are bored with the fact that they have eaten everything when one of their members invites them to Egypt to try eating Sunbird.

- The Song of Theare, by Diana Wynne Jones (3/5)
This story was long and boring. It's about some Gods who are concerned about a prophecy that will bring about their dissolution. When one of the gods finds out its his offspring Thisper that is supposed to bring it about he tries to divert things, to no avail. It is somewhat ironic, but a bit long and wordy.

- Gabriel-Ernest, by Saki (4/5)
Well done and ironic story about a man who discovers a strangely beastial boy is living in his woods. I enjoyed the irony and found the story entertaining.

- The Cockatoucan; or, Great-Aunt Willoughby (5/5)
Magical story about a young girl who ends up in a different kingdom on her way to visit her Aunt. There she must discover how to make the bird stop laughing if she is to stop the craziness that plagues the kingdom. Wonderful description, fairy tale like, and very magical.

- Moveable Beast, by Maria Dahvana Headley (4/5)
Well done and creative story about a girl who gets involved with a Beast Hunter who is trying to hunt the beast that lives in her forest. Of course, the Beast is not exactly what you think it is going to be. It is well written and well done.

- The Flight of the Horse, by Larry Niven (4/5)
A man goes back in time to collect a horse, but is a bit puzzled by the fact that the horse is not exactly as pictured in his histories. A wonderful blend of sci-fi and fantasy. This story is also very humorous, I enjoyed it.

- Prismatica, by Samuel Delany (5/5)
A wonderful story about a poor man who is hired by a grey man to help him collect three magic mirror pieces. The grey man has a creature of a trunk that is very mysterious. This has very much of a questing feel to it, is full of twists and turns and is very fairytale-like. I enjoyed it a lot.

- The Manticore, the Mermaid, and Me, by Megan Kurashige (4/5)
A well done story about creatures in the Natural History Museum that aren't exactly what they appear to be. This was well written and entertaining.

- The Compleat Werewolf, by Anthony Boucher (4/5)
The lengthiest story of the bunch. A decently done story about a man who finds out he's a werewolf and tries to use this to catch the lady of his dreams. Along the way he ends up embroiled in a dastardly plot. This was a fun story that was a bit silly as well.

- The Smile on the Face, by Nalo Hopkinson (3/5)
A story about an insecure teenage girl who turns into something unusual when she is threatened with sexual assault. This is done in a modern setting and it is kind of interesting what happens when the girl swallows a cherry pit and ends up channeling something a bit beastial. It was an okay read, but I didn't enjoy the writing style as much as some of the other stories and didn't enjoy how long the story took to set up.

- Or All the Seas with Oysters, by Avram Davidson (4/5)
This was a strange and funny little story about a bike shop that isn't exactly what it seems to be. The ending surprised me and was ironic and unexpected. Overall an entertaining read.

- Come Lady Death, by Peter S. Beagle (5/5)
A pretentious noblewoman who is bored with life decides to invite Death to her ball. When Death arrives the nobles get what they deserve, especially the noblewoman who invited Death. This was well written and I love the irony in it.

Overall, this was a decent collection. I haven't read very many short-story anthologies, but my husband tells me they are pretty hit or miss. This one had several stories I enjoyed a lot and others not so much, but it was a success overall. I hope you give it a try and read a few or even all of the stories contained within.

I have reviews of each story on my blog, but its too long to be posted here. Please take a look at my detailed review on Fantasy Books!
https://readfantasybooks.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/unnatural-creatures-by-neil-gaiman/

Beautiful stories. Some will be creepy, some will be cute, all are well written and enduring, Good for a read straight through or a story at a time for bedtime or over tea. Great for grown ups, I would not recommend this for little children, but some teens may enjoy these.

Well, this ended up the same as the other short story anthologies I've read. Some I liked, and some I didn't. Anthologies are always a crapshoot, and they're always harder than a novel. I gotta get used to another universe and writing style every 5,000 words. I gotta figure out the new protagonist and plot goals over and over again. It's a no-win situation. If you don't like the story, it's a slog. If you do like the story, it's over too quickly.

The only reason I read this was because Neil Gaiman's name was attached to it AND I found it easily at the library. Failing those events, I wouldn't have picked this up.

I love short story collections like this. The one issue you face is that some stories are great, and some not. This is the case here. There are more stories I found interesting than not and a fan of Neil Gaiman will find his intros to the stories interesting. He mentions authors and books he likes and were inspirational to him while growing up.